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Deal Doomed, Russia Says, as Ukraine Begins Assault in East Clashes in Eastern Ukraine as Moscow Issues New Warnings
(35 minutes later)
MOSCOW — The Kremlin said Friday that “all hope” for an internationally negotiated settlement in Ukraine had been destroyed, hours after two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down as government forces launched an assault to dislodge pro-Russian separatists from the eastern city of Slovyansk. MOSCOW — Separatist forces in the eastern Ukrainian stronghold of Slovyansk brought down two government helicopters on Friday, killing two of their occupants, the Ukraiainan Defense Ministry said, as government forces launched what was termed the “active phase” of an assault to dislodge militants.
A spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Dmitri S. Peskov, told news agencies that the “punitive operation” against the separatists’ eastern stronghold effectively had destroyed “all hope for the viability of the Geneva agreements” negotiated in the Swiss city on April 17 by the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union, which were intended to defuse the crisis. The military action drew a broadside of protest and indignation from the Kremlin, which said the assault had effectively destroyed “all hope” for a plan to defuse the growing tensions in Ukraine negotiated last month in Geneva by the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union.
The agreements, which never taken deep root, had become increasingly frayed in recent days. Much of eastern Ukraine slipped beyond the control of the authorities in Kiev as militants took control of a string of official buildings and captured a German-led team of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Blaming the Kiev authorities, a spokesman for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, Dmitri S. Peskov, told Russian news agencies: “The Kiev regime ordered combat aircraft to fire at civilian towns and villages, launching a ‘punitive operation’ and effectively destroying all hope for the viability of the Geneva agreements.”
After a conversation on Thursday with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Mr. Putin dispatched an envoy, Vladimir Lukin, to Slovyansk to seek the release of the observers. Initially, Mr. Peskov said there were concerns about his safety, but the Russian news agency Interfax reported later that he was unharmed. By early afternoon, military operations in and around Slovyansk appeared to have ceased, leaving the region in a state of tension. 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 clashes on Friday seemed to sharpen the East-West confrontation. While the European Commission in Brussels said it was watching the situation in Ukraine with growing concern, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged Western powers to abandon what it said was a “destructive” policy of support for the interim government in Kiev. “This will allow a real process of de-escalation to begin,” the ministry said in a statement, according to Reuters. The Geneva agreements, which never took deep root, had become increasingly frayed in recent days. Much of eastern Ukraine slipped beyond the control of the authorities in Kiev as militants took control of a string of official buildings and captured a German-led team of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Russia has also massed tens of thousands of troops just across the border on what it has called training maneuvers.
Russia’s response to the clashes were in keeping with earlier efforts by the Kremlin to steer events in Ukraine while casting the authorities in Kiev, along with their supporters, as obstacles. In Slovyansk on Friday, Ukrainain army units appeared to have tightened a knot around the city without launching a general attack. One unit had seized a bridge near the city and was holding it with about 150 soldiers backed by armored presonnel carriers, drawing protests from an equivalent number of civilians living nearby.
Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, was speaking shortly after the Defense Ministry in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, had acknowledged the loss of two military helicopters. The Ukrainian domestic-intelligence agency, S.B.U., said the apparent use of shoulder-fired missiles against one of the helicopters showed that the separatists had outside support. Inside the city, anti-government militias were holding their barricades in what appeared to be an unpredictable and possibly temporary standoff between pro-Russian militants, edgy and jumpy, and government forces on the perimeter.
The clashes on Friday seemed to sharpen the East-West confrontation. 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 that the government in Kiev, along with its Western backers, immediately halt the military operation in the east.
As with every such statement, the foreign ministry said the attack was being carried out by “Right Sector and other ultra-nationalistic organizations.” Right Sector and other far-right fringe organizations are aggressively anti-Russian and Moscow habitually blames them for fomenting all violence in Ukraine.
The foreign ministry statement repeated previous warnings from Moscow about the fact that any attack on civilians would have consequences, triggering “a catastrophe” in Ukraine. It said that given the use of force, the government in Kiev had shown it had no intention of organizing a national dialogue on reform.
Russia wants that reform to focus on creating 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 most analysts believe it would prefer to try to influence events from across the border.
The foreign ministry statement also blamed the United States and the European Union, saying that by supporting Kiev, they were “cutting off roads to a peaceful settlement of the crisis.”
The official refrain was also taken up by Russia’s state-run televsion, with reports from Slovyansk emphasizing that the government in Kiev had unleashed military forces on its own people. The tone of the reports suggest that the confrontation is continuously escalating, although reports reports of fighting after the initial burst have been murky at best.
The Russian foreign ministry and state-run media also repeated the accusation, again with no evidence, that there were “English-speaking officers” among the attackers. The foreign ministry said that American “mercenaries” could not be working in Ukraine without State Department approval.
Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, was speaking shortly after the Defense Ministry in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, acknowledged the loss of two military helicopters. The Ukrainian domestic-intelligence agency, S.B.U., said the apparent use of shoulder-fired missiles against one of the helicopters showed that the separatists had outside support.
The Defense Ministry said two members of the Ukrainian armed forces were killed. News reports from Slovyansk also quoted separatist officials as saying one militant was killed in the attacks, which came a day after Mr. Putin called for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from their own territory in the southeast as a prelude to a broad national dialogue on political reform.The Defense Ministry said two members of the Ukrainian armed forces were killed. News reports from Slovyansk also quoted separatist officials as saying one militant was killed in the attacks, which came a day after Mr. Putin called for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from their own territory in the southeast as a prelude to a broad national dialogue on political reform.
Vyachislav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, was quoted as telling Interfax on Friday that his forces had shot down two helicopters. One of the pilots was killed and another was captured, he said. Mr. Ponomaryov said the helicopters had fired missiles into the city, but there were no immediate reports to confirm his account.Vyachislav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, was quoted as telling Interfax on Friday that his forces had shot down two helicopters. One of the pilots was killed and another was captured, he said. Mr. Ponomaryov said the helicopters had fired missiles into the city, but there were no immediate reports to confirm his account.
According to various Russian media outlets, Ukrainian forces were “storming” the separatist stronghold, including assaults on checkpoints ringing Slovyansk patrolled by pro-Russian militias.
The fighting described in the reports would be a potentially perilous escalation in a tinderbox region, where Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops just across the border on what it has called training maneuvers. But there has been little direct corroboration of the scale and targets of the offensive.
While Moscow says its forces are not active in eastern Ukraine, Reuters quoted the S.B.U. as saying that the use of missiles to shoot down the helicopters was proof that opposition forces were “not local civilians, as the Russian government says, armed only with guns taken from hunting stores.”While Moscow says its forces are not active in eastern Ukraine, Reuters quoted the S.B.U. as saying that the use of missiles to shoot down the helicopters was proof that opposition forces were “not local civilians, as the Russian government says, armed only with guns taken from hunting stores.”
The S.B.U. said that a military Mi-24 helicopter was shot down, killing one airman, and that a second Mi-24 flying in tandem was forced to land. A third helicopter carrying medics was also hit, Reuters reported.The S.B.U. said that a military Mi-24 helicopter was shot down, killing one airman, and that a second Mi-24 flying in tandem was forced to land. A third helicopter carrying medics was also hit, Reuters reported.
In a Facebook posting, Arsen Avakov, the interim interior minister of Ukraine, said the “active phase” of the assault on Slovyansk had begun at 4.30 a.m. on Friday, with special forces and other units ringing the city and overrunning nine checkpoints. The posting said that there were casualties among air force personnel and that there was a “real fight with professional mercenaries” underway.In a Facebook posting, Arsen Avakov, the interim interior minister of Ukraine, said the “active phase” of the assault on Slovyansk had begun at 4.30 a.m. on Friday, with special forces and other units ringing the city and overrunning nine checkpoints. The posting said that there were casualties among air force personnel and that there was a “real fight with professional mercenaries” underway.
Despite the assertions on both sides, and accounts on Russian television showing what were said to be separatist forces taking up position, there was no footage of actual combat by midday.Despite the assertions on both sides, and accounts on Russian television showing what were said to be separatist forces taking up position, there was no footage of actual combat by midday.
Mr. Avakov accused “terrorists” of using civilians as human shields and said government forces were avoiding residential targets. The Facebook posting urged citizens to stay home and avoid standing next to windows.Mr. Avakov accused “terrorists” of using civilians as human shields and said government forces were avoiding residential targets. The Facebook posting urged citizens to stay home and avoid standing next to windows.
Lifenews, a Russian online television station believed to have close ties to the security services, broadcast footage of what it said was a captured Ukrainian helicopter pilot outside the redbrick domestic intelligence agency building in Slovyansk. The video showed a disoriented man wearing camouflage and with a leg injury.Lifenews, a Russian online television station believed to have close ties to the security services, broadcast footage of what it said was a captured Ukrainian helicopter pilot outside the redbrick domestic intelligence agency building in Slovyansk. The video showed a disoriented man wearing camouflage and with a leg injury.
“Give me your arm, that’s it, good job,” a separatist says, helping the uniformed man out of a car. Later, the video shows a medic treating the man on a lawn and saying that he has a broken hip.
The channel also broadcast what it said was footage of the launch of a guided antitank missile that shot down a helicopter. Filmed from a distance and grainy, the video showed a flash and a streak of smoke heading skyward, but no missile hitting a helicopter.The channel also broadcast what it said was footage of the launch of a guided antitank missile that shot down a helicopter. Filmed from a distance and grainy, the video showed a flash and a streak of smoke heading skyward, but no missile hitting a helicopter.
For weeks, the authorities in Kiev have displayed increasing frustration at their inability to assert their authority in the east.
On Thursday, the acting Ukrainian president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, issued a decree reinstating military conscription, saying men between the ages of 18 and 24 would be drafted. The decree said the move was intended to halt the deterioration of public order, prevent the seizure of more state buildings and maintain the armed forces — estimated to total no more than 70,000 men — in “the highest state of readiness for combat.”