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Armed Men Seize Police Station in Eastern Ukraine City Armed Men Seize Police Station in Eastern Ukraine City
(about 2 hours later)
DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian militants seized police stations and other security facilities in the most populous part of eastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a brush fire of violent unrest that the government in Kiev immediately denounced as Russian “aggression.” DONETSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian militants attacked police stations and other security facilities in the most populous part of eastern Ukraine on Saturday, in a brush fire of violent unrest that the government in Kiev immediately denounced as Russian “aggression.”
The attacks on the Police Headquarters here in Donetsk and on a police station and a state security branch in Slovyansk about 50 miles away, along with reports of shootings in several other towns, suggested a coordinated campaign to destabilize the Donetsk region, a vitally important industrial and coal-mining area that borders Russia. The attacks on the Police Headquarters here in Donetsk and on a police station and a state security branch in Slovyansk about 60 miles away, along with reports of shooting in several other towns, suggested a coordinated campaign to destabilize the Donetsk region, a vitally important industrial and coal-mining area that borders Russia.
Six days earlier, pro-Russian activists seized the headquarters of the regional government, declared an independent People’s Republic of Donetsk, and demanded a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia. Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, called an emergency meeting late Saturday of the country’s national security council to discuss the escalating crisis in the mainly Russian-speaking east of the country. Six days earlier, pro-Russian activists seized the headquarters of the regional government, declared an independent People’s Republic of Donetsk, and demanded a referendum on whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
Fears that the government is losing control have been fueled by the militants’ seizing of a large number of weapons over the last week. Some 300 automatic rifles were taken from the Donetsk offices of the state security service after it was briefly taken over by pro-Russian protesters last weekend, and according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, 400 Makarov handguns and 20 automatic weapons were looted on Saturday from the occupied police station in Slovyansk. “The goal of the takeover was the guns,” the ministry said in a statement. Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, called an emergency meeting late Saturday of the country’s national security council to discuss the escalating crisis in the mainly Russian-speaking east of the country. Fears that the government is losing control have been fueled by the militants’ seizing of a large number of weapons over the last week. Some 300 automatic rifles were taken from the Donetsk offices of the state security service after it was briefly taken over by pro-Russian protesters last weekend, and according to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, 400 Makarov handguns and 20 automatic weapons were looted on Saturday from the police station in Slovyansk, which had been seized. “The goal of the takeover was the guns,” the ministry said.
The demands of the pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine, however, keep shifting between outright secession and greater autonomy within Ukraine for the region to run its own affairs. But calls for unity with Russia now seem to predominate, heightening concerns in Washington and in European capitals that Moscow is orchestrating the disorder to create a pretext for an invasion. Tens of thousands of Russian troops have been massed for weeks on the Russian side of the border a few score miles from Donetsk. The demands of the pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine keep shifting between outright secession and greater autonomy within Ukraine. But calls for unity with Russia now seem to predominate, heightening concerns in the West that Moscow is orchestrating the disorder to create a pretext for an invasion. Russian troops have been massed for weeks near the Ukrainian border.
Unlike the unidentified armed men who, in late February and early March as a prelude to Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, seized Ukrainian government buildings and military facilities in Crimea — and later turned out to be Russian soldiers —the gunmen behind Saturday’s attacks in Donetsk, the home region of the ousted Ukrainian president Viktor F. Yanukovych, appeared to be Russian-speaking local residents and not professional Russian troops. In Washington, the White House expressed concern on Saturday at “the concerted campaign we see underway in eastern Ukraine today by pro-Russian separatists, apparently with support from Russia,” and warned Moscow not to intervene in Ukraine.
Even so, Arsen Avakov, the acting interior minister in the shaky new Ukrainian government that came to power after Mr. Yanukvoych fled from Kiev on Feb. 21, immediately blamed Russia for the Donetsk attacks, saying that some of the weapons used in conducting the raids could be found only in Russian military hands. In a posting on his Facebook page, Mr. Avakov said the “Ukrainian government considers today’s facts as a manifestation of external aggression by the Russian Federation.” In Moscow, the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, warned that any use of force against the pro-Russian activists would undermine talks meant to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, involving Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States and scheduled for April 17 in Geneva.
Mr. Avakov said that troops from his ministry and the Ukrainian military were “implementing the operational response plan.” He did not elaborate, and the loyalty of the Ukrainian security forces based in eastern regions is regarded as uncertain. Mr. Avakov promised last week to end the pro-Russia activists’ occupation of the regional administration building in Donetsk within 48 hours, either through negotiation or by force, but that deadline passed with protesters still in possession of the 11-story building. Unlike the armed men who, earlier this year as a prelude to Russia’s annexation of the peninsula, seized Ukrainian government buildings and bases in Crimea — and later turned out to be Russian soldiers — the gunmen behind Saturday’s attacks in Donetsk, the home region of the ousted Ukrainian president Viktor F. Yanukovych, appeared to be Russian-speaking local residents and not professional Russian troops.
Donbass News, a local media organization, reported on Saturday that the head of the regional branch of Ukraine’s state security service, Valery Ivanov, had been fired by the authorities in Kiev. It gave no reason. Opponents of the pro-Russia activists in Donetsk have accused the region’s police and security service of sympathizing with calls for secession and of failing to take a robust stand against separatist militants. Even so, Arsen Avakov, the acting interior minister in the shaky new Ukrainian government that came to power after Mr. Yanukvoych fled from Kiev on Feb. 21, immediately blamed Russia for the Donetsk attacks, citing the use of weapons he said only the Russian military has. In a posting on his Facebook page, Mr. Avakov said the “Ukrainian government considers today’s facts as a manifestation of external aggression by the Russian Federation.”
Some of the men who stormed the Donetsk police building on Saturday, according to witnesses, wore the uniforms of the Berkut, a riot police squad that took a leading role in trying to keep Mr. Yanukovych in power during repeated street clashes with pro-Europe protesters in Kiev. Mr. Avakov said that troops from his ministry and the Ukrainian military were “implementing the operational response plan.” He did not elaborate, and the loyalty of the Ukrainian security forces based in eastern regions is regarded as uncertain.
The force, which was disbanded by the new government after Mr. Yanukovych fled, is viewed favorably by many Russian speakers in the east, but is generally loathed by the public in Kiev and in the Ukrainian-speaking west of the country as a hated symbol of the old leadership. Donbass News, a local media organization, reported on Saturday that the head of the regional branch of Ukraine’s state security service, Valery Ivanov, had been fired by the authorities in Kiev. It gave no reason. Opponents of the pro-Russia activists in Donetsk have accused the region’s police and security services of sympathizing with the secessionist militants.
On Friday, a group of young men who said they were former members of the Berkut appeared at the occupied regional administration building in Donetsk and said they wanted to volunteer for service to the pro-Russian cause. Some of the men who stormed the Donetsk police building on Saturday, according to witnesses, wore the uniforms of the Berkut, a riot police squad that clashed with pro-Europe protesters in Kiev when Mr. Yanukovich was in power.
The presence of trained former riot police officers who may still be loyal to Mr. Yanukovych in the ranks of a movement opposed to the new central government stirred suspicions that the former president, who has taken refuge in Russia, may be trying to stage a comeback, with help from Moscow. Mr. Yanukovych has repeatedly insisted since he fled Kiev that he remains the country’s legitimate president and that he plans to return to Ukraine. The force, disbanded by the new government, is viewed favorably by many in the east, but is generally loathed by the public in Kiev and in the Ukrainian-speaking west as a hated symbol of the old leadership.
On Friday, a group of young men who said they were former members of the Berkut appeared at the occupied regional administration building in Donetsk and said they wanted to join the pro-Russian cause. The presence of trained officers who may still be loyal to Mr. Yanukovych among the antigovernment activists stirred suspicions that he may be trying to stage a comeback, with help from Russia, where he has taken refuge. Mr. Yanukovych insists that he is still Ukraine’s legitimate president.
But he has little support now, even among many of those who want Donetsk to become part of Russia. Some who gathered on Saturday outside the occupied administration building said they considered him a corrupt coward who betrayed his supporters in the east by fleeing to Russia.