Pro-Russia Separatists Shoot Down Helicopters; Ukraine Crisis Deepens
Image: VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images
IZYUM, Ukraine — Gunfire erupted on Friday as Ukraine's military forces launched a “large-scale operation” before dawn near the edges of the country’s embattled eastern region. The military attempted to force pro-Russia separatists to free hostages, lay down weapons and relinquish seized government buildings, authorities said.
During the assault on the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, pro-Kremlin separatists shot down two Ukrainian helicopters, killing the pilots on board, the country’s Defense Ministry said. Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the insurgent-appointed "people's mayor" of Sloviansk, was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as also saying two helicopters had been shot down.
Despite that setback, Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said Friday evening that the attack on rebel checkpoints around Sloviansk had left "many insurgents dead, wounded and arrested," but did not give an exact number.
He admitted, however, that there were some hitches during the operation.
“The operation doesn't unroll as fast as we want it to, and is significantly complicated by the fact that the terrorists' bases are located in the crowded cities and the terrorists themselves hide behind the civilians, take hostages and shoot from the windows of apartment buildings,” Turchynov said. "The offensive on the terrorists goes on."
Russian news outlets reported that a third helicopter had been shot down by Kremlin-backed militia fighters. The third helicopter could not be confirmed.
The pro-Kremlin forces said at least one Ukrainian helicopter pilot was killed during the fighting, while another had been detained, according to the Associated Press.
Image: VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a post on Facebook that other military personnel had been wounded after the pro-Russian militants fired anti-aircraft missiles at Ukrainian military helicopters. Avakov said that nine illegal rebel checkpoints had also been destroyed, and that professional mercenaries were operating within the rebel group.
“Against Ukraine’s special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers,” the minister said.“Against Ukraine’s special forces, terrorists used heavy artillery, including grenade launchers and portable anti-aircraft missile launchers,” the minister said.
Reuters reported that its photographer had seen a Ukrainian military helicopter open fire on the edge of Sloviansk, while its reporter heard gunfire during the early-morning assault. Russia slammed Ukraine's action, with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling the offensive “punitive” and saying it effectively destroyed the “final hope” of a peace deal hashed out in Geneva between the U.S., Russia, Europe and Ukraine in March, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.
An AFP reporter on Twitter wrote that at least one military armored personnel carrier had been seized by the rebels, while a journalist for The New York Times said that the rebels were “on alert, readying to fight.”
The action in Sloviansk marked a heightened military response by Kiev, which has been largely unsuccessful in recent attempts to purge the pro-Kremlin rebels from the region.
As recently as Tuesday, Turchynov, the acting president, acknowledged that a significant portion of the nation was beyond the government's grasp.
Sloviansk has been the main flashpoint in the deepening crisis in eastern Ukraine. Armed pro-Russian separatists demanding a referendum on secession and joining Russia have seized several key government buildings in Sloviansk and surrounding cities, and have taken several hostages, including journalists and military observers. Most remain held captive, reportedly in the basement of the city’s security services building.
Meanwhile, the southern port city of Odessa erupted in violence when a pro-Ukrainian group clashed with rival separatist supporters. One man was shot dead and several others were injured when the groups exchanged smoke grenades, paving stones and “explosive devices” during the bloody clashes, Ukrainian police said in a statement.
Live video from the scuffle in the mostly Russian-speaking seaside tourist town showed several people on both sides with bloody wounds to their heads and other parts of their bodies. Cars had their windows shattered and at least one building appeared to burn after a Molotov cocktail was tossed inside.
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