Dozens
reported injured or killed in Kramatorsk as Ukraine army launches
assault
Ukraine’s National Guard is reportedly storming the eastern town of Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, the army has resumed its special operation in Slavyansk, where two soldiers have been killed.
Ukraine’s National Guard is reportedly storming the eastern town of Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, the army has resumed its special operation in Slavyansk, where two soldiers have been killed.
RT,
2
May, 2014
“The
assault is starting now,” a Kramatorsk self-defense activist has
told RIA Novosti by phone. Another activist told the news agency that
the National Guard opened fire on self-defense forces.
Dozens
have been killed or injured in Kramatorsk, a doctor told RIA Novosti.
The medic added that the fighting has now stopped and all of those
injured have been taken to hospitals in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. At
least two died on the way to the hospital, she said.
Meanwhile,
the Ukrainian military’s special operation has resumed in the
nearby town of Slavyansk. The headquarters of the people’s
self-defense is under snipers’ fire, according to Itar-Tass. There
are reports of injuries among protesters.
The
Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that two military personnel were
killed on Friday in the village of Andreyevka, not far from
Slavyansk, Donetsk region. According to the ministry, they came under
an attack with the use of small arms.
“The
violent military confrontation is ongoing. To date, information about
the deaths of two Ukrainian servicemen has been confirmed,” the
ministry said in a statement, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.
38 people die after radicals set Trade Unions House on fire in Ukraine's Odessa
At least 38 anti-government activists died in fire at Odessa’s Trade Unions House after suffocating with smoke or jumping out of windows of the burning building, Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported. The building was set ablaze by the pro-Kiev radicals.
[WARNING:
GRAPHIC CONTENT INSIDE]
Some
50 people, including 10 police officers, were also injured in the
incident, the official statement said. It was not immediately clear
whether those injured in Friday street
clashes in
Odessa were included in those numbers.
According
to the ministry, the Friday standoff on Odessa included “anti-Maidan”
activists on one side and“football
fans” from
Odessa and Kharkov, as well as "euro-Maidan" activists, on
the other. A criminal case on the charges of mass unrest has been
opened.
Video stills from ustream channel
opposition-ru
The Trade Unions House was set on fire by pro-Kiev radicals after they surrounded and destroyed the tent camp of anti-government activists that stood in front of the building on Odessa’s Kulikovo Field Square. It was torched in a storming attempt after some of the anti-Maidan activists rallying in the square barricaded themselves inside the building.
The Trade Unions House was set on fire by pro-Kiev radicals after they surrounded and destroyed the tent camp of anti-government activists that stood in front of the building on Odessa’s Kulikovo Field Square. It was torched in a storming attempt after some of the anti-Maidan activists rallying in the square barricaded themselves inside the building.
Thirty of the victims were found on the floors of the building having apparently suffocated to death with smoke. Eight more died after jumping out of the burning Trade Union House’s windows, according to police.
Earlier
reports of the clashes in Odessa said that both sides used Molotov
cocktails and, allegedly, gunfire. Part of the pro-Maidan activists
reportedly bore insignia of the radical Right Sector group.
A
live video stream from
inside the building showed disturbing scenes of supposedly dead
bodies lying around the rooms with thick smoke in the air and blood
stains on the floor.
Most
of the bodies filmed had St. George ribbons attached to their
clothes, distinguishing the victims as pro-Russian or anti-Kiev
activists.
The
person filming said he counted up to 25 dead bodies on the upper
floors alone.
As
the house was engulfed in flames, photos posted on Twitter showed
people hanging out of windows and sitting on windowsills of several
floors, possibly preparing to jump. Reports claimed that those who
jumped and survived were surrounded and beaten by football ultras and
the Right Sector.
The
riot police lines standing beside the building were apparently doing
nothing to prevent the violence, the photos showed. Police officers
reportedly said they could not do anything because they
were“unarmed.”
As
people were dying in the burning building, some of the pro-Kiev
activists jeered on Twitter that“Colorado
beetles are being roasted up in Odessa,” using
a derogatory term for pro-Russian activists wearing St. George’s
ribbons. Few media outlets followed the developing situation, with
thousands of people taking to live streams to see the events
unfolding.
However, just as the first official death toll emerged, some Western media and leaders rushed to seemingly downplay the role of pro-Kiev activists in the incident and to blame their rivals instead.
However, just as the first official death toll emerged, some Western media and leaders rushed to seemingly downplay the role of pro-Kiev activists in the incident and to blame their rivals instead.
“More than 40 people were killed in Odessa on Friday, most caught in a building set on fire after pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity fought running battles across the southern port city,”Reuters wrote.
“Horrible
with at least 38 dead in Odessa. Seems to have started with
pro-Russian attempt to get control of buildings. Violence must
stop!” Swedish
Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter. Earlier, Bildt
blamed “pro-Russian
thugs” for
the street violence in Odessa.
As
Kiev unleashes battle helicopters and APCs on Slavyansk, EU says it
is… 'concerned'
As
Ukraine’s new authorities unleash heavy weaponry on Slavyansk,
blockading civilians in the town, the EU says it is “concerned”
and has called on pro-autonomy protesters to end their “illegal
actions.”
RT,
2
May, 2014
The
European Union, a fierce supporter of Kiev’s new authorities, said
it is watching the events unfold in eastern Ukraine."We
are following with growing concern the events in eastern
Ukraine," Maja
Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton, told reporters.
Kiev has intensified its military operation in eastern Ukraine, with the army surrounding the anti-government stronghold of Slavyansk, blockading civilians inside with military helicopters and APCs on Friday morning. Two pilots have died, and self-defense forces in Slavyansk said that one of their members was killed.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has urged for the creation of humanitarian corridors for the civilian population, Andrey Kelin, Russia's permanent representative to the organization, told RIA Novosti.
While Kiev has chosen the path of military strikes, the EU has called on anti-government activists and self-defense forces – which have occupied government buildings in the city – to end “illegal actions.”
"Occupied buildings need to be vacated, all persons illegally detained need to be released, including the OSCE military observers," Kocijancic said.
Kiev has intensified its military operation in eastern Ukraine, with the army surrounding the anti-government stronghold of Slavyansk, blockading civilians inside with military helicopters and APCs on Friday morning. Two pilots have died, and self-defense forces in Slavyansk said that one of their members was killed.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has urged for the creation of humanitarian corridors for the civilian population, Andrey Kelin, Russia's permanent representative to the organization, told RIA Novosti.
While Kiev has chosen the path of military strikes, the EU has called on anti-government activists and self-defense forces – which have occupied government buildings in the city – to end “illegal actions.”
"Occupied buildings need to be vacated, all persons illegally detained need to be released, including the OSCE military observers," Kocijancic said.
In
February, as events unfolded at Kiev's Independence Square, the EU
spoke in a heightened rhetoric, “condemning
the violence” at
the EuroMaidan protests.
Anti-government
Maidan protesters threw stones at police as officers responded with
tear gas and stun grenades. The violence resulted in many casualties.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton responded to the
events in a February statement, saying she “condemns
all use of violence,including against public or party buildings” and
urged the country’s political leadership to resolve the crisis.
(L) Ukrainian soldiers take position
at a checkpoint they seized in the early morning in the village of
Andreevka, 7 kms from the centre of the southern Ukrainian city of
Slavyansk, on May 2, 2014 (AFP Photo) (R) An aerial view shows
Independence Square during clashes between anti-government
protesters and Interior Ministry members and riot police in central
Kiev February 19, 2014 (Reuters)
Regarding the Slavyansk military operation, Moscow now states that Kiev’s offensive has destroyed the last vestige of hope for implementing the Geneva agreement on de-escalating the Ukrainian crisis.
"While Russia is making efforts to de-escalate and resolve the conflict, the Kiev regime has chosen military aviation strikes on peaceful residential areas and started a punitive operation, literally destroying the last hope for the viability of the Geneva accords,” President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday in response to the military’s advancement.
Russia,
the US, the EU, and Ukraine adopted a joint document on the
de-escalation of the Ukraine crisis after talks in Geneva on April
17. One of the key points of the deal was the decision to refrain
from any violence.
During
a UN Security Council meeting in New York at the end of April,
Russia’s envoy to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said that Kiev had not
taken any steps towards fulfilling the Geneva agreements. He also
stressed that repressions against those disagreeing with Kiev’s
coup-imposed authorities were continuing.
Investigative journalist Pepe Escobar told RT that the activists in eastern Ukraine are not pro-Russian and merely want to be more independent from the coup-imposed government, with which they disagree.
“They are not pro-Russian, they want a united Ukraine, a federalized Ukraine, a Finlandized Ukraine that is not allied with the EU and NATO or with Russia; it’s equidistant. And they want more autonomy in the eastern and southern provinces. This is what those 'militants' want in fact. And now they are being confronted by guns.”
He added that sooner or later, the “Ukrainian neo-Nazi, neo-fascist militias fighting for a bunch of regime changers in Kiev and using what is left of the Ukrainian army to attack and encircle a city” will be attacking civilians.
“Where is the UN in all this?” he asked.
Investigative journalist Pepe Escobar told RT that the activists in eastern Ukraine are not pro-Russian and merely want to be more independent from the coup-imposed government, with which they disagree.
“They are not pro-Russian, they want a united Ukraine, a federalized Ukraine, a Finlandized Ukraine that is not allied with the EU and NATO or with Russia; it’s equidistant. And they want more autonomy in the eastern and southern provinces. This is what those 'militants' want in fact. And now they are being confronted by guns.”
He added that sooner or later, the “Ukrainian neo-Nazi, neo-fascist militias fighting for a bunch of regime changers in Kiev and using what is left of the Ukrainian army to attack and encircle a city” will be attacking civilians.
“Where is the UN in all this?” he asked.
Ukraine
SITREP update -
May 2nd, 20:14 UTC/Zulu:
massacre in Odessa
2
May, 2014
It
appears that a massacre did take place today, but not in Slaviansk,
but in Odessa were 38 people died when a building in which they had
sought refuge was set ablaze. Here is what RT reports:
At
least 38 anti-government activists died in fire at Odessa’s Trade
Unions House after suffocating with smoke or jumping out of windows
of the burning building, Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported. The
building was set ablaze by the pro-Kiev radicals. Some 50 people,
including 10 police officers, were also injured in the incident, the
official statement said. It was not immediately clear whether those
injured in Friday street clashes in Odessa were included in those
numbers.
According to the ministry, the Friday standoff on Odessa
included “anti-Maidan” activists on one side and “football
fans” from Odessa and Kharkov, as well as "euro-Maidan"
activists, on the other. A criminal case on the charges of mass
unrest has been opened. The Trade Unions House was set on fire by
pro-Kiev radicals after they surrounded and destroyed the tent camp
of anti-government activists that stood in front of the building on
Odessa’s Kulikovo Field Square. It was torched in a storming
attempt after some of the anti-Maidan activists rallying in the
square barricaded themselves inside the building. Thirty of the
victims were found on the floors of the building having apparently
suffocated to death with smoke. Eight more died after jumping out of
the burning Trade Union House’s windows, according to police.
Earlier reports of the clashes in Odessa said that both sides used
Molotov cocktails and, allegedly, gunfire.
While
the exact circumstances of this tragedy are unclear, it appears that
we are dealing with the massacre of pro-Russian activists by
nationalist thugs (aka "football hooligans"). As I
mentioned earlier, a Russian intervention in Odessa is far more
likely than in the Donbass which seems capable of protecting itself
without Russian assistance.
Also,
and with some reluctance, I want to inform you about one interesting
but unverified source (caveat emptor!): there is a Spanish speaking
air traffic controller in Kiev who regularly tweets info about the
events in the Ukraine here: https://twitter.com/spainbuca.
Now
I personally never use Twitter (or Facebook), but a reader has called
my attention to this guys who seems to have some pretty good
information. According to him, some "military in Kiev" had
requested the help of Russia, after which some Russian cargo plane
has flown near Donetsk. According to him, radio intercepts indicate
Russian paratroopers. The aircraft then turned around. What that a
para drop? Finally, he reports that Ukrainian military aircraft have
been challenged by Russian interceptors and have had to withdraw.
Now, since all this is based on radio communication it could be fake
or just somebody trying to create a panic. But for those of you who
understand Spanish I wanted to pass you the info so you call follow
this directly on Twitter.
Whether
Russia moves troops in now or not, my sense is that this massacre in
Odessa will have serious consequences as the Russians will not ignore
it.
I
will try to keep you posted as best I can,
The
Saker
For 24 hour coverage by RT GO HERE
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