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Clashes in Eastern Ukraine as Moscow Issues New Warnings Clashes in Eastern Ukraine as Moscow Issues New Warnings
(about 1 hour later)
MOSCOW — Just two days after declaring its forces “helpless” to control events in eastern Ukraine, the interim government in Kiev began what it called the “active phase” of an assault aimed at to dislodging militants in the separatist stronghold of Slovyansk in an early morning action on Friday. 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.
By afternoon, military operations in and around Slovyansk appeared to have ceased, leaving the region in a state of tension and Ukrainian and separatist forces facing off near a strategic bridge that was under government control. The Ukrainians did not seem eager to engage the militants, though, limiting their activities to tightening a cordon around the city. When clashes drew to a close by early afternoon, it was clear 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.
Both the government and the separatist forces said that two helicopters were downed in the fighting, with two of the occupants killed. But the reports could not be verified, and hours later the wreckage still had not been found by independent observers. The 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.
While it is not clear what happened to the helicopters, in the constant propaganda war here both sides have an interest in making such a claim — the government to prove the pro-Russian militants have advanced weaponry supplied by Russia and the separatists to exaggerate the firepower being used against them. “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.
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. 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.
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.” 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.
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. 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.' ”
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, Ukraine’s capital, as militants took control of a string of official buildings and captured a German-led team of military observers acting under the auspices of 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. By early afternoon, the military movements 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 Slovyansk on Friday, Ukrainian 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 personnel carriers, drawing protests from an equivalent number of civilians living nearby. 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.
Inside the city, antigovernment 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. “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 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that 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. The residents argued with the troops standing at the front rank, at one point chanting “Shame! Shame! Shame!”
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 Ukrainian fringe organizations are aggressively anti-Russian, and Moscow habitually blames them for fomenting all violence in Ukraine. Three more busloads of troops stood behind sandbags and watched warily.
The foreign ministry statement repeated previous warnings from Moscow 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 that it had no intention of organizing a national dialogue on changes to the Ukrainian political system. 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.
Russia wants Ukraine 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 may intervene militarily in Ukraine if needed to protect the ethnic Russian minority, although most analysts believe that it would prefer to try to influence events from across the border. One woman scolded the soldiers unrelentingly.
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.” “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?”
The official refrain was also taken up by Russia’s state-run television, with reports from Slovyansk emphasizing that the government in Kiev had unleashed military forces on its own people. The tone of the reports suggested that the confrontation was continuously escalating, although reports of fighting after the initial burst have been murky at best. Nearby, a man demanded to know who had ordered the operation.
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 American “mercenaries” could not be working in Ukraine without State Department approval. “Who called you here?” he asked.
Mr. Peskov, Mr. Putin’s spokesman, was speaking shortly after the Defense Ministry in Kiev 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. “There are illegal weapons being used here,” the soldier replied.
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. Both sides asserted a right to their presence beside the bridge.
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 was no immediate confirmation of his account. “I live here!” the man said.
The Ukrainian authorities said a military Mi-24 helicopter was shot down, killing one airman, and a second Mi-24 flying in tandem was forced to land. A third helicopter carrying medics was also hit, Reuters reported. “And I serve here!” the soldier answered.
In a Facebook posting, Arsen Avakov, the interim interior minister of Ukraine, said the “active phase” of the assault on Slovyansk began at 4.30 a.m. on Friday, with special forces and other units ringing the city and overrunning nine checkpoints. The posting said there were casualties among air force personnel and a “real fight with professional mercenaries” was underway. 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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
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 red-brick domestic intelligence agency building in Slovyansk. The video showed a disoriented man wearing camouflage and with a leg injury. The clashes on Friday seemed to sharpen the East-West confrontation.
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. 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.
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.
The Foreign Ministry statement repeated previous warnings from Moscow that any attack on civilians would have consequences, triggering “a catastrophe” in Ukraine.
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.