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| Militants Defy Deadline Set by Ukraine to Stop Occupying Sites | Militants Defy Deadline Set by Ukraine to Stop Occupying Sites |
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| SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — A deadline set by the Ukrainian government for pro-Russian militants in the country’s east to vacate occupied buildings passed on Monday without signs of an effort to enforce it. | SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — A deadline set by the Ukrainian government for pro-Russian militants in the country’s east to vacate occupied buildings passed on Monday without signs of an effort to enforce it. |
| Commandos who engaged in gunfights with men who had set up roadblocks stormed a Ukrainian police station in the city of Slovyansk on Sunday, but there were no signs after the deadline passed at 9 a.m. Monday that they had tried to approach again. | Commandos who engaged in gunfights with men who had set up roadblocks stormed a Ukrainian police station in the city of Slovyansk on Sunday, but there were no signs after the deadline passed at 9 a.m. Monday that they had tried to approach again. |
| Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine on Monday, a pro-Russian mob broke into a police station in the city of Horlivka, near the Russian border, The Associated Press reported. | Elsewhere in eastern Ukraine on Monday, a pro-Russian mob broke into a police station in the city of Horlivka, near the Russian border, The Associated Press reported. |
| Dozens of men hurled rocks and smashed the windows of the building as onlookers cheered, the news agency reported. The group raised a Russian flag after gaining control of the station, the report said. | Dozens of men hurled rocks and smashed the windows of the building as onlookers cheered, the news agency reported. The group raised a Russian flag after gaining control of the station, the report said. |
| At least one officer was killed in the fighting on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, and several officers and local residents were injured. The Russian news media and local residents disputed that account, however, saying that the Ukrainian forces had been engaged in a gunfight at the checkpoint only briefly. | At least one officer was killed in the fighting on Sunday, Ukrainian officials said, and several officers and local residents were injured. The Russian news media and local residents disputed that account, however, saying that the Ukrainian forces had been engaged in a gunfight at the checkpoint only briefly. |
| The central government in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, has threatened to use force in a bid to restore its authority in the eastern part of the country, a course of action that the Russian government has repeatedly warned against and that it discouraged again on Sunday. | The central government in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, has threatened to use force in a bid to restore its authority in the eastern part of the country, a course of action that the Russian government has repeatedly warned against and that it discouraged again on Sunday. |
| With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s eastern border near Donetsk, Western leaders have worried that Moscow might use unrest in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking areas as a pretext for invasion — even though the violence was initiated by pro-Russian forces. | With tens of thousands of Russian troops massed along Ukraine’s eastern border near Donetsk, Western leaders have worried that Moscow might use unrest in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking areas as a pretext for invasion — even though the violence was initiated by pro-Russian forces. |
| At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday evening, the Russian ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, warned that the new government in Kiev intended to use military force against protesters in the east of the country. Ukraine has accused gunmen of terrorizing the population in the east. | At an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday evening, the Russian ambassador, Vitaly I. Churkin, warned that the new government in Kiev intended to use military force against protesters in the east of the country. Ukraine has accused gunmen of terrorizing the population in the east. |
| The country’s interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, issued the ultimatum Sunday, saying that separatists should vacate occupied buildings by Monday morning or face a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” that would involve the Ukrainian military. Ukraine backed away from a previous deadline of Friday after it offered, as a concession, to hold a referendum on regional autonomy and on guaranteeing the status of Russian as an official language. | The country’s interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, issued the ultimatum Sunday, saying that separatists should vacate occupied buildings by Monday morning or face a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” that would involve the Ukrainian military. Ukraine backed away from a previous deadline of Friday after it offered, as a concession, to hold a referendum on regional autonomy and on guaranteeing the status of Russian as an official language. |
| Sergei A. Taruta, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Monday that a “special operations regime” had begun in the province, but offered no details of how the military or police were involved, Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported. | Sergei A. Taruta, the governor of the Donetsk region, said on Monday that a “special operations regime” had begun in the province, but offered no details of how the military or police were involved, Interfax, a Russian news agency, reported. |
| The city of Slovyansk was among several centers in the eastern region of Donetsk that were seized Saturday in coordinated raids that the Ukrainian authorities denounced as Russian “aggression.” On one street leading into the town on Monday, women stood in front of a barricade holding religious icons. The Ukrainian police and military forces did not appear to be present. | The city of Slovyansk was among several centers in the eastern region of Donetsk that were seized Saturday in coordinated raids that the Ukrainian authorities denounced as Russian “aggression.” On one street leading into the town on Monday, women stood in front of a barricade holding religious icons. The Ukrainian police and military forces did not appear to be present. |
| Through Monday morning, as the sun burned off a dense mist rising from stubbly winter fields in the region, the Ukrainian news media reported no efforts to storm occupied buildings in the eastern part of the country. No police officers or military personnel were gathered outside the regional administration building in Donetsk, which flies a Russian flag as well as the flag of the recently declared but as yet unrecognized People’s Republic of Donetsk. | Through Monday morning, as the sun burned off a dense mist rising from stubbly winter fields in the region, the Ukrainian news media reported no efforts to storm occupied buildings in the eastern part of the country. No police officers or military personnel were gathered outside the regional administration building in Donetsk, which flies a Russian flag as well as the flag of the recently declared but as yet unrecognized People’s Republic of Donetsk. |
| In another indication of the scale of the loss of control by the central government, pro-Russian protesters set up a checkpoint on a main highway about 25 miles outside of Donetsk. | In another indication of the scale of the loss of control by the central government, pro-Russian protesters set up a checkpoint on a main highway about 25 miles outside of Donetsk. |
| The government’s push on Sunday to reassert its authority in a vital industrial and coal-mining region appeared to have made little headway. Pro-Russian protesters appeared to control not only the police station but also the entire town of Slovyansk, after having set up checkpoints at major streets leading into town. | The government’s push on Sunday to reassert its authority in a vital industrial and coal-mining region appeared to have made little headway. Pro-Russian protesters appeared to control not only the police station but also the entire town of Slovyansk, after having set up checkpoints at major streets leading into town. |
| The protesters blocked a major highway in the east, and Russian and Donetsk flags flew over administrative buildings in several other midsize towns, including Mariupol, where protesters seized a building Sunday. | The protesters blocked a major highway in the east, and Russian and Donetsk flags flew over administrative buildings in several other midsize towns, including Mariupol, where protesters seized a building Sunday. |
| Roman Svitan, a security adviser to the Ukrainian authorities in Donetsk, said the operation on Sunday was carried out by Alfa, a unit of Ukraine’s state security service. He gave an upbeat assessment of its progress, saying Ukrainian forces had evicted gunmen from the Slovyansk Police Headquarters, though protesters there said nothing of the sort had happened. | Roman Svitan, a security adviser to the Ukrainian authorities in Donetsk, said the operation on Sunday was carried out by Alfa, a unit of Ukraine’s state security service. He gave an upbeat assessment of its progress, saying Ukrainian forces had evicted gunmen from the Slovyansk Police Headquarters, though protesters there said nothing of the sort had happened. |
| Mr. Svitan said that most of the expelled gunmen were local pro-Russian extremists, but that they also included Russian operatives. | |
| Residents and men standing by barricades in Slovyansk denied that Ukrainian forces had even entered the town on Sunday. They said one local man who had been out fishing was in a hospital with a wound from a shooting on a highway outside town. Russian television and some local residents said that the Ukrainian nationalist group Right Sector had attacked protesters at a checkpoint, injuring the fisherman. | Residents and men standing by barricades in Slovyansk denied that Ukrainian forces had even entered the town on Sunday. They said one local man who had been out fishing was in a hospital with a wound from a shooting on a highway outside town. Russian television and some local residents said that the Ukrainian nationalist group Right Sector had attacked protesters at a checkpoint, injuring the fisherman. |
| Requests to speak to a leader of the armed men produced a man wearing a ski mask who introduced himself as Aleksandr and described himself as a deputy commander of the city of Slovyansk after its merger with the People’s Republic of Donetsk. | Requests to speak to a leader of the armed men produced a man wearing a ski mask who introduced himself as Aleksandr and described himself as a deputy commander of the city of Slovyansk after its merger with the People’s Republic of Donetsk. |
| He gave a different account of the circumstances in which the fisherman was wounded, saying that he had been struck by Ukrainian armored personnel carriers that opened fire on a barrier made from a pile of tires on the edge of town and then drove away. “Our guys took cover, and the shooting stopped,” he said. | He gave a different account of the circumstances in which the fisherman was wounded, saying that he had been struck by Ukrainian armored personnel carriers that opened fire on a barrier made from a pile of tires on the edge of town and then drove away. “Our guys took cover, and the shooting stopped,” he said. |
| Ukrainian helicopters buzzed over the town around noon, but no soldiers were seen. At one barrier, pro-Russian protesters felled trees across a road into town, guarded by men in ski masks carrying military rifles. | Ukrainian helicopters buzzed over the town around noon, but no soldiers were seen. At one barrier, pro-Russian protesters felled trees across a road into town, guarded by men in ski masks carrying military rifles. |
| The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a blistering denunciation of the Ukrainian government on its Facebook page, accusing Kiev of threatening violence “against anyone who does not agree with the nationalist-radicals, chauvinistic and anti-Semitic actions” in Kiev that, it said, were being carried out “with direct support from the United States and Europe.” | The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a blistering denunciation of the Ukrainian government on its Facebook page, accusing Kiev of threatening violence “against anyone who does not agree with the nationalist-radicals, chauvinistic and anti-Semitic actions” in Kiev that, it said, were being carried out “with direct support from the United States and Europe.” |
| Russian news media reported Sunday that the C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, had arrived in Kiev on a secret visit to advise Ukrainian officials in charge of domestic security and defense. The American Embassy in the Ukrainian capital declined to comment on the reports. | |
| The unrest in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine’s most populous region, began April 6 in the regional capital when pro-Russian activists seized government headquarters and declared the People’s Republic of Donetsk. | The unrest in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine’s most populous region, began April 6 in the regional capital when pro-Russian activists seized government headquarters and declared the People’s Republic of Donetsk. |
| According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, 400 Makarov handguns and 20 automatic weapons were looted on Saturday from the police station in Slovyansk. “The goal of the takeover was the guns,” the ministry said. | According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, 400 Makarov handguns and 20 automatic weapons were looted on Saturday from the police station in Slovyansk. “The goal of the takeover was the guns,” the ministry said. |
| By early evening Sunday, the city was gripped by fear after two unexplained shootings of cars, and as men with guns set up improvised checkpoints. The men asserted they were locals, and nothing suggested otherwise: Some wore mismatched camouflage, but most were out in jeans and ski jackets. Some appeared to be drunk. | By early evening Sunday, the city was gripped by fear after two unexplained shootings of cars, and as men with guns set up improvised checkpoints. The men asserted they were locals, and nothing suggested otherwise: Some wore mismatched camouflage, but most were out in jeans and ski jackets. Some appeared to be drunk. |
| One of the cars that were shot at, a silver Renault, had veered into a curb after it was struck, with three bullet holes on the driver’s side. Older women who had gathered nearby looked on in shock. They said the occupants had tumbled out and tried to run, but were then shot on the sidewalk. One person died and two were injured, these witnesses said. | One of the cars that were shot at, a silver Renault, had veered into a curb after it was struck, with three bullet holes on the driver’s side. Older women who had gathered nearby looked on in shock. They said the occupants had tumbled out and tried to run, but were then shot on the sidewalk. One person died and two were injured, these witnesses said. |
| In the other shooting, a bullet hit a taxicab, but nobody was hurt. The Ukrainian police said at least two people had been wounded in shootings in the city. | In the other shooting, a bullet hit a taxicab, but nobody was hurt. The Ukrainian police said at least two people had been wounded in shootings in the city. |