Ukraine minister accuses Russia of ‘act of aggression’
Ukraine’s interior minister Arsen Avakov says attacks by pro-Russian armed gunmen in cities across eastern Ukraine are an “act of aggression” by Russia, and Ukraine’s defence units are responding.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the attacks in eastern Ukraine were an “act of aggression by Russia” in a statement on his Facebook page.
“Units of the interior and defence ministries are implementing an operational response plan,” he added.
In Slaviansk, a Ukrainian city about 90 miles from the Russian border, pro-Russian gunmen have taken over the police and security services headquarters, and there has also been an armed attack on the police station in the town of Kramatorsk.
Officials said the men in Slaviansk had also seized hundreds of pistols from the buildings’ arsenals, and replaced the Ukrainian flag on one of the buildings with the red, white and blue flag of Russia. The men, armed with pistols and rifles and clad in camouflage gear, also began building barricades with tyres, helped by locals. They have also set up checkpoints on roads into Slaviansk manned by men with automatic rifles and separatist flags.
The Ukrainian flag is no longer flying in parts of Donetsk either, about 80 miles south. In the regional capital, the Ukrainian flag on the police headquarters has been replaced with a separatist flag, and the police chief has stepped down, saying he is bowing to the pressure of the protesters.
“In accordance with your demands I am stepping down,” police chief Kostyantyn Pozhydayev told protesters.
Other buildings in Donetsk and Luhansk remain occupied by pro-Russian protesters despite a deadline set for Friday by the Kiev authorities calling on them to leave.
Flashpoints
The occupations are potential flashpoints because if the pro-Russian protesters are killed or hurt by Ukrainian forces, that could prompt the Kremlin to intervene to protect the local Russian-speaking population, a repeat of the scenario in the Crimea region when Russian troops were sent in.
Russia denies any plan to send in forces or split Ukraine, but the western-leaning authorities in Kiev believe Russia is trying to create a pretext to interfere again. Nato says Russia’s armed forces are massing on Ukraine’s eastern border, while Moscow says they are on normal manoeuvres.
Ukraine’s acting foreign minister Andrii Deshchytsia said he had spoken in a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and demanded Moscow stop what he called “provocative actions” by its agents in eastern Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in confrontation since protests in Kiev forced the Moscow-backed president from office, and the Kremlin sent troops into Crimea.
Mr Lavrov, in a statement issued by his ministry, said there were no Russian agents in the region and that it would be “unacceptable” if Ukrainian authorities were to order the storming of the buildings.