Slavyansk, Ukraine: Pro-Kremlin rebels in east Ukraine appealed on Sunday for Russian “peacekeepers” to sweep in after a deadly gunfight killed at least two of their militants, shattering an Easter truce and sparking “outrage” in Moscow.
But the Western-backed authorities in Kiev claimed the violence was a set-up by Russia to create a pretext for it to send troops in.
The attack, near the flashpoint town of Slavyansk, undermined an accord worked out in Geneva between Russia, Ukraine and Western powers on Thursday that demanded “illegal armed groups” surrender their weapons and cease occupations of public buildings.
Sunday’s gun battle occurred in the early hours in a village 18 kilometres west of Slavyansk. Vladimir, a masked 20-year-old pro-Russian rebel claimed to be at the scene of the shootout, said, “Four cars pulled up to our roadblock aro-und 1.00 am. We wanted to conduct a check, and then they opened fire on us with automatic weapons.” He said three of the militants were killed.
The identity of the assailants, who escaped before militant reinforcements arrived, was not known. The leader of the separatist rebels in Slavyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said he believed two of the attackers were also killed. He appealed for Russian President Vladimir Putin to send in Russian troops.
Russia outraged at attack
Russia’s foreign ministry said on Sunday it was outraged by a deadly shootout in eastern Ukraine that breached an Easter truce, urging Kiev to abide by the terms of an international accord.
“The Russian side is outraged at this provocation by the fighters, which bears witness to the lack of desire by the Kiev authorities to rein in and disarm nationalists and extremists,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Russian side insists on Ukraine strictly fulfilling the obligations it took on to de-escalate the situation in south-eastern Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he “very much hopes” he will not have to send his forces into Ukraine, but insisted he has a “right” to do so.
