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| Fight for airport in eastern Ukraine continues; president-elect calls rebels ‘pirates’ | Fight for airport in eastern Ukraine continues; president-elect calls rebels ‘pirates’ |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian security forces and rebels continued to battle Monday night for this city’s airport hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko promised in Kiev to unite his country, a pledge that appeared no closer to reality one day after the billionaire won office. | DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukrainian security forces and rebels continued to battle Monday night for this city’s airport hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko promised in Kiev to unite his country, a pledge that appeared no closer to reality one day after the billionaire won office. |
| Poroshenko, who made his fortune in chocolate, must now guide his divided nation through a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine that has created the greatest tension between the West and Russia since the Cold War. | Poroshenko, who made his fortune in chocolate, must now guide his divided nation through a pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine that has created the greatest tension between the West and Russia since the Cold War. |
| On Monday, he vowed to push hard against the separatists, whom he called “Somali pirates,” saying security operations should be swift and powerful against the rebels in Ukraine’s Donets Basin, known colloquially as Donbas. | On Monday, he vowed to push hard against the separatists, whom he called “Somali pirates,” saying security operations should be swift and powerful against the rebels in Ukraine’s Donets Basin, known colloquially as Donbas. |
| “Their goal is to turn Donbas into Somalia, and I will never allow such things to happen in my country,” Poroshenko, 48, told reporters. But he also held out an olive branch to the industrial region by saying elections should take place there to give citizens a measure of local control. | “Their goal is to turn Donbas into Somalia, and I will never allow such things to happen in my country,” Poroshenko, 48, told reporters. But he also held out an olive branch to the industrial region by saying elections should take place there to give citizens a measure of local control. |
| It was unclear late Monday who was in control of Donetsk International Airport, where a firefight broke out earlier in the day when Ukrainian forces and helicopters moved in, hours after armed pro-Russia militants seized the terminal. Shots were still ringing out in the area. | It was unclear late Monday who was in control of Donetsk International Airport, where a firefight broke out earlier in the day when Ukrainian forces and helicopters moved in, hours after armed pro-Russia militants seized the terminal. Shots were still ringing out in the area. |
| The rebels took the airport sometime before 7 a.m., when the airport’s Web site announced its closure and the cancellation of flights without explaining why. Local police set up a roadblock at the intersection of the airport access road and Vzlyotnaya Boulevard, about six miles from the city center. | The rebels took the airport sometime before 7 a.m., when the airport’s Web site announced its closure and the cancellation of flights without explaining why. Local police set up a roadblock at the intersection of the airport access road and Vzlyotnaya Boulevard, about six miles from the city center. |
| Shortly after 1 p.m., four Ukrainian helicopters flew over the treetops near the airport, and within minutes, machine-gun fire erupted west of the terminal. Heavy explosives were heard nearby, especially to the east, where black smoke billowed from the vicinity of a large shopping plaza. Military jets flew overhead, dropping chaff to counter possible antiaircraft missiles. | Shortly after 1 p.m., four Ukrainian helicopters flew over the treetops near the airport, and within minutes, machine-gun fire erupted west of the terminal. Heavy explosives were heard nearby, especially to the east, where black smoke billowed from the vicinity of a large shopping plaza. Military jets flew overhead, dropping chaff to counter possible antiaircraft missiles. |
| As police fled the checkpoint, a minivan pulled up with about six armed militants in fatigues, flak jackets and masks, who began moving toward the airport. The shooting became more chaotic as some gunmen hid in trees across from a Lexus car dealership, while antiaircraft fire and machine-gun volleys sounded in the vicinity of the commercial airport’s radar array. | As police fled the checkpoint, a minivan pulled up with about six armed militants in fatigues, flak jackets and masks, who began moving toward the airport. The shooting became more chaotic as some gunmen hid in trees across from a Lexus car dealership, while antiaircraft fire and machine-gun volleys sounded in the vicinity of the commercial airport’s radar array. |
| The fighting rose and fell in intensity until about 4:30 p.m., with bullets snapping through the trees and among the homes of a residential neighborhood south of the airport, when more helicopters swooped in. Rebels hiding in the trees fired at a helicopter, and two | The fighting rose and fell in intensity until about 4:30 p.m., with bullets snapping through the trees and among the homes of a residential neighborhood south of the airport, when more helicopters swooped in. Rebels hiding in the trees fired at a helicopter, and two |
| Ukrainian gunships returned moments later, with one of them diving down to rain fire into the wooded area. | Ukrainian gunships returned moments later, with one of them diving down to rain fire into the wooded area. |
| There was a lull in the fighting near the airport at about 4:30. | |
| Local news outlets reported that passengers and employees were partially evacuated from the city’s main railroad station, about three miles from the airport, and train service was temporarily interrupted. One body was seen lying near the railway station. | |
| Yet even during the fighting, some residents walked by casually, | |
| occasionally taking cover behind trees. One young boy came to take pictures with his cellphone until police shouted at him to go away. The extent of casualties was not immediately clear. | |
| Poroshenko, one of the country’s wealthiest tycoons, has said that his first official act will be to visit the heart of the rebellion in Donbas, where violence or the threat of it prevented millions of people from voting Sunday. | Poroshenko, one of the country’s wealthiest tycoons, has said that his first official act will be to visit the heart of the rebellion in Donbas, where violence or the threat of it prevented millions of people from voting Sunday. |
| Poroshenko said he also plans talks with Moscow next month. He said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin “know each other quite well,” while Putin has said he will cooperate with the new authorities in Kiev. | Poroshenko said he also plans talks with Moscow next month. He said he and Russian President Vladimir Putin “know each other quite well,” while Putin has said he will cooperate with the new authorities in Kiev. |
| “Russia is our biggest neighbor,” Poroshenko said. “Stopping the war and bringing stability to all Ukraine, bringing peace to eastern Ukraine, that would be impossible” without Russia.” | “Russia is our biggest neighbor,” Poroshenko said. “Stopping the war and bringing stability to all Ukraine, bringing peace to eastern Ukraine, that would be impossible” without Russia.” |
| Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters in Moscow on Monday that Russia will “respect the will expressed by the Ukrainian people.” He also said Russia is ready for a dialogue with Poroshenko and the government in Kiev, the Interfax news agency reported. | Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told reporters in Moscow on Monday that Russia will “respect the will expressed by the Ukrainian people.” He also said Russia is ready for a dialogue with Poroshenko and the government in Kiev, the Interfax news agency reported. |
| U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry praised Sunday’s voting, noting that international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe viewed them as a demonstration of the interim government’s “clear resolve” to conduct a fair election. | U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry praised Sunday’s voting, noting that international observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe viewed them as a demonstration of the interim government’s “clear resolve” to conduct a fair election. |
| “The large turnout sends a clear message: the Ukrainian people want to live in a united, democratic and peaceful Ukraine anchored in European institutions,” Kerry said in a written statement. | “The large turnout sends a clear message: the Ukrainian people want to live in a united, democratic and peaceful Ukraine anchored in European institutions,” Kerry said in a written statement. |
| Exit polls showed that Poroshenko captured about 55 percent of the vote Sunday, enough to win outright without a second round of balloting. Turnout appeared to be high everywhere except in the embattled east. The Central Election Commission estimated that 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots nationwide, a spokesman said. A regional breakdown was not immediately available, but 14 percent of the country’s registered voters live in the two eastern regions where voting was impeded Sunday. | Exit polls showed that Poroshenko captured about 55 percent of the vote Sunday, enough to win outright without a second round of balloting. Turnout appeared to be high everywhere except in the embattled east. The Central Election Commission estimated that 60 percent of registered voters cast ballots nationwide, a spokesman said. A regional breakdown was not immediately available, but 14 percent of the country’s registered voters live in the two eastern regions where voting was impeded Sunday. |
| Poroshenko’s election came three months after massive protests forced former president Viktor Yanukovych to flee. Since his ouster, Russia has annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and violence in eastern Ukraine has escalated into near-civil war. | Poroshenko’s election came three months after massive protests forced former president Viktor Yanukovych to flee. Since his ouster, Russia has annexed the Crimean Peninsula, and violence in eastern Ukraine has escalated into near-civil war. |
| Poroshenko is a soft-spoken businessman who built a candy empire out of the ashes of Ukraine’s post-Soviet economy. He has worked on both sides of the country’s political divide, as foreign minister during the pro-Western presidency of Viktor Yushchenko and briefly as economy minister under Yanukovych. But Poroshenko allied himself with protesters shortly after Yanukovych rejected a deal in November to move toward integration with the European Union. | Poroshenko is a soft-spoken businessman who built a candy empire out of the ashes of Ukraine’s post-Soviet economy. He has worked on both sides of the country’s political divide, as foreign minister during the pro-Western presidency of Viktor Yushchenko and briefly as economy minister under Yanukovych. But Poroshenko allied himself with protesters shortly after Yanukovych rejected a deal in November to move toward integration with the European Union. |
| In a symbolic attempt to move beyond the turmoil that has gripped Ukraine since the demonstrations began, Kiev mayor-elect Vitali Klitshchko said Monday that it was time to clear Independence Square. Protesters have remained camped in the Maidan, as the square is known, transforming it into a sprawling tent city crisscrossed by barricades of scrap metal and tires. | In a symbolic attempt to move beyond the turmoil that has gripped Ukraine since the demonstrations began, Kiev mayor-elect Vitali Klitshchko said Monday that it was time to clear Independence Square. Protesters have remained camped in the Maidan, as the square is known, transforming it into a sprawling tent city crisscrossed by barricades of scrap metal and tires. |
| The presence of the Maidan encampments has been a goad to separatists, who have seized several government buildings and set up barricades in eastern Ukraine and now accuse the Kiev government of a double standard. | The presence of the Maidan encampments has been a goad to separatists, who have seized several government buildings and set up barricades in eastern Ukraine and now accuse the Kiev government of a double standard. |
| Birnbaum reported from Kiev. Anastasiia Fedosova in Donetsk, Daniela Deane in London, and Abigail Hauslohner in Moscow also contributed to this report. |