Ukraine's Poroshenko vows to crush unrest in east
Iran Press TV
Wed May 28, 2014 1:29PM GMT
Ukraine's president-elect, Petro Poroshenko, has promised to quickly crush pro-Russia activists in the country's eastern region.
Poroshenko made the pledge on Wednesday in an exclusive interview with the German daily Bild.
The president-elect reiterated his iron-fist policy against the pro-Russia activists in the eastern part of the country. Poroshenko also ruled out negotiations with pro-Russia protesters, vowing to continue military operations in the country's southeastern provinces.
Poroshenko's statements came after Ukrainian forces conducted their latest battle with pro-Russia activists in the eastern city of Donetsk, killing more than 40 people, mostly pro-Russia protesters.
The Monday battle between two groups erupted for the control of the international airport in Donetsk. Kiev said on Tuesday that it controls the Sergei Prokofiev Airport.
Meanwhile, some 1,000 miners rallied in Donetsk in support of the region's independence. The miners also demanded an immediate withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the territory of People's Republic of Donetsk.
The acting government in Kiev has been staging military operations in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine since mid-April in a bid to root out the pro-Moscow protests.
On May 12, Donetsk and Lugansk declared independence following local referendums in which the regions' residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kiev.
The referendums followed a similar vote in Crimea in March that led to the reunification of the peninsula with the Russian Federation. Nearly 97 percent of participants in Crimea's referendum voted for rejoining Russia.
CAH/AB/SS
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