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Separatist Leader Says 50 Militiamen Died in Ukraine Attack Dozens of Separatists Killed in Ukraine Army Attack
(about 3 hours later)
DONETSK, Ukraine — The prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, a separatist group that controls this eastern region of Ukraine, said on Tuesday that about 50 pro-Russian militiamen had been killed the day before in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces for control of a crucial airport. DONETSK, Ukraine — Separatists reported suffering heavy losses in an offensive by the Ukrainian military to retake a strategic provincial airport in Donetsk, their leaders said on Tuesday, while a team of European security monitors lost contact with their headquarters, raising fears of kidnapping.
The Ukrainian military conducted a major operation on Monday to take back the airport, which militants had only seized a few hours before. It was the first aggressive move against the fighters and came just one day after a national election in which a Ukrainian billionaire, Petro O. Poroshenko, won in a landslide. Mr. Poroshenko has pledged to take on the separatists, whom he has compared to Somali pirates. Some of the accounts of rebel losses were conflicting, in part because the fighting continued into Tuesday morning and it was difficult to retrieve the dead. Schools were closed and city authorities warned residents not to leave their homes.
Alexander Borodai, the self-described prime minister, who has been a central player in the motley collection of separatist leaders, said that while the pro-Russian fighters’ casualties were high, so were those of the Ukrainian military. The clearest count came from Donetsk’s mayor, Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, who said that about 50 people had been killed, including two civilians, and that 43 others had been wounded. Other counts by rebels put the death toll as high as 100.
“This is war,” he said. “Our losses are serious. But our opponents losses are not less, and maybe even more.” “Our losses are serious,” said Alexander Borodai, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. “But our opponents’ losses are not less, and maybe even more.”
In Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said the violence in Donetsk undermined Mr. Poroshenko’s vows ahead of the election to end the military operations in the east. Instead, noting causalities on both sides, he said that “they have a real war there so far.” The Ukrainian military conducted a major operation on Monday to take back the airport here, which militants had seized just hours before. It was the first aggressive move against the fighters in weeks of what had been seen as relatively ineffective military maneuvers and came just one day after a national election in which a Ukrainian billionaire, Petro O. Poroshenko, won in a landslide. Mr. Poroshenko has pledged to take on the separatists, whom he has compared to Somali pirates.
Mr. Lavrov, who on Monday indicated that Russia was prepared to work with the new government emerging after the election, said intensifying the military operations would not help resolve the conflict, and he called for an immediate halt to them. He suggested that ending the violence would be a criterion for the prospects of improved relations with Russia. A Ukrainian military spokesman in Kiev, Vladyslav Selezniov, said the military was now fully in control of the airport and its territory. He said one Ukrainian soldier had been lightly wounded in the fighting and but gave no details of other casualties. He said about 200 rebels had been concentrated in a new terminal of the airport, and that they had been “annihilated and scattered,” during the attack, after the military issued them an ultimatum they ignored.
“We hope he will act in the interests of the Ukrainian people as a whole,” Mr. Lavrov said. “If this is the case, he will find a serious and reliable partner in Russia.” The monitoring team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was on a routine mission east of Donetsk when it disappeared around 6 p.m. on Monday, the group reported.
Around noon on Tuesday in Donetsk, fighter jets resumed their flights over the airport area and shooting started up again, signaling a renewed push that indicated that the Ukrainian forces did not fully control the area. “We have been unable to re-establish communication until now,” the group said in a statement on its website. “We are continuing with our efforts and utilizing our contacts on the ground. The Ukrainian government as well as regional authorities have been informed of the situation.”
The military had issued a warning to separatists on Monday to vacate the airport and attacked them around midday using helicopters and fighter jets when they did not comply. In Moscow, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said that the violence in Donetsk undermined Mr. Poroshenko’s vows ahead of the election to end the military operations in the east. Instead, noting causalities on both sides, Mr. Lavrov said “they have a real war there so far.”
“Kiev is giving us some kinds of ultimatums,” Mr. Borodai said. “Let them keep giving them.” Mr. Lavrov, who on Monday indicated that Russia was prepared to work with the new government emerging after the election, said that intensifying the military operations would not help resolve the conflict, and he called for an immediate halt. He suggested that ending the violence would be a criterion for the prospects of improved relations with Russia.
The mood had lightened somewhat in the area around the airport a day after the violent clashes. Streets were largely empty and the direction of events was unpredictable. One area of fighting was quiet, with a few villagers sitting nearby, and some of the men, shirtless in the heat, drinking beer. Two empty ammunition boxes were seen near the scene of yesterday’s battle. “We hope he will act in the interests of the Ukrainian people as a whole,” Mr. Lavrov said after meeting with Turkey’s foreign minister. “If this is the case, he will find a serious and reliable partner in Russia.”
Apart from the airport, Donetsk was quiet on Tuesday. Pictures circulated on social media of a Kamaz truck that had been blown up, reportedly by the Ukrainian military, and was said to have contained separatists. The mood had lightened somewhat in the area around the airport a day after the violent clashes. Streets were largely empty and the direction of events was unpredictable. Two empty ammunition boxes were seen near the scene of yesterday’s battle. A few villagers sat nearby, with some of the men, shirtless in the heat, drinking beer.
At the Donetsk train station, an announcer over a loudspeaker told passengers to wait in an underground passageway. She said that tickets were no longer for sale to points outside the Donetsk region and that trains were running several hours late.At the Donetsk train station, an announcer over a loudspeaker told passengers to wait in an underground passageway. She said that tickets were no longer for sale to points outside the Donetsk region and that trains were running several hours late.
One family standing with their two deaf daughters who study at a special school for the deaf here had been waiting in the underground passageway for two hours for a train that would take them back to their hometown. The school was closed after yesterday’s shooting. One family standing with their two deaf daughters who study at a special school here had been waiting in the underground passageway for two hours for a train that would take them to their hometown. The school was closed after yesterday’s shooting.
“I have no words for this,” said Nikolai, their father, as his two daughters, ages 11 and 16, looked on. He declined to give his full name, fearing for his safety. “What will happen to us?”“I have no words for this,” said Nikolai, their father, as his two daughters, ages 11 and 16, looked on. He declined to give his full name, fearing for his safety. “What will happen to us?”
At the bus station near the airport, drivers said they were finding new routes around what appeared to be new military maneuvers. Locals were angry at the Kiev government for what they said was a military attack on their homeland.At the bus station near the airport, drivers said they were finding new routes around what appeared to be new military maneuvers. Locals were angry at the Kiev government for what they said was a military attack on their homeland.
“They call us terrorists but they are the ones who have come to our home, our land to fight,” said Vadim Voit, a driver who said that he took part in a battle against Ukrainian soldiers last week in nearby Volnovakha, standing outside his small passenger bus at the depot.“They call us terrorists but they are the ones who have come to our home, our land to fight,” said Vadim Voit, a driver who said that he took part in a battle against Ukrainian soldiers last week in nearby Volnovakha, standing outside his small passenger bus at the depot.
“Kiev is just not listening to us,” he said. “We can’t make peace with them now.”“Kiev is just not listening to us,” he said. “We can’t make peace with them now.”