Kyiv Post- Definitely pro-coup/NATO However........... We have a bunch of conflicting news stories this morning to sift through.We have reports of people killed. We have conflicting reports on where the killings took placeUkraine coup government authority Arsen Avakov is claiming the deaths took place in the city of SlovianskThe federalist are claiming this is not true.
Interior Ministry Arsen Avakov said that one Ukrainian state security officer was killed and five others were wounded on the side of government forces in an "anti-terrorist" in Sloviansk, but the separatists told the Kyiv Post that the confrontation did not take place in the city or at the police station.
Since the federalists are talking to reporters from inside police headquarters & SBU offices. It would seem the federalists are presenting a factual accounting. I will highlight that information in the article below But, first- A map of Ukraine
click on the map for more detail
DONETSK, Ukraine -- Amid reports of casualties on both sides as Ukrainian forces battle pro-Russian militias in Sloviansk, other armed separatists continued to seize or attempt to seize other government buildings or strategic locations in Donetsk Oblast, home to ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and 10 percent of Ukraine's population.
Here's what we know about each city on April 13:
Donetsk- Pro-Russian separatists control the oblast government center and the oblast Interior Ministry. There was little visible presence of Ukrainian police or military in Donetsk and repeated attempts to reach people working for Donetsk Oblast governor Serhiy Taruta (Oligarch appointed by Kiev coup government) today were unsuccessful.
Mariupol- In Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast's second largest city, Novosti Donbassa reported that several hundred separatists seized the local city administration building, citing eyewitnesses. The seizure occurred during a rally of demonstrators who favor secession from Ukraine and formation of the independent People's Republic of Donetsk.
Donetsk Peoples Republic posters?
According to http://www.0629.com.ua, Mariupol city news website, and Novost.dn.ua, a regional news website, around 1,000 local separatists have seized the city council building in Mariupol. Here are their combined reports: As separatists stormed the building, Ukrainian flags were taken down and the Russian flag and the flag of so-called Donetsk Republic were put up instead. A police cordon had to step back afar getting pushed backed by the crowd. Unidentified people in masks stormed the building, broke the windows and got inside. A huge barricade is being built in front of the building. Protesters use everything they can find to build the barricade – men take concrete slabs from the sidewalk, others bring furniture from the administration building. Police forces did not do anything. As the barricade was being finished, women protected the entrance. Meanwhile, new people’s deputies were being selected from the crowd. A huge poster over the building’s central entrance reads “People’s Republic of Donetsk.” Rally participants want help from Russia.
Warning: This is a graphic video, purportedly of one of the men shot to death in clashes near Donetsk Oblast's Sloviansk between Ukrainian police or military forces and armed pro-Russian separatists.
As mentioned at the beginning of the post- whatever happened near Sloviansk- looks to have happened outside of the city-Rural looking area.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has confirmed the murder of at least one Ukrainian special service officer and said casualties have come on both sides of the conflict.
Sloviansk Armed pro-Russian separatists still held the police headquarters and local Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) headquarters in Sloviansk. Separatists inside were talking with journalists, and one claimed to the Kyiv Post that numerous casualties took place in a battle between Ukrainian police and pro-Russian separatists outside the city, possibly at one of the roadside checkpoints.
But that information could not be confirmed. Interior Ministry Arsen Avakov said that one Ukrainian state security officer was killed and five others were wounded on the side of government forces in an "anti-terrorist" in Sloviansk, but the separatists told the Kyiv Post that the confrontation did not take place in the city or at the police station.
Ukrainian military helicopters were flying over the area. The separatists are protected by some 1,000 pro-Russian demonstrators and roadside checkpoints. All the entrances to the city are also still blocked by pro-Russian militants. Separatists burn trees and tires on the roads to make the smoke curtain and isolate the town.
Pro-Russia activists assist an Orthodox priest walk through a barricade outside the regional police building seized by armed separatists in Slavyansk on April 13, 2014
Pro-Russian separatists were holding rallies, but thus far only the local city administration building has been seized, according to the Kyiv Post journalist on the scene. The mayor of Yenakievo came to the city council building and wavered on which side that he is on when questioned by the Kyiv Post. The Donetsk Republic separatist flag is flying over the administration headquarters.
Kramatorsk After a shootout, pro-Russian armed separatists seized the police station and reportedly also have control for the local city administration building and the local airport.
A 5 minute, 46 second video shows the storming of the police station in Kramatorsk, a Donetsk Oblast city, by pro-Russian men in military uniforms with automatic rifles.
Editor’s Note: This article has been produced with support from the project www.mymedia.org.ua, financially supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, and implemented by a joint venture between NIRAS and BBC Media Action.The content in this article may not necessarily reflect the views of the Danish government, NIRAS and BBC Action Media.
UPDATE 1: Russian Media Report CIA Director Held 'Secret Consultations' in Kiev
Russian news agencies reported Sunday that U.S. CIA director John Brennan had a secret meeting with Ukrainian officials in Kiev before they began operations against separatist forces that had taken over buildings in the country's east.
Brennan landed in Ukraine on Saturday under an assumed name and held a "series of secret meetings" with the country's "power bloc" Interfax reported, citing an unidentified official in the Ukrainian parliament. The unidentified official said that there were "unconfirmed reports" that the U.S. security official was behind the decision to use force in eastern Ukraine after pro-Russian separatist forces took control of the city of Slovyansk.
UPDATE 2: Ukraine readies full military operations to clear out "pro-Russian rebels" Take note of the language being used- I do not see these people as rebels, as in Syrian/Libyan "rebels" who are really mercenaries. Paid mercenaries. Organized, yes. But, not hired killers.Presently '
Ukraine is launching a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” to resist attacks of armed pro-Russian forces, Ukraine’s President Oleksandr Turchynov said on Sunday in a televised address.The authorities in Kyiv will use the army in order to prevent Russian forces from moving in...
No indication Russian forces are moving in. Is the coup government implying they are going to slaughter the federalist movement supporters. This is certainly the way I am interpreting this move.
“The Security Council has made a decision to begin a large-scale anti-terrorist operation with participation of army forces,” he said. “