Reports of gunfire in Slavyansk

Ukraine's Slavyansk under siege as Kiev orders crackdown on protests

RT,

13 April, 2014

There are reports from the scene of a gunfight in the city of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine, where anti-government protesters seized several buildings. It comes after Kiev announced an “anti-terrorist operation” against the protesters.

Helicopters are flying over the defiant city in the Donetsk region. The aircraft are Ukrainian, judging by two white markings on their tails painted on all Ukrainian military hardware to distinguish them from Russian ones of the same design. Armored infantry vehicles have been also spotted near the city.

Local residents said several transport helicopters landed at an old airfield some 5 kilometers from the town center. Troops wearing black uniforms disembarked and went toward Slavyansk.

The shooting reportedly started at a checkpoint, which was established by protesters Saturday evening on the outskirts of the city.

At least one of the protesters’ checkpoints was taken down and demolished by troops from Kiev. However, the defenders fell back and erected a new barricade at a bridge, RIA Novosti reports.

At least three people, including one civilian, have been injured in the fighting and have been taken to the local hospital, some reports claim.

Approaches to the city have been blocked by uniformed troops besieging the city, RIA Novosti reported. Local bus services from the city have been canceled due to the blockade, Itar-Tass reported.

Kiev’s troops, which arrived Sunday morning, are still not in control of the town center. The protesters at the Slavyansk police station, which was the first building they captured Saturday, are preparing to fend off a siege, LifeNews reports from the scene. The building has been reinforced with barricades over the past 24 hours. Similar defensive precautions are being taken at other buildings controlled by the protesters.

Coup-appointed Interior Minister Arsen Avakov on Sunday has announced an “anti-terrorist operation” in the city of Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev activists seized several governmental buildings on Saturday. He made the announcement on his Facebook page, which he regularly uses to report on his ministry’s activities.

As the confrontation was under way in Slavyansk, Avakov said that civilians in the city should remain indoors and away from windows.

Avakov already announced “zero-tolerance policy towards armed terrorists” in Slavyansk and the deployment of anti-terrorist troops in the city on Saturday morning. However no action materialized, as security troops reportedly refused to follow an order to attack protesters.

Russia has warned that if Kiev uses force against anti-Maidan protests in eastern Ukraine, this would undermine the effort to convene a four-party conference on resolving the crisis in the country, which would include the US, the EU, Russia and Ukraine.