Curfew announced in Ukraine's Slavyansk after deadly attack
20 April 2014, 13:24 -- Leader of the self-defense forces, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said Sunday a curfew has been announced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk following the overnight shootout in which two passers-by were injured.
A curfew will be imposed from midnight to 6 am. There must be no strangers on the streets, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, also known as 'acting Slavyansk mayor,' told RIA Novosti.
The move comes after unknown gunmen opened fire in downtown Slavyansk, which has been under siege since last weekend as Kiev announced an 'anti-terrorist operation' against pro-federalization protesters. Both people who were injured in the attack are in a satisfactory condition, doctors at the central hospital in Slavyansk said.
In a separate incident Sunday, one person died and two others were injured when unknown gunmen attacked a checkpoint in the city overnight. Up to seven gunmen were killed or injured by return fire.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry confirms shootout in Slavyansk
Ukraine's Interior Ministry confirmed Sunday that an overnight shootout took place at a checkpoint in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk.
The victims have been hospitalized, the statement said, without giving any further details, RIA reports.
Earlier self-defense forces announced that one their member was killed and two others were injured as unknown gunmen attacked the checkpoint near the village of Bylbasovka.
Up to seven attackers were injured or killed by return fire, the leader of self-defense forces, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said.
Federalization supporters in Kharkov, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and are urging interim authorities to hold referendums similar to the one held in Crimea last month, which led to the republics reunification with Russia. In response, Ukrainian authorities launched a special operation to crack down on the protests.
Up to seven gunmen killed or injured in Ukraine's Slavyansk - self-defense forces
The leader of the self-defense forces in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk said Sunday up to seven gunmen who attacked a local checkpoint overnight were injured or killed by return fire. Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, also known as the acting Slavyansk mayor, has confirmed that one member of the self-defense forces was killed and two others were injured in the shootout.
Eyewitnesses told RIA Novosti they saw the gunmen taking both killed and injured people with them.
Ponomaryov said four cars drove by the checkpoint at around 2 am local time (3 am Moscow time) and opened fire at the self-defense forces, who were celebrating Easter Sunday. Later 20 members of self-defense forces arrived and exchanged fire with the gunmen at the scene. Two cars were seriously damaged in the shootout.
The self-defense forces also said they have found shells and foreign-made explosives, as well as insignia of the Ukrainian far-right radical group Right Sector. Ukraine's Interior Ministry and the national security service have not yet commented on the report.
Earlier a pro-federalization activist told RIA Novosti that three local citizens were killed in an overnight shootout, despite a cease-fire announced ahead of Easter celebrations across Ukraine on Sunday.
The state-run Rossiya 24 news channel reported citing its correspondent that two attackers have been killed. Later doctors at the central hospital in Slavyansk confirmed that one person died and two others were injured in the shootout.
Federalization supporters in Kharkov, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and are urging interim authorities to hold referendums similar to the one held in Crimea last month, which led to the republic's reunification with Russia. In response, Ukrainian authorities launched a special operation to crack down on the protests.
Five killed in attack on block-post in eastern Ukraine – TV report
Five people were reportedly killed and one person was wounded in an attack on a block-post in Slavyansk in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region last night, the Rossiya-24 television reports. 'Three residents of Slavyansk were shot dead by unidentified gunmen who attacked a block-post in the north of the town. Another person was wounded and is in hospital in critical condition, the report, posted on vesti.ru, says.
'Several cars drove up to the block-post and then those inside the cars open fire. Self-defense fighters promptly arrived at the scene and returned the fire, killing two attackers,' the report says.
The self-defense fighters seized two cars. The emblems of the Right Sector radical group, large amount of firearms used in the Ukrainian army as well as plastids, smoke pellets, US-made night-vision devices and maps based on aerial photographs were found in the cars.
The attackers are being identified.
Ukraine calls for 'Easter truce' as federalization activists hold firm
The Ukrainian government said it will not attack pro-Russian activists over the Easter weekend as its US ally threatened Moscow with new sanctions if it fails to persuade the militants to surrender. The Kremlin denies having control over gunmen who want their eastern regions to follow Crimea that has rejoined Russia. The activists in their turn, notably in rallies-struck Donetsk, demonstrate determination to stay in place on the barricades even on Easter.
Moscow scolded Washington for treating Russia like a 'guilty schoolboy' following their agreement in Geneva on Thursday that Ukrainian militants should disarm and vacate occupied buildings, Reuters reports.
Ukraine's government, short of effective forces, has shown little sign of trying to recapture the dozen or so town halls, police stations and other sites seized over the past two weeks, despite proclaiming the launch of an 'anti-terrorist operation'.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry promised 'the suspension of the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation' among a list of government initiatives to defuse the crisis issued late on Friday. A spokeswoman for the SBU state security service said on Saturday the suspension was 'linked to the implementation of the Geneva agreement and the Easter holidays'.
'The anti-terrorist operation was put on hold for the Easter time and we will be not using force against them at this moment,' Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia was quoted on Saturday as saying by Britain's BBC.
On Friday he warned the militants that 'more concrete actions' could be taken next week if they failed to start surrendering to international peace monitors.
Deshchytsia met officials in Kiev on Saturday from the OSCE, a European security body that includes both NATO members and Russia. The OSCE will oversee implementation of the Geneva accord, under which Russia, Ukraine, the United States and European Union agreed to a process of disarmament and an end to occupations as part of wider programme to defuse the gravest East-West crisis since the end of the Cold War.
A senior OSCE official will head to Donetsk, the biggest city of the Russian-speaking east, later on Saturday. OSCE officials said there was so far no indication from militants there that they had the 'political will' to give up.
On Friday, pro-Russian leaders said Russia's signature on the Geneva deal was not binding on them.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
