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| Ukraine accuses pro-Russia rebels of deadly shelling in port city of Mariupol | Ukraine accuses pro-Russia rebels of deadly shelling in port city of Mariupol |
| (28 minutes later) | |
| MOSCOW — Ukrainian officials accused pro-Russian rebels of launching a deadly shelling Saturday against Mariupol, just one day after rebel leaders rejected an existing cease-fire agreement and promised to push their offensive all the way to the borders of Donetsk. | MOSCOW — Ukrainian officials accused pro-Russian rebels of launching a deadly shelling Saturday against Mariupol, just one day after rebel leaders rejected an existing cease-fire agreement and promised to push their offensive all the way to the borders of Donetsk. |
| Mariupol, a port city that lies along the coast of the Sea of Azov, is only about 20 miles from Donetsk’s western border. More critically, the city is at the crossroads of several major routes leading to the city of Donetsk, and stretching from the Russian border to Russia’s newly annexed territory of Crimea, giving Mariupol a strategic significance in the fight to control eastern Ukraine. | Mariupol, a port city that lies along the coast of the Sea of Azov, is only about 20 miles from Donetsk’s western border. More critically, the city is at the crossroads of several major routes leading to the city of Donetsk, and stretching from the Russian border to Russia’s newly annexed territory of Crimea, giving Mariupol a strategic significance in the fight to control eastern Ukraine. |
| Sixteen civilians died and 83 others were wounded, according to a statement posted midday Saturday on the Mariupol city council’s Web site. | Sixteen civilians died and 83 others were wounded, according to a statement posted midday Saturday on the Mariupol city council’s Web site. |
| But the defense ministry of the rebels’ self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic were quoted by the separatist-run Donetsk News Agency as saying Kiev’s reports of militants shelling were “misinformation and lies.” | |
| “The militias did not open fire in the direction of Mariupol, especially the residential areas,” the rebels’ defense ministry said, according to the news agency. “The militias are only keeping up a defense of Novoazovsk,” a city about 27 miles east of Mariupol. | |
| The Azov battalion, a volunteer unit of pro-Kiev forces headquartered in Mariupol, reported Saturday on its VKontake page that the shelling had come from the direction of Novoazovsk, while Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said that “at least 3 Grad systems” — referring to rocket-launchers — were used in the shelling. | The Azov battalion, a volunteer unit of pro-Kiev forces headquartered in Mariupol, reported Saturday on its VKontake page that the shelling had come from the direction of Novoazovsk, while Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said that “at least 3 Grad systems” — referring to rocket-launchers — were used in the shelling. |
| Eduard Basurin, deputy commander of the Donetsk rebels, told Russian news service Interfax that Mariupol had been shelled from government-controlled territory and that the shelling was “an act of provocation by Ukrainian security forces.” | Eduard Basurin, deputy commander of the Donetsk rebels, told Russian news service Interfax that Mariupol had been shelled from government-controlled territory and that the shelling was “an act of provocation by Ukrainian security forces.” |
| Mariupol has been under the control of the Ukrainian government, save for a brief period during the early months of fighting when it was under the control of pro-Russian rebels frustrated with the country’s pro-Western leadership in Kiev. In June, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko even declared it the temporary capital of the Donetsk region, while the separatists were in control of Donetsk city. | |
| The area around Mariupol was the scene of intense fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels during the late summer, as rebels — backed by Russian support, Ukrainian officials maintained — made a push for the city, shortly before the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in Minsk, Belarus, in early September. | The area around Mariupol was the scene of intense fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels during the late summer, as rebels — backed by Russian support, Ukrainian officials maintained — made a push for the city, shortly before the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in Minsk, Belarus, in early September. |
| But that cease-fire is now effectively dead, after pro-Russian rebel leaders in Donetsk said Friday they were no longer recognizing it and would not initiate any new peace talks. | But that cease-fire is now effectively dead, after pro-Russian rebel leaders in Donetsk said Friday they were no longer recognizing it and would not initiate any new peace talks. |
| The Mariupol city council said via its Web site midday Saturday that the situation was under control and that the city was not under threat of attack. | The Mariupol city council said via its Web site midday Saturday that the situation was under control and that the city was not under threat of attack. |
| But Ukrainian officials, backed by their Western allies, said that they saw the hand of Russia behind Saturday’s reported shelling of Mariupol, warning that the shelling could be part of a larger plan. | But Ukrainian officials, backed by their Western allies, said that they saw the hand of Russia behind Saturday’s reported shelling of Mariupol, warning that the shelling could be part of a larger plan. |
| “Today’s indiscriminate shelling of Mariupol [is] part of an apparently Russian-backed general offensive in complete violation of Minsk agreements,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt tweeted Saturday morning. | “Today’s indiscriminate shelling of Mariupol [is] part of an apparently Russian-backed general offensive in complete violation of Minsk agreements,” U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt tweeted Saturday morning. |
| Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, called the shelling a “bloody crime against humanity” and said that “Putin is directly responsible” — even accusing him of having ordered the shelling at a Friday meeting with the Russian Security Council. | Oleksandr Turchynov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, called the shelling a “bloody crime against humanity” and said that “Putin is directly responsible” — even accusing him of having ordered the shelling at a Friday meeting with the Russian Security Council. |
| By midday Saturday, neither the Kremlin nor the Foreign Ministry had yet reacted to the reports of shelling in Mariupol. But Russian officials have routinely denied Western accusations that they have sent troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine to support the pro-Russian rebels fighting there. | By midday Saturday, neither the Kremlin nor the Foreign Ministry had yet reacted to the reports of shelling in Mariupol. But Russian officials have routinely denied Western accusations that they have sent troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine to support the pro-Russian rebels fighting there. |
| “Concerning the ‘flow of troops and weapons,’ we are constantly hearing this,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a news conference Wednesday. “Every time I say: ‘If you say this with such confidence, show us the facts.’ ” | “Concerning the ‘flow of troops and weapons,’ we are constantly hearing this,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a news conference Wednesday. “Every time I say: ‘If you say this with such confidence, show us the facts.’ ” |
| Putin blamed Kiev for ignoring a new peace proposal he had drafted and sent to Poroshenko last week and instead, starting “large-scale fighting on almost the entire perimeter of contact between the opposing sides,” he said Friday, in comments made during a meeting of the Russian Security Council. | Putin blamed Kiev for ignoring a new peace proposal he had drafted and sent to Poroshenko last week and instead, starting “large-scale fighting on almost the entire perimeter of contact between the opposing sides,” he said Friday, in comments made during a meeting of the Russian Security Council. |
| Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry accused “Russian-backed separatists” of trying to pull off “a very blatant land grab” in eastern Ukraine. | Earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry accused “Russian-backed separatists” of trying to pull off “a very blatant land grab” in eastern Ukraine. |
| Ukrainian officials said this week that more than 9,000 Russian troops are operating in Ukrainian territory. NATO’s top commander could not verify that number Thursday, though he said NATO had observed some signs consistent with “past Russian troop movements into Ukraine.” | Ukrainian officials said this week that more than 9,000 Russian troops are operating in Ukrainian territory. NATO’s top commander could not verify that number Thursday, though he said NATO had observed some signs consistent with “past Russian troop movements into Ukraine.” |
| The United Nations estimated Friday that almost 5,100 people have died in Ukraine since the fighting began last April — 262 in the past nine days before the updated figure was published, making it the deadliest period since this summer, before the Minsk cease-fire agreement was signed. | The United Nations estimated Friday that almost 5,100 people have died in Ukraine since the fighting began last April — 262 in the past nine days before the updated figure was published, making it the deadliest period since this summer, before the Minsk cease-fire agreement was signed. |