"Anti-terrorist actions against Russian-sponsored terrorits" - the western media

Ukraine army in fatal clashes with separatists to regain control of east

Four Ukrainian soldiers killed and at least 30 injured in latest fighting, as funerals are held for people killed in Odessa fire

The Guardian,

5 May, 2014

Four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and at least 30 injured, according to officials, in clashes with separatists as the army attempted to regain control of eastern Ukraine. There was fighting at a number of points on the outskirts of Slavyansk on Monday, the base of the armed movement that has taken over a number of cities.

The separatists also reported deaths in the fighting – although exact figures were impossible to verify – and a military helicopter was shot down although both pilots survived, according to the defence ministry.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic plans to hold a referendum on independence on Sunday, with much of the region outside Kiev's control.

As well as the clashes in the east, the fallout from the violence and fatal fire late last week in the southern city of Odessa continued to be felt on Monday.

Under a leaden sky at the edge of a cemetery in Odessa, family and friends laid to rest Vladimir Markin, a local politician who was killed in the vicious street battles that convulsed the city last week.

A short distance away the funeral of another man who died fighting pro-Ukrainian crowds was also taking place.

The burials were the first of dozens that will take place over the next few weeks as the port city struggles to come to terms with Ukraine's most violent day since the new regime swept to power in February.

Markin, 44, was a key supporter of a semi-permanent protest camp in Odessa against the current Kiev government that was burned to the ground on Friday before fighting moved to the nearby trade union building. At some point during the melee he was badly beaten and died in intensive care in a local hospital the following day.

The other funeral was of Maksim Nikitenko, 31, who was also killed early on during the struggle inside the trade union building. "They fought and cracked open his skull and then he was thrown out of the window," said Petya, a friend.

Nikitenko was not a separatist or an extremist, but he ran to defend the trade union building when he heard it was under attack, Petya added.

Before the burials Markin's open casket lay in the local parliament building for friends, colleagues and residents of Odessa to pay their last respects.

Outside an angry crowd gathered and the regional governor, who had come to lay flowers, was assaulted and forced to flee ignominiously down a corridor. When pallbearers carried the coffin out of the building people clapped and chanted "Odessa is a Russian city", "Hero, hero, hero!" and "Odessa will not forgive nor forget".

The Ukrainian interior ministry said on Monday morning that 42 people detained during the violence had been transferred to other parts of the country. The move came after an angry mob forced police to release over 60 detainees on Sunday. Interior minister Arsen Avakov also said that a special forces battalion had been transferred to the city to help keep order.

The Ukrainian government has said that the violence was initiated by Russian provocateurs, while Russia has referred to the deaths – many of which were caused by a fire that broke out inside the building – as a massacre inspired by "neo-Nazis". The horrific events have only served to worsen an already tense situation.

Supporters of closer ties with Russia, who made up the majority of the mourners, blame the government in Kiev – which they describe as a "junta" and illegitimate, mirroring Russian state propaganda about the Ukrainian authorities – for the deaths last week. They accuse the police of failing to act swiftly enough to stop the violence.

Ukraine has accused Russia of directing the separatists, providing weapons and using proxy figures on the ground. Most analysts think Russia does not want a Crimea-style annexation of eastern Ukraine, but merely to stir up discontent and disrupt elections at the end of May.

In recent days President Vladimir Putin has made no public statements about the situation, but the Russian foreign ministry again pinned the blame on Kiev in a statement on Monday evening.

"The so-called authorities in Kiev continue to wage war against the people of their own country," said the ministry, adding there was a "humanitarian catastrophe" brewing in the east of the country and calling on Kiev to "stop the bloodshed".

Ukrainian authorities have likewise repeatedly called on Russia to stop stirring unrest in the region, as accusations continue to fly between the two countries.

Germany said on Monday it was pushing for a fresh set of diplomatic talks in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US, to push for a return to the accord reached last month that encouraged all sides to put down their weapons.

Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said new talks were needed to reach a "clear conclusion as to how this conflict can be brought to a halt".

In eastern Ukraine surveys show the vast majority of people want more autonomy from Kiev but only a minority want to join Russia. However, the mood has turned nastier in the last week, with crowds burning Ukrainian flags, and many speaking about a "point of no return".

In Odessa 52-year-old Igor Bulatov, an engineer who attended the funerals, said that while there were few separatists among current pro-Russian protesters, the deaths last week might change that. "I came to pay my respects to people who were murdered … when you kill people for their ideas it is fascism," he said.

"Recent events mean a lot of people are now wondering about what country they want to live in. There is an atmosphere of shock, it is a moment of self-definition: people have to decide who they are and what they want."

Some of the most worst “reporting” comes from Radio New Zealand, where news from Ukraine is always “on the back page” and always parrots the general line about the Ukrainian “government”'s “anti-terrorist actions” against “Russian-sponsored seperatists”

Ukrainian soldiers killed in fresh fighting

Four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and an army helicopter shot down by pro-Russian militants in separate incidents near the eastern city of Sloviansk.

Radio NZ,

6 May, 2014

Ukraine says the gunmen used heavy weapons against Ukraine's units involved in the "anti-terror" operation. Casualties were also reported among the rebels

The militants are reported to have retreated towards the city centre which is now quiet, a BBC correspondent says. The rebel stronghold remains sealed off by Ukrainian troops.

Pro-Russian militants have seized government buildings in a dozen or more Ukrainian cities in the east.

Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting and arming the gunmen - a claim denied by the Kremlin.

Speaking to reporters near Sloviansk, Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused the militants of trying to ambush government forces on the outskirts of Sloviansk. He also blamed the rebels for using heavy weapons, including mortars.

The Ukrainian military later said that four soldiers had been killed and about 30 injured.

The defence ministry has confirmed that a helicopter has been shot down near Sloviansk.

The crew of the aircraft survived, largely because the helicopter crashed into a river, the ministry added. It was the third Ukrainian military helicopter to be downed over the city in recent days.

On Sunday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of executing a plan "to destroy Ukraine and its statehood".

Russia warned on Monday that failure to halt the escalating unrest would threaten peace across Europe.

The latest from the CNN presstitutes. No comment!

CNN: UKRAINE NEARS FULL SCALE CIVIL WAR! WHAT WILL STOP PUTIN AT THIS POINT?

CNN's Phil Black about clashes in Odessa, Ukraine