30 pro-Russia rebels killed as Kiev tries to reassert control
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THIRTY pro-Russia militants and four government troops were killed during operations to expunge anti-government forces around a key eastern city, Ukraine’s interior minister reported yesterday.
In the southwest, Kiev authorities also attempted to reassert control over the key Black Sea region of Odessa by appointing a new governor.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov gave the death toll on Facebook, also saying 20 government troops were injured in fighting in Slovyansk, a city of 125,000. It was unclear when the deaths occurred.
Gun battles around the city on Monday were the interim government’s most ambitious effort to date to quell weeks of unrest in Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking east.
Avakov said on Monday 800 pro-Russia forces at Slovyansk were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars and there were injured on both sides.
By yesterday morning, Ukrainian forces had taken hold of a key checkpoint north of the city, dealing a blow to insurgent lines of communication.
In Donetsk, a major city 120 kilometers south of Slovyansk, international flights were suspended yesterday. The Donetsk airport said the cancellations followed a government order.
The central government attempted to re-establish control yesterday over the predominantly Russian-speaking region of Odessa, where 46 people died last Friday after a pro-Ukraine march led to fighting between the two sides. In the melee, a building fire broke out, killing many.
The Kiev authorities announced they were firing the acting governor and replacing him with member of parliament Ihor Palytsya.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has blamed the unrest on the interim government in Kiev, which it says “stubbornly continues to wage war against the people of its own country.”
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