Eastern regions of Ukraine are battlegrounds
today. The government in Kiev has launched a full-fledged offensive
against pro-Russian militants, and there are reports of heavy
casualties. President Barack Obama is meeting today with German
Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the situation. The Putin
administration has condemned the operation, saying Ukraine just
extinguished any chance of a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The
United Nations held an emergency
meeting that included U.S. Ambassador Samantha Powers.
There is no official tally of casualties from the fighting in
Donetsk and Sloviansk, but Ukraine’s interim president, Oleksandr
Turchynov, says the
operation left “many insurgents dead, wounded and arrested” and
accuses them of using human shields. He also
claims that “armed saboteurs” from the Russian government were
fended off at the border in the night.
Separatists,
reportedly armed with surface-to-air missiles, shot down two
military helicopters, killing two soldiers and injuring others.
In Odessa, there are ongoing clashes between pro-Russian and
pro-Ukrainian protesters. Agence France-Presse reports
three deaths from these skirmishes, and the Kyiv Post
reports 20 injured. Moscow Times reporter Howard Amos is
tweeting live updates and
photos (images above and below) of additional injuries and
deaths.
A Kremlin spokesman has
stated, “While Russia is making efforts to de-escalate and
settle the conflict, the Kiev regime has turned to firing on
civilian towns with military aircraft and has begun a punitive
operation, effectively destroying the last hope of survival for the
Geneva accord.” Yesterday Russia demanded that Ukraine remove any
military presence from its own eastern territories or else face
“catastrophic
consequences.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry
counters that “despite calls of the international community,
the Russian Federation has taken no steps to de-escalate the
situation and fulfill the Geneva agreements. Russia strongly
supports the terrorist groups that operate in the eastern regions
of Ukraine, endangering civilians, seizing hostages and building
the atmosphere of terror and violence.”
Obama and Merkel both are threatening new sanctions against
Russia,
according to The Guardian.
Here’s a video of the action in Odessa:
from Hit & Run http://ift.tt/1nQHQhw
via IFTTT