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Ukraine Says It Has Begun Military Operation in East Ukraine Military Is Said to Clash With Pro-Russia Militants in East
(about 4 hours later)
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — After days of failing to enforce its own ultimatums, the Ukrainian government on Tuesday began what the president called a military operation to confront pro-Russian militants in the east of the country. SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military stormed an airport 25 miles north of this eastern city on Tuesday, beginning what the president called a military operation to confront pro-Russian militants in the eastern part of the country.
A column of armored personnel carriers flying the Ukrainian flag entered the airport late in the afternoon, local reporters there said . The convoy was met by a crowd that the soldiers tried to push back by firing in the air, they said. The Ukrainian soldiers quickly took control of the facility, while the commander sought to persuade the civilians to leave, they said, describing the situation as more of a “mob scene” than a gunfight.
The movements suggested that Kiev had overcome fears that an overly assertive Ukrainian military response could quickly lead to heavy civilian casualties and play into Moscow’s narrative that Russian-speakers are in need of protection.
Russian television broadcast images of helicopters and warplanes in the vicinity of the airport, which was seized by pro-Russian activists on Sunday. Russian news media, citing members of the armed opposition to Kiev, reported that several members of a pro-Russian militia had been injured at the airfield in firefights with the Ukrainian military. Later, Russian news media reported four fatalities in the vicinity of the airport. The reports could not be confirmed.
Gen. Vasily Krutov, commander of the Kiev government’s military response to the crisis, confirmed late Tuesday afternoon that Ukrainian forces had begun carrying out military operations in the area, including the retaking of the airfield. After his statements, masked gunmen at checkpoints in the city prohibited civilian vehicles from leaving Slovyansk, citing Ukrainian military movements on the highway outside the city.
In Slovyansk, an ambulance with its siren wailing drove out of the city on the road toward the airfield.
Seemingly poking the Kremlin in the eye, the head of the Ukrainian National Security Council, Andriy Parubiy, sent out a message on Twitter saying that veterans of the uprising in Kiev, many of whom were members of right-wing nationalist groups, were poised to join the fight. “Reserve unit of National Guard formed from #Maidan Self-defense volunteers was sent to the front line this morning,” he wrote.
The first indication that the operation represented more than just words this time was a modest Ukrainian military checkpoint established on a highway north of the town of Slovyansk, which has been controlled by militants since Saturday.The first indication that the operation represented more than just words this time was a modest Ukrainian military checkpoint established on a highway north of the town of Slovyansk, which has been controlled by militants since Saturday.
Witnesses said a dozen armored personnel carriers parked on the highway flew Ukrainian flags about 40 kilometers, or 25 miles, north of the town. There were no credible reports of confrontations with the well-armed and apparently Russian-backed forces in the town. Witnesses said a dozen armored personnel carriers with Ukrainian flags parked on the highway about 25 miles north of the city. There were no credible reports of confrontations with the well-armed and apparently Russian-backed forces in the town.
“On Tuesday morning, in the north of Donetsk region, an antiterrorist operation began,” the Ukrainian speaker of Parliament and acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, told Parliament in the capital, Kiev. “It will be carried out in stages, and responsibly and in a balanced manner. The goal is the defense of citizens of Ukraine.”“On Tuesday morning, in the north of Donetsk region, an antiterrorist operation began,” the Ukrainian speaker of Parliament and acting president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, told Parliament in the capital, Kiev. “It will be carried out in stages, and responsibly and in a balanced manner. The goal is the defense of citizens of Ukraine.”
Mr. Turchynov, who has asserted in recent days that Russian soldiers have joined the Ukrainian militants who have seized police stations and the entire town of Slovyansk, said the country was confronting a “colossal danger” but offered the assurance that “there will be no civil war.”Mr. Turchynov, who has asserted in recent days that Russian soldiers have joined the Ukrainian militants who have seized police stations and the entire town of Slovyansk, said the country was confronting a “colossal danger” but offered the assurance that “there will be no civil war.”
In a nod to the wide backing for pro-Russian groups here and in other parts of the east, Mr. Turchynov said that, “along with the Russian special forces and the terrorists there are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens in the Donbass who were tricked by Russian propaganda.” The Donbass is a coal-mining region that includes the city of Donetsk.In a nod to the wide backing for pro-Russian groups here and in other parts of the east, Mr. Turchynov said that, “along with the Russian special forces and the terrorists there are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens in the Donbass who were tricked by Russian propaganda.” The Donbass is a coal-mining region that includes the city of Donetsk.
The appearance of the Ukrainian Army in the east of the country and the looming threat of war that it carried sent the Russian stock market down sharply on Tuesday morning. The Russian prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, warned of the risk of bloodshed in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.The appearance of the Ukrainian Army in the east of the country and the looming threat of war that it carried sent the Russian stock market down sharply on Tuesday morning. The Russian prime minister, Dmitri A. Medvedev, warned of the risk of bloodshed in Ukraine’s eastern provinces.
The Ukrainian troops were not moving by early afternoon on Tuesday. Ahead of them in Slovyansk, scores of armed men maintained their hold on the police and domestic security service building and the City Hall. They have barricaded the roads and, locals say, placed snipers on roofs.The Ukrainian troops were not moving by early afternoon on Tuesday. Ahead of them in Slovyansk, scores of armed men maintained their hold on the police and domestic security service building and the City Hall. They have barricaded the roads and, locals say, placed snipers on roofs.
And yet the town remained crowded with people milling about the streets and standing at protests in front of barricades, illustrating that an overly assertive Ukrainian military response could quickly lead to heavy civilian casualties and play into Moscow’s narrative that Russian-speakers are in need of protection.And yet the town remained crowded with people milling about the streets and standing at protests in front of barricades, illustrating that an overly assertive Ukrainian military response could quickly lead to heavy civilian casualties and play into Moscow’s narrative that Russian-speakers are in need of protection.
An initial deadline set by Mr. Turchynov to start a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” in the east passed without any clear police or military intervention on Monday. The passive approach risked encouraging the pro-Russian groups to go further, and on Monday militants seized another government building in the Donetsk region, bringing to at least nine the number of eastern towns now swept up in the insurgency.An initial deadline set by Mr. Turchynov to start a “large-scale antiterrorist operation” in the east passed without any clear police or military intervention on Monday. The passive approach risked encouraging the pro-Russian groups to go further, and on Monday militants seized another government building in the Donetsk region, bringing to at least nine the number of eastern towns now swept up in the insurgency.
In a sign of the heightened tension, Ukraine seemed to teeter toward a run on bank deposits on Monday. The central bank was compelled to raise one of its key interest rates from 6.5 percent to 9.5 percent to slow the rapid slide of the national currency, the hryvnia, as people withdrew deposits and converted savings into hard currency. The sliding currency also accelerated inflation by increasing the costs of imported goods, exacerbating the difficulties faced by residents in the east, who complain that the new government is mismanaging the economy.In a sign of the heightened tension, Ukraine seemed to teeter toward a run on bank deposits on Monday. The central bank was compelled to raise one of its key interest rates from 6.5 percent to 9.5 percent to slow the rapid slide of the national currency, the hryvnia, as people withdrew deposits and converted savings into hard currency. The sliding currency also accelerated inflation by increasing the costs of imported goods, exacerbating the difficulties faced by residents in the east, who complain that the new government is mismanaging the economy.