This article is from the source 'independent' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/ukraine-crisis-mayor-of-eastern-ukraine-city-of-kharkov-gennady-kernes-is-shot-by-unidentified-gunmen-9296114.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Ukraine crisis: Mayor of eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv Gennady Kernes is shot by unidentified gunmen Ukraine crisis: Mayor of eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv Gennady Kernes is shot by unidentified gunmen
(35 minutes later)
The mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes, has been shot in the back by unidentified gunmen, according to the city council’s press service reports The mayor of Ukraine’s second largest city has been shot and critically wounded as the continuing unrest in Ukraine intensified and President Barack Obama announced a fresh wave of sanctions against Russia.
The office of Mr Kernes says the mayor was shot while running this morning. At about 11.30 am (8.30 GMT) local time the Mayor was taken to a local hospital. Gennady Kernes, the mayor of the eastern city of Kharkiv, was shot in the back by unidentified gunmen on Monday morning, his office said. He was reported to have been out jogging at the time.
The City Hall's website says that doctors are reportedly fighting to save his life. The circumstances of the shooting are still unclear. Mr Kernes, who is said to be undergoing emergency surgery, used to be a supporter of ousted President Victor Yanukovych before positioning himself as largely loyal to the Kiev government.
Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine and is part of the region where pro-Russian gunmen have either seized government buildings or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or annexation by Russia. In an interview with The Voice of Russia in February, he said: "We do not glorify the UPA combatants and will allow no one to destroy what many generations of the Soviet people and the generations of those making their home in today's independent Ukraine have created
Mr Kernes first held a pro-Russian stance, but later positioned himself as largely loyal to the Kiev government. In a statement on its website, the local council said: "Doctors are fighting for his life. He is now in the emergency room undergoing an operation.”
The Mayor had previously spoken out about how Ukraine's regions were struggling to survive in the ongoing crisis, but later positioned himself as loyal to the Kiev government. Kharkiv, which is about 40km from the Russian border, has so far managed to keep pro-Russian militants at bay.
According to the BBC, Mr Kernes was a major supporter of former president Viktor Yanukovych before he reportedly fled to Russia in March. After initially being heavily targeted by separatists, the town has largely been successful in forcing protesters beyond the city’s borders.
He returned to the city of Kharkiv shortly after saying he no longer supported the ousted president. The shooting preceded the announcement by Mr Obama this morning that a fresh wave of sanctions would include high-technology exports to Russia’s defence industry.
He told the BBC: "Russian is my first language. But I support an undivided Ukraine. I am a mayor of a border city but we will never yield to intimidation. According to Reuters, they are also expected to include wealthy individuals close to Putin. A full list is set to be published today.
We will never make any decision that could undermine Ukrainian statehood". "The goal here is not to go after Mr. Putin personally," Mr Obama said during a news conference in the Philippines. "The goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that he's engaging in could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul."
In an interview with The Voice of Russia, he said: "We do not glorify the UPA combatants and will allow no one to destroy what many generations of the Soviet people and the generations of those making their home in today's independent Ukraine have created". The sanctions follow accusations that Russia had not lived up to its commitments promised under a fragile diplomatic accord aimed at easing alleged Russian provocation in Ukraine.
The shooting comes a day after nationalists clashed with anti-government protesters in the city, leaving 14 people injured. The shooting of Mr Kernes comes amid wider unrest in the region. On Monday morning, masked and armed militants seized a government building in another city in eastern Ukraine, Kostyantynivka, some 100 miles from the Russian border.
Yesterday US President Barack Obama announced new sanctions against some Russians on Monday in an attempt to stop President Vladimir Putin from worsening the rebellion in eastern Ukraine, but held off from measures that would hit Russia's economy. Pro-Russian separatists on Sunday seized control of the offices of regional state television in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk and said they would take it off air and broadcast a Kremlin-backed Russian channel instead.
And yesterday, pro-Russian militants in camouflage fatigues and black balaclavas paraded the captive European military observers before the media.
The display came hours after three Ukrainian security guards were shown bloodied, blindfolded and stripped of their trousers and shoes, their arms bound with packing tape.
Dozens of people are being held hostage, including journalists and pro-Ukraine activists, in makeshift jails in Slovyansk, as the pro-Russian insurgents strengthen their control in defiance of the interim government in Kiev and its Western supporters.
Speaking in deliberate and clipped phrases, Col Axel Schneider of Germany, speaking on behalf of the observers, insisted they were not Nato spies, as claimed by the insurgents, but a military observation mission operating under the auspices of the OSCE.
Additional reporting by ReutersAdditional reporting by Reuters