Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2014 9:14:41 GMT
Ukrainian security forces have launched an "anti-terrorist operation" in the eastern city of Slavyansk, the latest target of pro-Russian activists.Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said special forces have been deployed to retake government buildings occupied by armed separatists.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Avakov claimed the activists had opened fire on the approaching troops, however a Reuters journalist at the scene has said there is no evidence of that.Military helicopters are currently surveying the area.
Pro-Russian activists, carrying automatic weapons, seized the local police headquarters and a security building in Slavyansk, a town some 90 miles from the Russian border, on Saturday. They then set up barricades around the outskirts of the city.
A group of up to 100 civilians gathered outside the police headquarters to express their support for the separatists.Gunmen also took control of a police station in the nearby city of Kramatorsk following a shoot-out.Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are the latest cities to be hit by unrest.
Administrative buildings in a total of four eastern cities are now under the control of separatists who stormed police headquarters in Donetsk and Luhansk last weekend.Protesters in the region, which has a large ethnic Russian population, hope to follow in the footsteps of the Crimean Peninsula and force a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
The area was a strong bastion of support for ousted President and Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych and many fear they will be suppressed under the new Western-friendly interim government.
Ukraine has accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest in order to justify expanding its military control beyond Crimea.Up to 100 civilians came out in support of the protesters in Slavyansk.
Ukraine's interior minister said he considered the attacks an "act of aggression by Russia".
However Russian President Vladimir Putin strenuously denies stoking tensions.
Moscow has also warned that any Ukrainian military aggression against ethnic Russians will derail top-level talks on the crisis scheduled to take place next week.
Western leaders have expressed concern that the latest unrest strongly echoes the events which led to Russia's annexation of Crimea last month following an overwhelmingly-backed referendum.
Separatists are now holding government buildings in four eastern citiesThe United States has pledged its "strong support" for Ukraine's new government and urged Russia to deescalate tensions.
It has also called on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine's eastern border, where Nato claims up 40,000 soldiers are now stationed.
The EU and US have imposed a number of sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian individuals, but are yet to target Russia's economy.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Avakov claimed the activists had opened fire on the approaching troops, however a Reuters journalist at the scene has said there is no evidence of that.Military helicopters are currently surveying the area.
Pro-Russian activists, carrying automatic weapons, seized the local police headquarters and a security building in Slavyansk, a town some 90 miles from the Russian border, on Saturday. They then set up barricades around the outskirts of the city.
A group of up to 100 civilians gathered outside the police headquarters to express their support for the separatists.Gunmen also took control of a police station in the nearby city of Kramatorsk following a shoot-out.Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are the latest cities to be hit by unrest.
Administrative buildings in a total of four eastern cities are now under the control of separatists who stormed police headquarters in Donetsk and Luhansk last weekend.Protesters in the region, which has a large ethnic Russian population, hope to follow in the footsteps of the Crimean Peninsula and force a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
The area was a strong bastion of support for ousted President and Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych and many fear they will be suppressed under the new Western-friendly interim government.
Ukraine has accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest in order to justify expanding its military control beyond Crimea.Up to 100 civilians came out in support of the protesters in Slavyansk.
Ukraine's interior minister said he considered the attacks an "act of aggression by Russia".
However Russian President Vladimir Putin strenuously denies stoking tensions.
Moscow has also warned that any Ukrainian military aggression against ethnic Russians will derail top-level talks on the crisis scheduled to take place next week.
Western leaders have expressed concern that the latest unrest strongly echoes the events which led to Russia's annexation of Crimea last month following an overwhelmingly-backed referendum.
Separatists are now holding government buildings in four eastern citiesThe United States has pledged its "strong support" for Ukraine's new government and urged Russia to deescalate tensions.
It has also called on Moscow to withdraw its troops from Ukraine's eastern border, where Nato claims up 40,000 soldiers are now stationed.
The EU and US have imposed a number of sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian individuals, but are yet to target Russia's economy.