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| Mayor of Ukraine’s Second-Largest City Shot in Back | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DONETSK, Ukraine — Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Monday, seriously wounding him with at least one bullet to the back while he was riding a bicycle near a major highway, municipal officials said, potentially shifting the crisis in the east of the country onto new and perilous ground. | DONETSK, Ukraine — Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, on Monday, seriously wounding him with at least one bullet to the back while he was riding a bicycle near a major highway, municipal officials said, potentially shifting the crisis in the east of the country onto new and perilous ground. |
| The mayor, Gennady A. Kernes, had been regarded as seeking to steer a middle course as pro-Russian militants conduct a campaign of occupations of key facilities in eastern cities that is widely believed to be aimed at drawing the region closer into Moscow’s orbit or prompting a Russian intervention similar to the events that led to the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea. | The mayor, Gennady A. Kernes, had been regarded as seeking to steer a middle course as pro-Russian militants conduct a campaign of occupations of key facilities in eastern cities that is widely believed to be aimed at drawing the region closer into Moscow’s orbit or prompting a Russian intervention similar to the events that led to the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea. |
| Municipal officials said that the gunmen shot Mr. Kernes in the back around 12 p.m. local time and that he was undergoing surgery for life-threatening injuries. | Municipal officials said that the gunmen shot Mr. Kernes in the back around 12 p.m. local time and that he was undergoing surgery for life-threatening injuries. |
| No arrests were reported. | No arrests were reported. |
| The mayor’s death would be the first assassination of a major politician in the east and present a new challenge to the interim authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, who have seemed largely powerless to dislodge pro-Russian militants and regain control of the east. | The mayor’s death would be the first assassination of a major politician in the east and present a new challenge to the interim authorities in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, who have seemed largely powerless to dislodge pro-Russian militants and regain control of the east. |
| Mr. Kernes has said he supports a united Ukraine and opposes Russian intervention. In a terse announcement, the mayor’s official website said, “Today, at about 12:00 there was an assassination attempt against Gennady Kernes.” | Mr. Kernes has said he supports a united Ukraine and opposes Russian intervention. In a terse announcement, the mayor’s official website said, “Today, at about 12:00 there was an assassination attempt against Gennady Kernes.” |
| Mr. Kernes, who has dominated politics in the city for several years, is regarded as an eccentric figure who has spoken publicly against separatism while bitterly criticizing the authorities in Kiev. | Mr. Kernes, who has dominated politics in the city for several years, is regarded as an eccentric figure who has spoken publicly against separatism while bitterly criticizing the authorities in Kiev. |
| Broadening the web of his allegiances, Mr. Kernes was also seen as a supporter of the deposed president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. While officials said he was shot while riding a bicycle as part of a fitness regime, another account said he was shot while bathing at a mineral spring. | Broadening the web of his allegiances, Mr. Kernes was also seen as a supporter of the deposed president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. While officials said he was shot while riding a bicycle as part of a fitness regime, another account said he was shot while bathing at a mineral spring. |
| Both accounts said he was shot in the back and seriously injured. | Both accounts said he was shot in the back and seriously injured. |
| Earlier this year, Mr. Kernes rushed to calm pro-Russian activists calling for secession, appeared as a mediator in a shootout where a 19-year-old pro-Russian militant was killed, and met privately with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with preventing conflict and promoting democracy. | Earlier this year, Mr. Kernes rushed to calm pro-Russian activists calling for secession, appeared as a mediator in a shootout where a 19-year-old pro-Russian militant was killed, and met privately with representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is tasked with preventing conflict and promoting democracy. |
| He has also accused senior officials in Kiev of pursuing political retribution and has called the new government tyrannical and illegitimate. | He has also accused senior officials in Kiev of pursuing political retribution and has called the new government tyrannical and illegitimate. |
| “People ask if I like the new authorities, but I prefer a different question: Does the new government actually like our people, with their demands, their desires, their dreams?” Mr. Kernes said in an interview in a restaurant at the downtown hotel he owns. | “People ask if I like the new authorities, but I prefer a different question: Does the new government actually like our people, with their demands, their desires, their dreams?” Mr. Kernes said in an interview in a restaurant at the downtown hotel he owns. |
| “Here we have an acting president,” Mr. Kernes said, referring to the interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov. “In Russia, they have a president. There they don’t have political chaos, and here what do we see? Political chaos.” | “Here we have an acting president,” Mr. Kernes said, referring to the interim president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov. “In Russia, they have a president. There they don’t have political chaos, and here what do we see? Political chaos.” |
| The mayor has a lavish lifestyle and is closely allied with Mikhail M. Dobkin, a former regional governor and now a presidential candidate accused by the authorities in Kiev of “threatening the territorial integrity” of Ukraine. | The mayor has a lavish lifestyle and is closely allied with Mikhail M. Dobkin, a former regional governor and now a presidential candidate accused by the authorities in Kiev of “threatening the territorial integrity” of Ukraine. |
| Kharkiv, a city with a large Russian-speaking population, lies 20 miles from the border with Russia. | Kharkiv, a city with a large Russian-speaking population, lies 20 miles from the border with Russia. |
| Konstantinovka became the latest city to fall in eastern Ukraine when militants raised the flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic above the city administration building on Monday morning. Fewer than a dozen armed men, wearing camouflage and black masks and carrying rifles and a grenade launcher, guarded the building’s entrance here as a work crew erected barricades along the sidewalk. | Konstantinovka became the latest city to fall in eastern Ukraine when militants raised the flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic above the city administration building on Monday morning. Fewer than a dozen armed men, wearing camouflage and black masks and carrying rifles and a grenade launcher, guarded the building’s entrance here as a work crew erected barricades along the sidewalk. |
| “We want a referendum,” the group’s commander said, declining to give his name. | “We want a referendum,” the group’s commander said, declining to give his name. |
| The seizure of this industrial city on the road between Slovyansk, the antigovernment militia’s center, and Donetsk, the regional capital, signaled a further enfeebling of the interim government in Kiev. The forces encountered no resistance from either the local police or residents, and their ranks consisted mostly of middle-aged men. Within hours of taking control, a dump truck and a crane had arrived to help build fortifications. | The seizure of this industrial city on the road between Slovyansk, the antigovernment militia’s center, and Donetsk, the regional capital, signaled a further enfeebling of the interim government in Kiev. The forces encountered no resistance from either the local police or residents, and their ranks consisted mostly of middle-aged men. Within hours of taking control, a dump truck and a crane had arrived to help build fortifications. |
| Dozens of residents readily enlisted in a newly formed city self-defense force, signing their names while Soviet-era rock anthems blared from speakers on the building’s steps. The gunmen milled freely about the crowd, crouching at times to tie pro-Russian ribbons on children’s arms. | Dozens of residents readily enlisted in a newly formed city self-defense force, signing their names while Soviet-era rock anthems blared from speakers on the building’s steps. The gunmen milled freely about the crowd, crouching at times to tie pro-Russian ribbons on children’s arms. |
| “I’m unarmed, but if I need to, I’ll take up a gun in five minutes and shoot till the last bullet,” said Vladimir P. Kostilyov, 63, a local pensioner. “If they don’t start listening to my voice, they will start hearing the sound of a rifle in my hands.” | “I’m unarmed, but if I need to, I’ll take up a gun in five minutes and shoot till the last bullet,” said Vladimir P. Kostilyov, 63, a local pensioner. “If they don’t start listening to my voice, they will start hearing the sound of a rifle in my hands.” |
| Negotiations for the release of a European military observer team held by militants in Slovyansk resumed on Monday with the return to the city of diplomats from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. | Negotiations for the release of a European military observer team held by militants in Slovyansk resumed on Monday with the return to the city of diplomats from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. |
| Eight European officers, led by a German colonel, and five members of the Ukrainian military, were detained on Friday by gunmen at a checkpoint south of Slovyansk. The city’s de facto authorities have accused the team of spying. The self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk released one member of the team, a Swedish major suffering from diabetes, on Sunday, but has declined to release the others and said he seeks a prisoner exchange. | Eight European officers, led by a German colonel, and five members of the Ukrainian military, were detained on Friday by gunmen at a checkpoint south of Slovyansk. The city’s de facto authorities have accused the team of spying. The self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk released one member of the team, a Swedish major suffering from diabetes, on Sunday, but has declined to release the others and said he seeks a prisoner exchange. |
| The German government on Monday called for the immediate release of the detained observers in eastern Ukraine. The men were being “held captive against every right and without any reason,” Steffen Seibert, a government spokesman, told reporters at a regular news conference in Berlin. He appealed to Russia to “clearly” distance itself from such acts. | The German government on Monday called for the immediate release of the detained observers in eastern Ukraine. The men were being “held captive against every right and without any reason,” Steffen Seibert, a government spokesman, told reporters at a regular news conference in Berlin. He appealed to Russia to “clearly” distance itself from such acts. |
| Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, spoke by telephone on Monday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, to demand that Russian leaders “set a clear signal that what has happened to the foreign O.S.C.E. observers in Slovyansk is unacceptable,” Mr. Steinmeier’s spokesman, Martin Schäfer, told reporters. | Germany’s foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, spoke by telephone on Monday with his Russian counterpart, Sergey V. Lavrov, to demand that Russian leaders “set a clear signal that what has happened to the foreign O.S.C.E. observers in Slovyansk is unacceptable,” Mr. Steinmeier’s spokesman, Martin Schäfer, told reporters. |
| “We cannot recognize that their commitments have led to any results,” Mr. Schäfer said. He rejected as “totally absurd” allegations from pro-Russian separatists that the military team was involved in espionage. “Their work is entirely transparent. It has nothing to do with espionage. It is the exact opposite,” Mr. Schäfer told reporters. | “We cannot recognize that their commitments have led to any results,” Mr. Schäfer said. He rejected as “totally absurd” allegations from pro-Russian separatists that the military team was involved in espionage. “Their work is entirely transparent. It has nothing to do with espionage. It is the exact opposite,” Mr. Schäfer told reporters. |
| German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen canceled a planned two-day trip to Kosovo on Monday, instead heading to the military installation in western Germany where the observers who were arrested are based to discuss the status of the detainees and their mission. | German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen canceled a planned two-day trip to Kosovo on Monday, instead heading to the military installation in western Germany where the observers who were arrested are based to discuss the status of the detainees and their mission. |