This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/23/world/europe/ukraine-cedes-donetsk-airport-to-rebels-as-fighting-continues.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Ukraine Cedes Donetsk Airport to Rebels as Fighting Continues | Ukraine Cedes Donetsk Airport to Rebels as Fighting Continues |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — Ukrainian officials acknowledged on Thursday that they had relinquished to rebel forces control over the terminal of the airport in Donetsk, while artillery fire gutted a trolley bus in the embattled city, killing at least eight people, and evidence emerged of a growing Russian military role in the area. | MOSCOW — Ukrainian officials acknowledged on Thursday that they had relinquished to rebel forces control over the terminal of the airport in Donetsk, while artillery fire gutted a trolley bus in the embattled city, killing at least eight people, and evidence emerged of a growing Russian military role in the area. |
| The airport, the scene of fierce battles in recent days, is nonfunctional, the terminal and runways having been destroyed months ago. Nonetheless, it has retained high symbolic value in the ongoing hostilities as the government’s last toehold in the city, the largest in the contested territory of southeastern Ukraine. | The airport, the scene of fierce battles in recent days, is nonfunctional, the terminal and runways having been destroyed months ago. Nonetheless, it has retained high symbolic value in the ongoing hostilities as the government’s last toehold in the city, the largest in the contested territory of southeastern Ukraine. |
| At a news briefing in Kiev on Thursday, a Ukrainian military spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, said that six soldiers had died in the fighting over the airport and 16 had been captured by forces of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic before a decision was made to withdraw from the ruined terminal. | |
| “Because of the constant shelling, the new terminal has been ruined almost entirely,” Mr. Seleznyov said. “Because this building has been destroyed completely, the decision was made to withdraw Ukrainian fighters from this building to new lines.” | “Because of the constant shelling, the new terminal has been ruined almost entirely,” Mr. Seleznyov said. “Because this building has been destroyed completely, the decision was made to withdraw Ukrainian fighters from this building to new lines.” |
| Another spokesman, Col. Andriy Lysenko, said that even as Ukrainian forces withdrew from the terminal building, they remained in possession of the airport’s control tower and runway. | Another spokesman, Col. Andriy Lysenko, said that even as Ukrainian forces withdrew from the terminal building, they remained in possession of the airport’s control tower and runway. |
| The renewed violence, in Donetsk and at a remote checkpoint north of Luhansk, another major separatist-held city, as well as reports of new movement by Russian troops, threatened to plunge the region into ever-deepening chaos. | The renewed violence, in Donetsk and at a remote checkpoint north of Luhansk, another major separatist-held city, as well as reports of new movement by Russian troops, threatened to plunge the region into ever-deepening chaos. |
| At a briefing on Thursday afternoon, Colonel Lysenko said that Ukrainian intelligence services had documented a significant new mobilization of Russian military vehicles in the Rostov region, on the Russian side of the border, including BMD airborne infantry combat vehicles, armored personnel carriers, tanks, propelled artillery systems, mobile rocket launchers, fuel vehicles and cargo trucks. | At a briefing on Thursday afternoon, Colonel Lysenko said that Ukrainian intelligence services had documented a significant new mobilization of Russian military vehicles in the Rostov region, on the Russian side of the border, including BMD airborne infantry combat vehicles, armored personnel carriers, tanks, propelled artillery systems, mobile rocket launchers, fuel vehicles and cargo trucks. |
| “A majority of the vehicles do not bear insignia, side markings or license plates,” Mr. Lysenko said. | “A majority of the vehicles do not bear insignia, side markings or license plates,” Mr. Lysenko said. |
| Reports of a military mobilization on the Russian side of the border were confirmed by some Russian news agencies. The Russian military has not announced any recent training exercises, its previously justification for similar movement of troops and vehicles along the border. | Reports of a military mobilization on the Russian side of the border were confirmed by some Russian news agencies. The Russian military has not announced any recent training exercises, its previously justification for similar movement of troops and vehicles along the border. |
| In Brussels, NATO’s top commander in Europe, Gen. Philip Breedlove, told a news conference that Russian electronic warfare and air defense systems have been observed in eastern Ukraine, a sign based on past experience of a Russian military incursion. | In Brussels, NATO’s top commander in Europe, Gen. Philip Breedlove, told a news conference that Russian electronic warfare and air defense systems have been observed in eastern Ukraine, a sign based on past experience of a Russian military incursion. |
| As details of the bus bombing, the second this month in the area, began to emerge, pro-Russian separatist leaders and senior Ukrainian government officials quickly traded accusations over who was responsible. | As details of the bus bombing, the second this month in the area, began to emerge, pro-Russian separatist leaders and senior Ukrainian government officials quickly traded accusations over who was responsible. |
| Photographs showed a horrific scene of blood and shattered glass, and witnesses reported that mangled bodies were splayed across the seats. There were conflicting reports of up to 13 people killed. | Photographs showed a horrific scene of blood and shattered glass, and witnesses reported that mangled bodies were splayed across the seats. There were conflicting reports of up to 13 people killed. |
| A doctor at the main hospital in Donetsk, interviewed on the Rossiya 24 television channel, said that nine people had been brought in with injuries from the bus bombing, and that five were in grave condition. In unusually graphic footage, Rossiya 24 showed dead passengers throughout the shattered vehicle as well as a burned body being removed from a passenger car that was also destroyed by the shelling. | A doctor at the main hospital in Donetsk, interviewed on the Rossiya 24 television channel, said that nine people had been brought in with injuries from the bus bombing, and that five were in grave condition. In unusually graphic footage, Rossiya 24 showed dead passengers throughout the shattered vehicle as well as a burned body being removed from a passenger car that was also destroyed by the shelling. |
| Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, speaking to reporters in Kiev, the capital, said, “Today, Russian terrorists once again committed a terrible act against humanity, and the Russian Federation bears responsibility for that.” | Prime Minister Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, speaking to reporters in Kiev, the capital, said, “Today, Russian terrorists once again committed a terrible act against humanity, and the Russian Federation bears responsibility for that.” |
| The Ukrainian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that the shelling of the bus occurred at a location more than 10 miles from Ukrainian military positions and that “all facts” pointed to separatist forces as responsible. | The Ukrainian Defense Ministry issued a statement saying that the shelling of the bus occurred at a location more than 10 miles from Ukrainian military positions and that “all facts” pointed to separatist forces as responsible. |
| Separatist leaders said they believed the shelling had been carried out by provocateurs aligned with the Ukrainian military. In Moscow, the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, issued a statement putting blame on the Ukrainian government and calling the bus attack “a crime against humanity, a rude provocation aimed at undermining the efforts on a peace settlement.” | |
| Mr. Lavrov added: “It is becoming obvious that the party of war in Kiev, and its foreign patrons, are not stopped by fatalities. Everything must be done to step the shelling by Kiev of towns in southeastern Ukraine and to prevent the further pointless casualties among the civilians.” | Mr. Lavrov added: “It is becoming obvious that the party of war in Kiev, and its foreign patrons, are not stopped by fatalities. Everything must be done to step the shelling by Kiev of towns in southeastern Ukraine and to prevent the further pointless casualties among the civilians.” |
| The bombing came the day after the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switz., held up a piece of wreckage from another public bus, destroyed in an artillery attack on Jan. 13 near the town of Volnovakha, in which 13 people were killed. | The bombing came the day after the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switz., held up a piece of wreckage from another public bus, destroyed in an artillery attack on Jan. 13 near the town of Volnovakha, in which 13 people were killed. |
| The yellow, metal panel from the side of the bus was pierced numerous times by shrapnel. “For me this is a symbol, a symbol of the terrorist attack against my country,” Mr. Poroshenko said, likening the bombing to the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper in Paris. | The yellow, metal panel from the side of the bus was pierced numerous times by shrapnel. “For me this is a symbol, a symbol of the terrorist attack against my country,” Mr. Poroshenko said, likening the bombing to the attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper in Paris. |
| In his speech, Mr. Poroshenko said that thousands of regular-duty Russian troops had been moved across the border into eastern Ukraine, a charge that the Russian government has vehemently denied, demanding proof of such deployment. | In his speech, Mr. Poroshenko said that thousands of regular-duty Russian troops had been moved across the border into eastern Ukraine, a charge that the Russian government has vehemently denied, demanding proof of such deployment. |
| Late Wednesday night, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, at a meeting in Berlin, had reaffirmed commitment to a September cease-fire agreement, which called for pulling back heavy artillery from the conflict zone. | Late Wednesday night, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France, at a meeting in Berlin, had reaffirmed commitment to a September cease-fire agreement, which called for pulling back heavy artillery from the conflict zone. |
| That agreement, reached in Minsk, Belarus, never really took hold, and intensifying fighting and mounting casualties in recent days seemed to leave little hope of restoring any semblance of a truce anytime soon. | That agreement, reached in Minsk, Belarus, never really took hold, and intensifying fighting and mounting casualties in recent days seemed to leave little hope of restoring any semblance of a truce anytime soon. |