Things are escalating very quickly - it is hard to keep up with events. There are romours that neo-Nazi leader Yarosh has arrived in Kramatorsk.
Ukrainian army attacks eastern towns of Mariupol, Konstantinovka
Ukrainian army attacks eastern towns of Mariupol, Konstantinovka
3 May, 2014
The troops have moved into Mariupol and have surrounded an administrative building held by anti-government protesters.The Ukrainian military has started an operation against pro-autonomy activists in the city of Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, as well as the town of Konstantinovka, according to local self-defense activists.
There are a few hundred activists inside the building. They told RT that the army is warning them that if they do not leave the building in the coming minutes, they will be fired at and the building will be seized.
“Special forces units are in the city center. Mainly, they are deployed in yards and make warning shots from there,” Mikhail Krutko from the self-defense headquarters told Interfax news agency. “Residents are unarmed, they blocked roads in the city center, built up barricades from tires and other things not to let hardware pass. They set tires on fire,” Krutko said.
People on the ground told RT’s Paula Slier that there are 300-500 anti-Kiev protesters there and they are unarmed. There have so far been no reports of injuries.
At the same time, a convoy of Ukrainian APCs has forced its way through self-defense checkpoints near the Donetsk Region town of Konstantinovka. Shots and alarm can be heard inside the city.
There are reports that at least two people have been killed, Paula Slier says. The TV building has reportedly been seized by the army and all transmissions are currently off-air, she adds.
Self-defense units earlier seized the security services headquarters in the town.
Ukraine's acting interior minister, Arsen Avakov, has confirmed that a special operation is underway in the town of Konstantinovka, adding that several soldiers have been injured.
Meanwhile National Security Council secretary Andrey Parubiy has said that Kiev is planning to begin special military operations in other regions of Ukraine after it completes its current operations in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
Over the past few days, Ukraine has stepped up its military operations in southeastern Ukraine against pro-autonomy activists. The main opposition strongholds include Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Lugansk, and others.
In Lugansk, self-defense forces have declared a state of emergency and full mobilization amid Kiev’s punitive military operation in the region on Saturday.
At the same time, outraged residents of Kramatorsk have lashed out at troops entering the city's streets. The Ukrainian military is currently occupying the city of Kramatorsk following an assault early on Saturday, a local self-defense unit said. Activists said that 10 people died in fighting overnight and two others were “killed by snipers.”
Meanwhile, clashes between pro-nationalist radicals and anti-Kiev activists have intensified. On Friday, more than 45 anti-Kiev protesters were killed in Odessa; some died in clashes, while others died from burns or suffocation after being trapped inside the House of Trade Unions building by the ultra-nationalist Right Sector group.
In Lugansk, self-defense forces have declared a state of emergency and full mobilization amid Kiev’s punitive military operation in the region on Saturday.
At the same time, outraged residents of Kramatorsk have lashed out at troops entering the city's streets. The Ukrainian military is currently occupying the city of Kramatorsk following an assault early on Saturday, a local self-defense unit said. Activists said that 10 people died in fighting overnight and two others were “killed by snipers.”
Meanwhile, clashes between pro-nationalist radicals and anti-Kiev activists have intensified. On Friday, more than 45 anti-Kiev protesters were killed in Odessa; some died in clashes, while others died from burns or suffocation after being trapped inside the House of Trade Unions building by the ultra-nationalist Right Sector group.
‘
Fascists!
Off to Kiev!’: Outraged Kramatorsk locals chase off Ukrainian
military (VIDEO)
RT,
3
May, 2014
Residents of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk have lashed out at troops entering the city’s streets with outrage and insults. The soldiers were supposed to be "liberating the people from pro-Russian terrorists,” according to the Kiev government.
The ongoing military crackdown on anti-government activists in eastern Ukraine has been portrayed as a noble quest of freeing the locals “kept hostage” by the so-called“terrorists” and “separatists.” Coup-imposed Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov recently branded the campaign “an anti-terrorist operation against the sabotage group of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the Russian Federation” on his Facebook page.
Curiously, however, eastern Ukrainians “liberated” by the Kiev troops have not at all been grateful for the armored vehicles roaming through their cities and military men with and without insignia shooting at supporters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic. Dozens of armed self-defense activists and unarmed civilians supporting them have reportedly been injured or killed since the start of the military operation in the Donetsk Region, where many people have openly rallied in favor of a referendum on autonomy from Kiev.
Curiously, however, eastern Ukrainians “liberated” by the Kiev troops have not at all been grateful for the armored vehicles roaming through their cities and military men with and without insignia shooting at supporters of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic. Dozens of armed self-defense activists and unarmed civilians supporting them have reportedly been injured or killed since the start of the military operation in the Donetsk Region, where many people have openly rallied in favor of a referendum on autonomy from Kiev.
In the city of Kramatorsk, which for weeks has been an active stronghold of anti-government sentiments, locals took to the streets after Ukrainian troops arrived on APCs and forced self-defense troops to a small cluster in the central square.
Defiant of the armed vehicles and sniper rifles pointed at them, residents were filmed approaching the troops to have their say.
“Fascists! Fascists!” the locals chanted, casting insults on the troops and the Kiev government. Kiev authorities are commonly referred to as the “fascist junta” in the east of the country, because of their takeover of power in February and the government's alliance with nationalists – including the notorious Right Sector radical group.
“What kind of law and order are you bringing here?! We are the f*****g residents of the Donetsk Region, not you!” one man shouted. Many of the soldiers interviewed by RT stringer Graham Phillips revealed they had come from western Ukrainian regions, including Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk. Kiev has been apparently relying on regional and ethnic differences in Ukraine while launching the military action, as a large part of eastern Ukrainian armed forces and police have been unwilling “to fire at our own people.”
The crowd in Kramatorsk grew even angrier as one of the Ukrainian APCs rammed a road sign, bringing it down.
“Off to your Kiev! You are not welcome here! Get out! It is our land!” residents shouted.
The troops could then be seen suddenly mounting the APCs and leaving the area. The crowd rushed to chase them, shouting “Donbass! Donbass! Glory to Donbass!”.
“Fascists! Fascists!” the locals chanted, casting insults on the troops and the Kiev government. Kiev authorities are commonly referred to as the “fascist junta” in the east of the country, because of their takeover of power in February and the government's alliance with nationalists – including the notorious Right Sector radical group.
“What kind of law and order are you bringing here?! We are the f*****g residents of the Donetsk Region, not you!” one man shouted. Many of the soldiers interviewed by RT stringer Graham Phillips revealed they had come from western Ukrainian regions, including Lvov and Ivano-Frankovsk. Kiev has been apparently relying on regional and ethnic differences in Ukraine while launching the military action, as a large part of eastern Ukrainian armed forces and police have been unwilling “to fire at our own people.”
The crowd in Kramatorsk grew even angrier as one of the Ukrainian APCs rammed a road sign, bringing it down.
“Off to your Kiev! You are not welcome here! Get out! It is our land!” residents shouted.
The troops could then be seen suddenly mounting the APCs and leaving the area. The crowd rushed to chase them, shouting “Donbass! Donbass! Glory to Donbass!”.
The historical Russian region, which spans through several modern eastern Ukrainian regions and is commonly associated with its mining industry and metallurgy, Donbass became part of the Ukrainian SSR at the beginning of the Soviet era, but has nevertheless retained a strong local identity.
According to a common stereotype, most residents of the strongly-industrial region believe they are the real breadwinners of Ukraine, “feeding” the western part of the country. The notion is ridiculed by western Ukrainians, some of whom call residents of Donetsk Region “ignorant” and “brainwashed” people.
According to a common stereotype, most residents of the strongly-industrial region believe they are the real breadwinners of Ukraine, “feeding” the western part of the country. The notion is ridiculed by western Ukrainians, some of whom call residents of Donetsk Region “ignorant” and “brainwashed” people.
Now many of the locals are rejecting the rule of the coup-imposed Kiev government, which is dominated by parties relying on popular support in western and, to a lesser extent, central Ukraine. The fact that much of the eastern population is Russian-speaking and has cultural and family ties with Russia has been used for delegitimizing the popular protests as “pro-Russian insurgency” in Ukrainian and Western media. However, despite accusations of “separatism,” most people protesting in eastern Ukraine have been preaching for the federalization of the country and for an autonomous rule – not for joining Russia.
At least six people have been killed and 15 injured since the start of the Kiev military operation in Kramatorsk on Friday, according to Donetsk Regional Administration. The local self-defense unit contradicts the official count, saying that 10 people were killed in fighting overnight and at least two others were shot by government snipers during street battles on Saturday.
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