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As Ukraine Clashes With Pro-Russia Militias, Moscow Announces Military Drills Russia to Start Drills, Warning Ukraine Over Mobilization
(about 2 hours later)
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces moved Thursday against pro-Russian forces manning checkpoints outside this eastern Ukraine city, killing and wounding a still undetermined number of people and prompting Russia to launch what the country’s defense minister said were military exercises along the Ukrainian border. SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Russia announced on Thursday that it was immediately starting military drills involving its army and air force along the border with Ukraine, harshly criticizing the government there for moving against pro-Russian forces occupying various government buildings in a show of force that left a still-undetermined number of people killed and wounded.
The moves sharply raised tensions in the developing crisis. In Moscow, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, answering questions at a public forum in St. Petersburg, said any fighting would have an impact on Ukraine’s relations with Russia and would prove that Russia was justified in interfering in Crimea. The military maneuvers, along with pointed criticism of the Ukrainian government by President Vladimir V. Putin and other senior officials, was sure to deepen the crisis with the West as Moscow vies with Washington and its European allies over who will influence the future of Ukraine.
“If, in fact, the Kiev regime has started to use the armed forces against people inside the country, then, with no doubt, it is a serious crime against their own nation,” Mr. Putin said at a forum for regional reporters and media figures that was broadcast live on Rossiya 24 television.“If, in fact, the Kiev regime has started to use the armed forces against people inside the country, then, with no doubt, it is a serious crime against their own nation,” Mr. Putin said at a forum for regional reporters and media figures that was broadcast live on Rossiya 24 television.
The Russian military exercises seemed likely to further fray relations with the United States and its Western allies, who have demanded repeatedly that Russia cease its efforts to stir unrest in eastern Ukraine and desist from military action along the border, where the Kremlin has massed as many as 40,000 troops. President Obama and other Western leaders have repeatedly demanded that Russia pull back its 40,000 troops deployed along the border and exert its influence on pro-Russian militants occupying government buildings in eastern Ukraine to get them to withdraw.
The Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that the exercises would include troop movements on the ground as well as flights by the Russian air force. Mr. Shoigu also complained about NATO exercises in Poland and the Baltics, which the alliance announced recently in response to previous Russian threats of military intervention in Ukraine. But on Thursday, Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that troops in southern and western Russia, the areas surrounding Ukraine, as well as the air force, would begin drills. That would include flights along the border, Mr. Shoigu said at a meeting of Russia’s top military council.
“We have to react to such developments,” he said of the Ukrainian attacks.
The announcement about the Russian military drills came hours after Ukrainian forces began to move into eastern cities that have been controlled by militants for weeks.
Ukrainian forces were reported to have engaged pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country in what appeared to be a limited action. There were no confirmed reports of casualties, but the Ukrainian government said five separatists had been killed. Several people claiming to have witnessed the fighting put the number at one to three.
Appearing at a news conference late Thursday, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk said that one pro-Russian separatist had been killed, and one wounded. The Ukrainian forces appeared largely unscathed.
The Ukrainian interim authorities also said Thursday that “civilian activists” had regained control of City Hall in the southeastern city of Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, forcing pro-Russian protesters to leave without bloodshed. There was no independent corroboration of the account, published by Arsen B. Avakov, the interior minister, on Facebook. News reports offered a different version of the events, saying that the building had been stormed by masked men who used baseball bats to beat the occupiers.
In announcing the military drills, Mr. Shoigu complained about NATO exercises in Poland and the Baltics, where American troops have deployed as part of alliance maneuvers called in reaction to earlier Russian threats to intervene militarily in Ukraine.
“The starting gun on the use of weapons against their own civilians has already been fired,” Mr. Shoigu said, according to the Interfax news service. “If today this military machine is not stopped, it will lead to a large number of the dead and wounded.”“The starting gun on the use of weapons against their own civilians has already been fired,” Mr. Shoigu said, according to the Interfax news service. “If today this military machine is not stopped, it will lead to a large number of the dead and wounded.”
“We have to react to such developments,” Mr. Shoigu, was quoted as saying. Russia’s seizure of Crimea in March has fueled debate for weeks about whether Russian forces would roll across the land border with Ukraine to seize more territory, with Western diplomats and other analysts speculating that Mr. Putin had not made up his mind. He probably wants to avoid the financial cost and possible casualties involved, they said, as well as significant new Western sanctions. But having cast himself as the protector of Russians in Ukraine, he may well be pushed to move if there are significant casualties there.
Ukrainian forces were reported to have engaged pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country in what appeared to be a limited action. There were no confirmed reports of casualties, but the Ukrainian government said five separatists had been killed while several people claiming to have witnessed the fighting put the number at one to three. The Ukrainian forces appeared largely unscathed. Analysts believe Moscow wants to hold sway over the future of Ukraine either by a president of its choosing or by forcing through a constitution that would allow for federalization — keeping the eastern regions in Moscow’s orbit, which would help torpedo any attempts from the capital to draw closer to Europe.
Appearing at a news conference late Thursday, the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk said that one pro-Russian separatist had been killed, and one wounded. At the very least, the military maneuvers announced Thursday, following a similar round after the crisis erupted two months ago, ratchet up the intimidation factor on Ukraine by putting Russian troops visibly on the move. It was unclear from the initial announcement how many soldiers would be involved in the maneuvers.
Elsewhere, the Ukrainian interim authorities said Thursday that “civilian activists” had regained control of City Hall in the southeastern city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, forcing pro-Russian protesters to leave without bloodshed. There was no independent corroboration of the account, published by Arsen B. Avakov, the interior minister, on Facebook. News reports offered a different version of the events, saying that the building had been stormed by masked men who used baseball bats to beat the occupiers. Mr. Putin, referring to the interim leadership in Kiev as a “junta,” the usual description used by the Russian government, said Ukraine’s decision to move against pro-Russian separatists was “just a punitive operation” that would have consequences, including on “intergovernmental relations” between Moscow and Kiev.
Referring to the interim leadership in Kiev as a “junta,” the usual description used by the Russian government, Mr. Putin said that Ukraine’s decision to act was “just a punitive operation” that would have consequences, including on “intergovernmental relations” between Moscow and Kiev. The defense minister made it sound as if Ukraine had deployed significant force.
Russia maintains that it was forced to intervene in Crimea, and ultimately to annex the peninsula, because of a threat to the safety of Russians living there. No such incidents were confirmed by outside observers, but on Thursday Mr. Putin said, “What we can see in Ukraine’s east, undoubtedly, would have happened in Crimea, had we not taken certain timely measures to protect the interests of the people in Crimea.” “Civilians are being attacked by national guard units as well as by battalions of extremists from Right Sector,” said Mr. Shoigu, according to the government-run RIA Novosti news agency. Russia often blames Right Sector, a right-wing nationalist group that is aggressively anti-Russian, of fomenting violence.
Outside of Slovyansk, up to five “terrorists” were killed in fighting at three checkpoints, the Interior Ministry said. In Ukraine, there is often no independent corroboration of official accounts. A separatist commander said Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces clashed at a roadblock in fighting that left one combatant dead and one wounded. Others put the total at three. He put the number of Ukrainian forces deployed at more than 11,000, with 160 tanks, 230 infantry vehicles and at least 150 artillery pieces.
Within the city itself, there were few signs of imminent attack, even as some members of the militia described taking part in clashes with a column of armored government vehicles. Outside of the captured office of the mayor in the center of the city, several militia members in face masks claimed the army had initiated the raid but said the government troops had been beaten off after reinforcements had arrived. That information could not be immediately verified. Within Slovyansk, a separatist stronghold, there were few signs of imminent attack, even as some members of the militia described taking part in clashes with a column of armored government vehicles. Outside of the captured office of the mayor in the center of the city, several militia members in face masks claimed the army had initiated the raid but said the government troops had been beaten off after reinforcements had arrived. That information could not be immediately verified.
One man in camouflage loading supplies from the mayor’s office into a silver sedan said he had taken part in the fighting and had seen three members of his militia killed and three injured. He declined to give more details before speeding off.One man in camouflage loading supplies from the mayor’s office into a silver sedan said he had taken part in the fighting and had seen three members of his militia killed and three injured. He declined to give more details before speeding off.
The crisis in Ukraine erupted last fall after the government, under the influence of Mr. Putin, pulled back from signing an association agreement with the European Union. Moscow precipitated an international crisis in March when, reacting to the fall of the government in Kiev, it seized Crimea.
Russia maintains that it was forced to intervene in Crimea, and ultimately to annex the peninsula, because of a threat to the safety of Russians living there. No such incidents were confirmed by outside observers, but on Thursday Mr. Putin said, “What we can see in Ukraine’s east, undoubtedly, would have happened in Crimea, had we not taken certain timely measures to protect the interests of the people in Crimea.”
His spokesman Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters with the president that the violence in eastern Ukraine called into question the viability of Ukrainian presidential elections called for May 25.
The announcement of the Russian military maneuvers was accompanied by a flurry of other tense diplomatic statements.The announcement of the Russian military maneuvers was accompanied by a flurry of other tense diplomatic statements.
Russia’s representative to NATO demanded that the Western alliance pressure the Ukrainian government in Kiev to cease military operations against the pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk, Mariupol, Donetsk and other cities in eastern Ukraine.Russia’s representative to NATO demanded that the Western alliance pressure the Ukrainian government in Kiev to cease military operations against the pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk, Mariupol, Donetsk and other cities in eastern Ukraine.
The representative, Aleksandr V. Grushko, said, “NATO should urge the authorities in Kiev to immediately stop the military operation in the southeast of the country and fulfill the Geneva document,” the Russian mission to NATO wrote on Twitter.The representative, Aleksandr V. Grushko, said, “NATO should urge the authorities in Kiev to immediately stop the military operation in the southeast of the country and fulfill the Geneva document,” the Russian mission to NATO wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Russia’s representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Andrey Kelin, derided the plans for a presidential election in Ukraine on May 25, saying a fair vote could not take place amid chaos. Meanwhile, Russia’s representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Andrey Kelin, derided the plans for the presidential election in Ukraine, saying a fair vote could not take place amid chaos.
“This cannot be called a campaign, this is an attempt to hold elections amid chaos and continuing a domestic conflict,” Mr. Kelin said, according to Interfax. “We do not see an evident useful result in holding the elections.” “This cannot be called a campaign,” Mr. Kelin said, according to Interfax. ‘This is an attempt to hold elections amid chaos and continuing a domestic conflict. We do not see an evident useful result in holding the elections.”
Mr. Kelin also called for sending OSCE monitors to Slovyansk, where a clash between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists resulted in casualties on Thursday.
The OSCE already has monitors on the ground in Ukraine, but in some cases they have said access has been blocked to crucial locations, including the city of Donetsk, apparently by the pro-Russian separatists.
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In Mariupol, Arsen B. Avakov, Ukraine’s interior minister, said that the mayor’s office was “liberated for normal work” more than a week after pro-Russian protesters first occupied it — part of a string of such moves by allies of the Kremlin, some supported by masked gunmen, in several locations across eastern Ukraine.
In a Facebook posting, Mr. Avakov said there had been “no victims” in the struggle for City Hall in Mariupol, but that bomb disposal experts were checking the building for explosives.
The Associated Press quoted Yulia Lasazan, a spokeswoman for Mariupol’s police department, as saying that roughly 30 masked men had used baseball bats to beat pro-Russia protesters after storming the building early Thursday. The occupiers did not resist, even though some of them were believed to be armed, but called the police instead, The A.P. said. Five people were taken to a hospital, Ms. Lasazan said.
She said the police were controlling the perimeter and were negotiating with the remaining protesters, asking them to leave the building.
President Obama, on a trip to Asia, warned Russia on Thursday that the United States had more economic sanctions “teed up,” The A. P. reported, although he acknowledged that his ability to influence Mr. Putin was limited.
“I understand that additional sanctions may not change Mr. Putin’s calculus,” Mr. Obama said during a joint news conference in Tokyo with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, The A.P. reported. “How well they change his calculus in part depends on not only us applying sanctions, but also the cooperation of other countries.”
At the forum, Mr. Putin said Western sanctions were having a negative effect on some economic indicators and activity, like credit ratings and the cost of loans, but these were not “critical.” They would also harm the global economy, he said.