Slavyansk, Ukraine (CNN) -- Two helicopters were
brought down in the flashpoint city of Slavyansk on Friday, Ukraine's
Defense Ministry said, as Ukrainian security forces launched their most
intensive effort yet to try to dislodge pro-Russian separatists.
Residents of Slavyansk
were warned to stay home and avoid windows as the latest phase of the
authorities' "anti-terrorist operation" got under way.
Conflicting reports are emerging, but it appears the operation has already claimed its first casualties.
Two Mi24 helicopters have
been taken down with mobile air defense systems, killing two military
officers and injuring others, according to the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry website. Another army helicopter, an Mi8, was damaged but no
one was hurt, it said.
Militants took one badly
injured pilot hostage after his helicopter was forced to make an
emergency landing, the ministry said, and efforts to free him are
ongoing.
Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said one helicopter that came under attack was carrying medics, one of whom was injured.
"The terrorists opened
fire at Ukrainian units with some heavy guns, including grenade
launchers and portable air defense systems," Interior Minister Arsen
Avakov said in a post on his official Facebook page.
Four separatists have
been detained at a checkpoint on suspicion of involvement in bringing
down the aircraft, the Defense Ministry said.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier reported that one Russian separatist was killed and another wounded in Slavyansk.
The self-declared mayor
of Slavyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said his city was under attack in a
video statement published by local media and posted to YouTube.
"We are being stormed,
we have got casualties. I'm asking children, women and the elderly not
to leave their homes and I ask armed men to provide us all the
assistance they can," he said. "I think we will be able to successfully
stand up for our city. Thank you for your attention, thank you for your
assistance, we will win."
The operation, also
targeting the town of Kramatorsk, appears to be the most significant yet
by the Ukrainian military against pro-Russian militia groups that have
taken effective control of swaths of eastern Ukraine.
What's not yet clear is
whether the escalating violence may prompt a response by Russia, which
has previously said it has the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect
Russian speakers.
Russia slams 'punitive' operation
The Russian Foreign
Ministry blamed ultranationalist Ukrainian groups for what it called a
punitive military operation in Slavyansk. It called Kiev's use of its
military criminal, and described calls by the government to launch a
national dialogue as "hypocrisy."
Russian President
Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also told CNN that Ukraine's
military operation was "totally unacceptable."
He said it was "the last
nail in the coffin" of an international deal agreed to last month in
Geneva, Switzerland, which called for illegal militia groups to disarm
and vacate seized buildings.
Putin has been kept
fully informed of unfolding events in eastern Ukraine by Russian
intelligence agencies and regards the situation with "grave concern,"
Peskov said.
He added that Russia has
been "deeply involved" in negotiations to secure the release of
captured OSCE military observers and that the Ukrainian operation had
made this "harder."
Pro-Russian activists
have held the seven Western observers from the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe captive in Slavyansk for the past week.
Going forward, Peskov
said Russia was using its influence to prevent further casualties and
expected Western countries to do the same. "The West is quick to blame
Russia, but it is now high time they condemn Kiev's actions," he said.
Russia's Foreign
Ministry raised concern about the safety of a special presidential
envoy, Vladimir Lukin, sent to southeastern Ukraine to negotiate a
possible release of the OSCE observers.
Its statement also cited
"reports about English-speaking foreigners spotted among attackers,"
saying there should be no "external interference" in Ukraine's affairs.
While Russia has claimed
that the United States is directing events in Ukraine, Kiev and the
West have repeatedly accused Russia of fomenting unrest and supporting
the separatist groups.
Meanwhile, Russian
airline Aeroflot said it was canceling flights Friday to the eastern
cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk because it didn't have permission to enter
Ukrainian airspace.
Human shield allegation
In his Facebook post,
Avakov said nine checkpoints that were under control of pro-Russian
separatists in Slavyansk have been taken back by Ukrainian forces, who
now encircle the town.
The operation is being conducted by the Interior Ministry, the national guard and the army, the Interior Minister said.
What the Ukrainian
authorities want from the separatists has not changed, he said --
release the hostages, turn in weapons, vacate seized administrative
buildings and allow the normal functioning of the city.
Avakov urged residents
not to go outside and to be careful at windows while the operation
continues. The separatists "shoot from the windows of residential
apartments," he said, aware that the Ukrainian forces have been told not
to fire toward homes.
Ukraine's security
service also accused separatist leaders of ordering activists to use
residents as human shields in the city and at checkpoints.
The service said the
downing of a military helicopter indicated that those shooting were
"highly professional foreign military, rather than peaceful residents
with hunting guns, as the Russian leadership says."
A CNN team north of
Slavyansk saw Ukrainian armored personnel carriers on the road, and
heard the sound of two explosions that may have been rocket-propelled
grenades.
A contingent of
Ukrainian forces at a bridge on the outskirts of the city encountered a
hostile crowd of locals who vowed not to let them pass. They were
angered that an armored personnel carrier had injured an elderly man.
The local population's
antipathy toward the authorities in Kiev will probably make the
Ukrainian security forces' task harder as they seek to regain control.
Previous phases of the
"anti-terror operation" by the Ukrainian forces have not resulted in any
significant gains, despite some official claims of success.
Donetsk clashes
On Thursday, pro-Russian
activists and Ukrainian riot police clashed at the prosecutor's office
in the eastern city of Donetsk as simmering tensions spiraled into
violence.
At least one police
officer was injured as the separatists seized control, the Ukrainian
Interior Ministry said. The regional health authority said 26 people
were injured, four of them with gunshot wounds.
Earlier in the day, crowds marched through Donetsk, demanding greater autonomy for the restive eastern region.
Some view the interim
government in Kiev as a "junta" that seized power thanks to backing from
ultranationalist groups, and they are angered by its actions.
Separatist leaders want to hold a referendum on May 11 on Ukraine becoming a federal state.
Eastern Ukraine was a
heartland of support for pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, ousted
in February after months of protests by people upset that he had turned
away from Europe in favor of Moscow.
The crisis has sparked
deep divisions in Ukraine. Many also want to see the country remain
united, but unhappiness about government corruption and ineffectiveness
runs deep.
The interim government has said it'll look at constitutional reforms ahead of national elections due on May 25.
IMF approves $17.1 billion bailout
Acting Ukrainian
President Oleksandr Turchynov acknowledged this week that the central
government has effectively lost control of the country's Donetsk and
Luhansk regions to the pro-Russian separatists.
He signed a decree
introducing military conscription Thursday in a bid to beef up Ukraine's
military, citing "real and potential threats to Ukraine."
Besides the threat from pro-Russian separatists, NATO estimates that Russia has some 40,000 troops massed near Ukraine's border.
In a key sign of
international support for the Kiev authorities, the International
Monetary Fund approved a $17.1 billion bailout for Ukraine on Thursday.
Russia annexed Ukraine's
southeastern Crimea region in March after a controversial referendum.
Its actions have prompted fears that it may seek also to intervene
directly in eastern Ukraine, which has a large Russian-speaking
population.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
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