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Clashes in Eastern Ukraine as Moscow Issues New Warnings Ukrainian Troops Strike Rebel-Held City as Fighting Spreads to Black Sea Port
(about 4 hours later)
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Two days after Ukraine’s interim government declared itself all but helpless to control events in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian military and police forces on Friday resumed their effort to retake this rebel-controlled city, forcing armed separatists from the city’s outskirts with armored vehicles, helicopters and ground troops. SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Two days after Ukraine’s interim government declared itself all but helpless to control events in the eastern part of the country, Ukrainian military and police forces on Friday resumed their effort to retake this rebel-controlled city, forcing armed separatists from the city’s outskirts with armored vehicles, helicopters and ground troops — and seemingly pushing ever closer to a confrontation with Moscow.
When clashes drew to a close by early afternoon, the Ukrainian troops had advanced, capturing separatist checkpoints and posting infantry and armored vehicles on a bridge overlooking rail lines beside the city’s southern border. The assault began before dawn, and by early morning church bells sounded a general alarm. With helicopters flying along the city’s edge, troops and armored personnel carriers approached the city from multiple sides. The fighting was brief and then sporadic, however, and clashes subsided by early afternoon, before resuming at night. When movements stopped the Ukrainian troops had advanced, capturing and holding separatist checkpoints and posting infantry and armored vehicles on a bridge overlooking rail lines by the city’s southern border.
In the previously tranquil port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, 38 people died in a fire related to clashes that broke out between protesters holding a march for Ukrainian unity and pro-Russian activists. The fighting itself left four dead and 12 wounded, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. Ukrainian and Russian news media showed images of buildings and debris burning, fire bombs being put together and men armed with pistols. Violence also erupted Friday in the previously calmer port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, where dozens of people died in a fire related to clashes that broke out between protesters holding a march for Ukrainian unity and pro-Russian activists. The fighting itself left four dead and 12 wounded, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said. Ukrainian and Russian news media showed images of buildings and debris burning, fire bombs being assembled and men armed with pistols.
The deaths expanded the increasingly violent struggle for control over Ukraine’s Black Sea port, which had been relatively quiet until last week, when seven people were wounded in a roadside bombing. The deaths expand the increasingly violent struggle for control over Ukraine’s Black Sea port, which had been quiet until last week, when seven people were wounded in a roadside bombing.
In Slovyansk, Ukrainian units did not seem eager to engage the militants more fully, and appeared to limit their activities to tightening a cordon around the militant stronghold. The city’s center remained under the control of antigovernment militias, who manned barricades as streets fell nearly silent ahead of what residents feared could become a general assault. The government’s actions in Slovyansk drew an immediate and indignant protest from the Kremlin, which said Ukraine had effectively destroyed a plan negotiated last month with the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union intended to de-escalate tensions.
Blaming the authorities in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies that “the Kiev regime ordered combat aircraft to fire at civilian towns and villages, launching a punitive operation.”
Moscow repeated its warning that it reserved the right to intervene to protect its interests and Russian-leaning residents of eastern Ukraine. But there were no signs of an imminent move across the border.
The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly I. Churkin, speaking in New York, described Ukrainian military operations as “punitive” and said there were English-speaking foreigners among what he called “ultranationalist groups” in Slovyansk. He accused his Western rivals of double standards, noting that while they had called on Ukraine’s former president, Viktor F. Yanukovych, to exercise restraint, they condoned the use of force by the current leaders in Kiev.
The United States ambassador, Samantha Power, accused Russia of spreading lies, and described Ukraine’s reaction to Russian provocation as “reasonable.”
“The Ukrainian people and government have embarked on an effort today to reclaim one city in the eastern part of their country,” she said. “Their response is reasonable, it is proportional, and frankly it is what any one of our countries would have done in the face of this threat.”
The Ukrainian army units in Slovyansk did not seem eager to engage the militants fully, and appeared to limit their activities for the day to tightening a cordon around the militant stronghold. The city’s center remained under the control of antigovernment militias, who manned barricades as streets fell nearly silent ahead of what residents feared could become a general assault.
“They are coming at us from all sides,” said one fighter in camouflage and sneakers, who gave his name as Sergei, and who held a Kalashnikov assault rifle and said he was a veteran of the Soviet Army.“They are coming at us from all sides,” said one fighter in camouflage and sneakers, who gave his name as Sergei, and who held a Kalashnikov assault rifle and said he was a veteran of the Soviet Army.
Both the government and the separatist forces said that two helicopters were downed in the fighting, with at least one crew member killed. But the reports could not be verified, and hours later the wreckage had not been found by independent observers. Both the government and the separatist forces said two helicopters were brought down in the fighting, with at least one crew member killed. These reports could not be verified, and hours later the wreckage had not been found by independent observers.
The government’s action drew an immediate and indignant protest from the Kremlin, which said Ukraine had effectively destroyed a plan negotiated last month with the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union intended to de-escalate tensions. Late at night, the Ukrainian government said two members of an airborne brigade had been killed, apparently in the brief but intense evening clash at the bridge, which by day had been held by airborne troops.
Blaming the authorities in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies that “the Kiev regime ordered combat aircraft to fire at civilian towns and villages, launching a ‘punitive operation.' ” Earlier, as the first round of fighting died down, Ukrainian troops were posted at their newly captured positions in the villages of Bylbasovka and Andreyevka on the city’s perimeter, where residents flocked to argue with them and urge them not to fight.
By early afternoon, the military movements in Slovyansk appeared to have ceased, and Ukrainian troops were posted at their newly captured positions in the villages of Bylbasovka and Andreyevka, where local residents flocked to their lines to argue with them and urge them not to fight. In Bylbasovka, a Ukrainian serviceman who identified himself as a staff officer for one of the battalions participating in the operation stood with troops facing about 75 angry residents who demanded that they leave.
In Bylbasovka, a Ukrainian officer who identified himself as a staff officer for one of the battalions participating in the operation stood with troops facing about 75 angry residents who demanded they leave.
“We came to prevent further destabilization of the situation,” said the officer, who gave a first name, Vitaly. “We have nothing against peaceful citizens.”“We came to prevent further destabilization of the situation,” said the officer, who gave a first name, Vitaly. “We have nothing against peaceful citizens.”
The residents argued with the troops standing at the front rank, at one point chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!” The residents argued with the troops standing at the front rank, at one point chanting, “Shame! Shame! Shame!” Three more busloads of troops stood behind sandbags and watched warily.
Three more busloads of troops stood behind sandbags and watched warily. The scene was similar at the bridge in Andreyevka, though on a larger scale. Roughly 10 Ukrainian armored personnel carriers and a few trucks had captured the bridge, where they were met by 200 or more unarmed residents who came out to defy them or urge them to defect.
The scene was similar at the bridge in Andreyevka, though on a much larger scale. There roughly 10 Ukrainian armored personnel carriers and a few trucks had captured the bridge, where they were met by 200 or more unarmed residents who came out to defy them or urge them to defect. The front rank of troops faced verbal abuse, but held its position, looking weary and under stress. The front rank of troops faced verbal abuse but held its position, looking weary and under stress.
One woman scolded the soldiers unrelentingly. One woman scolded the soldiers unrelentingly. “You came with weapons and tanks!” she shouted, her face only a few feet from theirs. “What, you can’t talk to us like normal people?”
“You came with weapons and tanks!” she shouted, her face only a few feet from theirs. “What, you can’t talk to us like normal people?” Nearby, a man demanded to know who had ordered the operation. “Who called you here?” he asked.
Nearby, a man demanded to know who had ordered the operation.
“Who called you here?” he asked.
“There are illegal weapons being used here,” the soldier replied.“There are illegal weapons being used here,” the soldier replied.
Both sides asserted a right to their presence beside the bridge. As the day progressed, residents created new checkpoints, many that appeared under the control not of militias but of angry citizens with wooden rods.
“I live here!” the man said. There were signs as well that the dark undercurrents of suspicion that can accompany civil war had gripped some of the populace and the militias.
“And I serve here!” the soldier answered. At one checkpoint, a man who had arrived on foot to watch the fighters was angrily ordered at gunpoint against a fence facing the street and was handcuffed to a wall. One militia member punched him twice in the stomach, and another slapped his head and clapped his hands over his ears.
Moscow repeated its warning that it reserved the right to intervene to protect its interests and Russian-leaning residents of eastern Ukraine. But there were no signs of an imminent move across the border. The fighters said they had seen and searched the man the day before, when he was found with no money and no phone.
Much of eastern Ukraine slipped beyond the control of the authorities in Kiev as militants began taking control of a string of official buildings more than three weeks ago. Now, on a day of fighting and with the Ukrainian Army at the city’s edge, he had reappeared and been found with a new cellphone and about $350 worth of Ukrainian currency — evidence, they said, that he was an informant. One fighter went through recent activity on the man’s phone, at one point striking him to speed up an answer. “He is a spy,” said another fighter, Dima.
They have also captured a German-led team of military observers affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops just across the border on what it has called training maneuvers. The fighters left the man handcuffed to the wall for nearly four hours, the last 45 minutes in drenching rain, before abruptly returning his phone and his money and releasing him.
The clashes on Friday seemed to sharpen the East-West confrontation. Much of eastern Ukraine slipped beyond the control of the authorities in Kiev as pro-Russian militants began taking control of a string of official buildings more than three weeks ago. The separatists have also captured a German-led team of military observers affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Both sides gave competing accounts about the fighting on Friday, agreeing only on the unverified claim that at least two Ukrainian helicopters had been hit by ground fire. The Defense Ministry in Kiev said two Mi-24 attack helicopters had been shot down, killing at least two airmen.
While the European Commission in Brussels said it was watching the situation in Ukraine with growing concern, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was “outraged” by the attack and demanded the government in Kiev, along with its Western backers, immediately halt its military operation. The Ukrainian domestic intelligence agency, S.B.U., said that one helicopter had been brought down with a heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missile, and suggested that the presence of such a weapon in the conflict showed the separatists had outside support.
As with every such statement, the Foreign Ministry said the attack was being carried out by “Right Sector and other ultranationalistic organizations.” Right Sector and other far-right organizations are aggressively anti-Russian, and Moscow habitually blames them for fomenting any sort of violence in Ukraine, some of it performed in front of cameras by unidentified men for the benefit of the state-controlled Russian news media. By night in Ukraine, neither side had shown clear evidence of heat-seeking missiles or downed aircraft, although one pro-Russian television station showed footage of what it said was a captured pilot.
The Foreign Ministry statement repeated previous warnings from Moscow that any attack on civilians would have consequences, triggering “a catastrophe” in Ukraine. Vyachislav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, said four or five members of the city’s antigovernment militias had been killed, and at least three others wounded. His figures could not be corroborated.
Russia has been pushing for constitutional changes in Ukraine to create a federal system that devolves real authority to the regions — effectively keeping them in Moscow’s orbit.
Russia has repeatedly said it might intervene militarily in Ukraine if needed to protect the ethnic Russian minority, although many analysts believe it would prefer to try to influence events from across the border.
The Russian Foreign Ministry and state-run media also repeated an accusation, presented without evidence, that there were “English-speaking officers” among the attackers. The ministry said that American mercenaries could not be working in Ukraine without State Department approval.
Both sides of the fighting said at least two Ukrainian helicopters had been struck by ground fire.
The Defense Ministry in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, acknowledged the loss of one military helicopter and damage to another. The Ukrainian authorities said that two Mi-24 attack helicopters were shot down, killing at least two airmen.
The Ukrainian domestic-intelligence agency, S.B.U., said that one of these helicopters had been downed with a heat-seeking, shoulder-fired missile, and suggested that the presence of such a weapon in the conflict showed that the separatists had outside support.
By the evening in Ukraine neither side had shown clear evidence of heat-seeking missiles or downed aircraft, although one pro-Russian television station showed footage of what it said was a captured pilot.
Vyachislav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, said that four or five members of the city’s antigovernment militias had been killed, and at least three others wounded. The number of Ukrainian military and police casualties was unclear.