Separatists Shoot Down Ukrainian Helicopter
Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have shot down a Ukrainian military helicopter, killing 12 government troops, including a general.
One soldier survived but is listed in critical condition, a statement by Ukraine’s National Guard said.
Earlier reports put the number of dead at 14.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told parliament Thursday that “terrorists” used a shoulder-launched missile to down the helicopter near the separatist-held city of Slovyansk.
Among those killed was General Serhiy Kulchytskiy of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.
Earlier Thursday, a separatist leader said his group was holding four European observers who have been missing since late Monday.
Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-styled “people’s mayor of Slovyansk, said the observers are well and could be freed soon.
He said he had warned the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the monitors should not travel in the area, but that they did anyway.
The OSCE said Wednesday another group of 11 observers were detained in the same area, but were later released. The monitors are in Ukraine as part of a mission to reduce tensions and promote peace and security.
Swiss Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter said in a statement Wednesday the detentions are undermining the group’s work and amounted to “acts of sabotage” against international efforts to help Ukraine overcome the months-long crisis.
Calls for talks
Also Wednesday, members of the United Nations Security Council urged all sides in Ukraine to stop fighting and open talks, and welcomed the election of Petro Poroshenko as the country’s new president.
Ukrainian Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev told the council that support for the new president from all across Ukraine confirms the people’s strong desire for national unity. He urged Russia to stop interfering and stirring up the nationalists.
But Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the election was not a perfect solution, even if the Kremlin has promised to respect the outcome.
Poroshenko tells Germany’s Bild newspaper that he will try to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin when both mark the anniversary of D-Day next week in France.
Official election results
Petro Poroshenko officially won Ukraine’s presidential elections in the first round, garnering 54.7 percent of all votes cast, the country’s Central Election Commission announced.
It posted election results on its website Thursday saying it had completed the vote count.
Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko came in second with 12.81 percent of the vote. Twenty other candidates had competed in Sunday’s poll.
Of 18 million voters who took part in the election nearly ten million supported Poroshenko, a confectionery tycoon and former foreign minister. Turnout was listed at close to 60 percent.
According to official results, Poroshenko, 48, garnered a plurality of votes in all of Ukraine’s regions, even in restive Donetsk and Luhansk.
His inauguration will take place on the “Maidan,” Kyiv’s Independence Square, a statement by Ukraine’s acting president said.
It was the site of massive anti-government protests, which toppled Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych in February.
No date has been announced.(VOA)
