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Fighting breaks out in Ukrainian coastal city as country marks patriotic holiday Ukrainians mark patriotic holiday ahead of separatist referendum
(about 4 hours later)
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Intense fighting erupted in the southeastern coastal city of Mariupol on Friday, breaking the relative calm in other regions of the country as Ukrainians celebrated an important patriotic holiday. MARIUPOL, Ukraine — A deadly firefight Friday between Ukrainian security forces and pro-Russian militants in this eastern city broke the calm of a patriotic holiday and appeared likely to deepen tensions ahead of Sunday’s planned referendum on independence for the region.
Heavily armed Ukrainian security forces used armored personnel carriers in an attempt to take back the city police department from pro-Russian militants at midday, according to local media and residents. Live images streamed online showed barricades of tires and an overturned truck in the streets and clouds of smoke in the air. The day began hopefully enough as most of the country marked Victory Day with few signs of the violent clashes that many Ukrainians had feared after weeks of escalating conflict. But soon, Ukraine was dragged back into a fraternal divide that has verged on civil war and has put the region on edge.
Ukrainian Interior Arsen Avakov said Friday afternoon that one member of the Ukrainian forces was killed and five were wounded in the fighting. Casualties on the other side were said to include 20 dead and four captured, with no word on injuries among the militants. Security forces rolled armored personnel carriers into this crucial port city to take back the police department from pro-Russian militants who had stormed the building in what officials said appeared to be an attempt to seize weapons. At least seven people were killed, they said.
Avakov, in a posting on his Facebook page, said security forces had moved to retake the building from about 60 militants. Unlike in other parts of eastern Ukraine, the security forces in Mariupol seemed determined not to cede control of the city without a fight. The heavily armed forces arrived about 10 a.m. and fought a fierce two-hour battle to retake the building.
The fighting in the industrial port city on the Sea of Azov left the police station in smoldering ruins, with fire trucks putting out the remaining flames. The roof was caved in and there were at least two large holes in the walls, along with many bullet holes. Two bodies lay in the street, and several wrecked cars sat abandoned, as an angry crowd milled around. By afternoon, the police station was a smoldering ruin. A plume of smoke rose into the sky where the roof had collapsed. The walls were charred and pockmarked with bullet holes, and there were at least three large cavities apparently caused by heavy weapons.
One local resident said the firing began at 10 a.m. and lasted until noon. She described a mixture of automatic weapons fire and several loud explosions. Two bodies lay in the street as an angry crowd milled about. The regional government said its health department had reported that seven people were killed and 39 wounded. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the dead included one Ukrainian policeman and that four separatist fighters had been captured.
“My house was shaking,” said the 72-year-old retired policewoman, who gave her name only as Nadya. She said she saw several military fighting vehicles and tanks. Mariupol, a city of half a million people, is the main port of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and a key prize in the struggle between pro-Russian forces and the Kiev government.
At the nearby city council building, fires still burned Friday where barricades of tires stood the previous day. The separatists’ influence appears much weaker in this city than elsewhere in the region, and it is far from clear that they will be able to stage their promised referendum
Nearby, a large pro-Russian crowd cheered as activists clambered on board an abandoned infantry fighting vehicle, which they towed with a large truck to the city council building. About 20 men were perched on the vehicle chanting slogans in support of an independence referendum Sunday and waving the black, blue and red flag of the self-declared “Donetsk People’s Republic.” here.
Elsewhere in Mariupol on Friday, the streets were largely deserted and shops were shut. The fighting broke out at about the same time that Russian President Vladimir Putin landed a few hundred miles to the south in newly annexed Crimea to join the festivities there marking the Soviet victory in World War II. Joyous crowds greeted him as a hero.
Before the fighting, the morning’s Victory Day festivities seemed to offer a respite from escalating violence between pro-Russian separatists and supporters of a united Ukraine. Ukrainians and others, meanwhile, tried to guess Putin’s next move. This week, with the United States and its allies seeking both a diplomatic solution to the crisis and warning of more sanctions against Russia, Putin appeared to calm tensions by calling on pro-Russian activists to postpone Sunday’s referendum. The separatists, however, said the vote would go forward as planned.
Even in tense areas, the celebrations went off mostly with only minor incidents, as Ukrainians attended solemn graveside tributes to those who gave their lives fighting Nazi Germany for the Soviet Union. However, Ukrainians dispensed with the customary grand parades because of security concerns. Marking Victory Day
Amid mixed messages of conciliation and menace from Russia, Ukrainians remained on edge ahead of Sunday’s independence referendum in the restive eastern part of the country. Pro-Russian separatists have vowed to proceed with the vote despite a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone the referendum. Before the fighting, the morning’s Victory Day festivities offered a reprieve from the clashes between the separatists and supporters of a united Ukraine. Even in tense areas, the celebrations went off with only minor incidents. Most Ukrainians observed the holiday with solemn graveside tributes to those who gave their lives fighting Nazi Germany for the Soviet Union, but few of the grand parades that usually accompany the occasion were held, because of security concerns.
[READ: Who are these men defying both Putin and Kiev?] In Donetsk, one of the strongholds of the separatist movement, only a scuffle or two broke out as about 2,000 people gathered at
Putin, marking the Soviet Union’s victory over the Nazis in World War II, flew Friday to Crimea, the autonomous Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia in March after an independence referendum similar to the one scheduled in eastern Ukraine. Arriving in Sevastopol, the home of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Putin defended the annexation, saying Moscow had a right to absorb Crimea. It was the Russian president’s first visit to the annexed peninsula. a Soviet war memorial for the city’s official celebration of victory in World War II, which many Russians and Ukrainians know as “the Great Patriotic War.”
On the eve of Friday’s celebrations, the Ukrainian government offered talks to the separatists on matters such as regional autonomy. But there was no indication that a negotiated solution was possible at this point. Elderly veterans marched to the event, many in uniform and wearing medals. Donetsk’s elected mayor gave a speech commemorating the people’s sacrifices as flags fluttered in salute to the Soviet army. Ukrainian flags were absent, but the Ukrainian national anthem was played twice. No one booed the anthem, but almost nobody sang along, either.
In Donetsk, one of the strongholds of the separatist movement, only a scuffle or two broke out as about 2,000 people gathered Friday under a huge Soviet war memorial and statue for the city’s official celebration of victory in World War II, which many Russians and Ukrainians know as “the Great Patriotic War.” As the ceremony came to an end, a man in a camouflage uniform briefly scuffled with a lone policeman who had apparently sung the anthem. Another man in camouflage seized the microphone to complain about the anthem.
Elderly veterans marched to the event, many in uniform and wearing medals. Donetsk’s elected mayor gave a speech commemorating the people’s sacrifices, as flags fluttered in salute to the Soviet army. Ukrainian flags were absent for the occasion, but the Ukrainian national anthem was played twice. No one booed, but nobody sang along, either. “If we continue to obey the fascist junta, our children will become fascists and nationalists,” he said. He then shouted “Donbas,” a name for the eastern Ukrainian heartland, and many in the crowd clapped.
As the events came to an end, a man in a camouflage uniform briefly scuffled with members of the band for playing the Ukrainian anthem. Another man in camouflage seized the microphone to complain about the anthem. In Odessa, the Black Sea port city where more than 40 people died in violent clashes a week ago, a few hundred people gathered in Shevchenko Park to lay flowers at a memorial. Some carried banners blaming authorities for the May 2 fighting.
“If we continue to obey the fascist junta, our children will become fascists and nationalists,” he said. He then shouted “Donbas,” a name for the eastern Ukrainian heartland, and many people in the crowd clapped and joined in. A separate rally for the pro-Russian separatists was planned afterward in Lenin Square. “It is very important for us to declare that we would never stop our struggle for changes in Odessa, [and] never forgive Ukrainian nationalists for attacking and burning our people,” said Vera Butuk, one of the survivors of a fire in the city’s Trades Union House that killed dozens of separatists.
In Odessa, the Black Sea port city where dozens of people died in violence a week ago, a few hundred people gathered in Shevchenko Park to lay flowers around a memorial. Some carried banners blaming authorities for the May 2 clash. When the official ceremonies concluded, about 150 pro-Russian activists marched to Kulikovo Square, shouting slogans denouncing Ukraine’s interim government. “No to fascism!” they cried. “Fascism will not succeed!”
“It is very important for us to declare that we would never stop our struggle for changes in Odessa, [and] never forgive Ukrainian nationalists for attacking and burning our people,” said Vera Butuk, one of the survivors of a fire in the city’s Trades Union House building that killed dozens of separatists. Proposal by Kiev
When the official ceremonies concluded, about 150 pro-Russian activists marched to Kulikovo Field, shouting slogans denouncing Ukraine’s interim government. “No to fascism!” they cried. “Fascism will not succeed!” In Kiev, church bells pealed about 10 a.m. around the city, and when they fell silent, music wafted from encampments in Independence Square, where a protest movement began last winter against Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February. Bagpipes wailed and drums beat a marching cadence for a sparse crowd that listened to speakers and performers in a low-key observance of the holiday.
In Kiev, church bells pealed about 10 a.m. around the city, and when they fell silent, music wafted from encampments in Independence Square, where a protest movement began last winter against Ukraine’s pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. Bagpipes wailed, and drums beat a marching cadence for a sparse crowd that listened to speakers and performers in a low-key observance of the day. Yanukovych was deposed as president in February and fled to Russia. At the Park of Eternal Glory in Kiev, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov joined former heads of state to lay a wreath at a memorial to those who died in World War II. Security was heavy and people were screened at metal detectors. Ukrainian officials canceled the city’s parade and urged civic organizations to refrain from staging large events.
At the Park of Eternal Glory in Kiev, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov joined former heads of state to lay a wreath at a memorial to those who died in World War II. Security was heavy, and people were screened for weapons at metal detectors. Ukrainian officials canceled plans for a parade and urged civic organizations to refrain from large celebrations in the city as a security precaution. On the eve of the holiday, Turchynov and acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk issued a joint statement urging pro-Russian militants to lay down their arms immediately in exchange for amnesty. In the name of Ukrainian unity, they said, the interim government would use “all legal means” to restore order in restive areas.
Turchynov and acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk issued a joint statement late Thursday urging pro-Russian militants to lay down their arms immediately in exchange for amnesty. In the name of Ukrainian unity, they said the interim government would use “all legal means” to restore order in restive areas. They also pledged to conduct talks with all political parties and regional representatives on subjects such as local autonomy and minority rights. The Ukrainian leaders said those talks would be held with the assistance of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
But they also pledged to conduct talks with all political parties and representatives in all of Ukraine’s regions on subjects such as local autonomy and minority rights. The Ukrainian leaders said those talks would be held with the assistance of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
“The purpose of this dialogue is to develop a national consensus on key issues for the Ukrainian society,” they said. “We invite all political actors and the public to actively participate in this initiative.”“The purpose of this dialogue is to develop a national consensus on key issues for the Ukrainian society,” they said. “We invite all political actors and the public to actively participate in this initiative.”
The call for unity came hours after pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine vowed to press ahead with their referendum on independence. Kunkle reported from Kiev. Michael Birnbaum in Moscow, Alex Ryabchyn in Donetsk, Anna Nemtsova in Odessa and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.
Having captured government buildings across eastern Ukraine and vehemently denounced the interim government in Kiev as fascists, the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic argued that they would lose credibility if they canceled the vote.
“Civil war has already begun,” Denis Pushilin, a prominent leader of the group, said at a packed news conference in Donetsk. “The referendum can put a stop to it and start a political process.”
Kunkle reported from Kiev. Michael Birnbaum in Moscow, Alex Ryabchyn in Donetsk and William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.