Violence Continues in Eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian government forces battled pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine not far from the Russian border Monday, as Russia called for the creation of “humanitarian corridors” to allow residents of the region to escape the violence.
The fighting erupted when about 100 separatist fighters attacked a Ukrainian border guard attachment on the outskirts of the city of Luhansk, 30 kilometers from the Russian border just after midnight, local time, on Monday.
The attackers, who were armed with automatic rifles, grenade launchers and mortars, were later reinforced by several hundred additional armed separatists.
A spokesman for the border guards service said five rebels were killed and eight wounded in the attack, while seven servicemen were wounded, at least four of them seriously.
The spokesman for Ukraine’s so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in eastern Ukraine, Vladislav Seleznyov, said fighter aircraft were dispatched to the scene and silenced two separatist mortar teams.
Russian news agencies reported that five people were killed Monday when a warplane fired on the regional administration building inside the city of Luhansk, which currently houses officials of the separatists’ self-styled Luhansk People’s Republic. However, the Ukrainian New Agency quoted Seleznyov as denying that there had been an air strike on the building.
Against the backdrop of ongoing violence, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that Russia will submit a draft United Nations Security Council resolution Monday calling for the creation of “humanitarian corridors” in eastern Ukraine, to allow residents to escape the fighting.
Lavrov told reporters the resolution also calls for an end to the ongoing violence in that region, and said the situation there is worsening.
“Our Western colleagues have been telling us for quite a long time that as soon as the presidential election is held in Ukraine the situation will calm down. But everything is happening in exactly the opposite way,” Lavrov said.
President-elect Petro Poroshenko won election on May 25.
Also Monday, Russia’s state-run gas company Gazprom delayed a possible shutoff of gas supplies to Ukraine, which would impact other parts of Europe as well.
Ukraine paid $786 million to cover some of its gas debt, earning a one-week delay in Russia’s plan to not ship any more gas unless it is paid for in advance. The two sides were due to continue negotiations on the issue Monday in Brussels.
Meanwhile, the office of British Minister David Cameron announced that he will hold a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Normandy, France, where both will attend events marking the 70th anniversary of World War Two’s D-Day landings.