Ukrainian city mayor shot as Russia hit with more sanctions
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THE mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city was shot in the back and pro-Russia insurgents seized more government buildings yesterday, as the US and EU hit Russia with more sanctions for allegedly fomenting the unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Armed insurgents are seeking more autonomy in the region — possibly even independence or annexation with Russia. Ukraine’s acting government and the West have accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest.
Last month, Russia annexed Crimea, weeks after seizing control of the Black Sea peninsula.
To ratchet up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Barack Obama’s government levied new sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 companies with links to Putin’s inner circle.
Among those is Igor Sechin, the president of Russian state oil company Rosneft, who has worked for Putin since the early 1990s.
The US is also revoking licenses for items that could be used by the Russian military.
The European Union agreed yesterday to impose sanctions on another 15 Russian and Ukrainian figures for their role in the Ukraine crisis.
The 15 will be subject to the same visa ban and asset freezes imposed on more than 50 others as Moscow shows no sign of reversing course in Ukraine, sources said, while EU member states remain reluctant to take wider economic measures.
Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back yesterday morning, underwent surgery and “doctors are fighting for his life,” a Kharkiv city hall spokesman said.
The spokesman told the Interfax news agency that Kernes was shot while cycling on the outskirts of the city. Officials have not commented on who could be behind the attack.
Also yesterday, masked militants with automatic weapons seized another city hall building and a police station in eastern Ukraine, this time in Kostyantynivka. It is 35 kilometers south of Slovyansk, which has been in insurgents’ hands for more than three weeks.
Some 40 people are being held hostage in makeshift jails in Slovyansk including journalists, activists and seven military observers from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, Ukraine’s Security Service said yesterday.
The German government yesterday called for the release of the military observers, who include three German officers.
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