Explosions were heard in the area of Donetsk’s Sergey Prokofiev international airport on Monday, a spokesman for people’s militia told ITAR-TASS, adding that a pencil of smoke was rising over the runway.
The spokesmen said first intensive fire was heard in the area of the airport with large calibre weapons apparently being used. Two fighter planes were seen in the sky over the area and three helicopters flew in the airport’s direction.
Earlier on Monday, sources in people’s militia told ITAR-TASS that representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic were holding negotiations in the building of the Donetsk airport over the withdrawal of troops that keep the runway under control.
The speaker of the self-proclaimed republic’s legislature, Denis Pushilin, said the operation of the airport had been suspended. [indian.ruvr.ru]
26/5/14
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Ukraine launched air strikes and a paratrooper assault against pro-Russian rebels who seized an airport on Monday, even as its newly elected leader vowed to reassert control in the east and refused to negotiate with "terrorists".....
ReplyDeleteUkrainians rallied overwhelmingly in an election on Sunday behind Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire owner of chocolate factories and political veteran, hoping the burly 48-year-old can rescue the nation from the brink of bankruptcy, civil war and dismemberment by their former Soviet masters in the Kremlin.
Monday's rapid military response to separatists who seized the airport in Donetsk appeared to be a defiant answer to Moscow, which said it was ready for dialogue with Poroshenko but demanded he scale back the armed forces' campaign in the east.
Gunfire and explosions could be heard as a warplane flew over Sergei Prokofiev International Airport hours after truckloads of armed rebel fighters arrived and seized a terminal building. Thick black smoke rose from within the perimeter.
Spokesmen for the government's operation in the east said warplanes and a helicopter had carried out the air strikes and paratroopers had been flown in.
The airport serves a city of one million people that the rebels have proclaimed capital of an independent "people's republic", and where they succeeded in blocking all voting in Sunday's election.
Their attempt to seize the airport may have been intended to prevent Poroshenko from travelling there: he has said his first trip in office would be to visit the restive east......................http://www.todayonline.com/world/europe/new-ukraine-leader-vows-restore-control-east-moscow-offers-dialogue
26/5/14
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic’s militia units have temporarily recaptured the Sergei Prokofiev International Airport, which was controlled by Ukrainian army and security forces. “However, fighting has resumed near the airport just now,” the press service of the Donetsk People’s Republic told ITAR-TASS....
ReplyDeleteThe press service did not confirm that fighting was under way near the city railway station.
Many shops and public places, including the city’s biggest Shakhtar Plaza center, were shut down. The city streets are deserted. In connection with the ongoing security operation, many people left work ahead of time.
Explosions were heard at the airport on Monday morning, and a cloud of smoke could be seen rising over the runway. Three army helicopters flew in the airport’s direction and intensive shooting, including from large-caliber guns, could be heard at the airport.
It is believed that assault aviation could have delivered missile strikes at the airport.
Earlier on Monday, three Ukrainian army helicopters fired at the Tochmash engineering plant in Donetsk. One person was hurt in the shooting attack.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/733396
26/5/14
UKRAINE. 35 morts dans une bataille à l'aéroport de Donetsk....
ReplyDeleteHélicoptères et parachutistes de l'armée ukrainienne ont tenté de reprendre le contrôle de l'aéroport de Donetsk, occupé par des pro-russes au lendemain de l'élection présidentielle.
Les affrontements auraient fait 35 morts, selon France Inter. L'armée ukrainienne livrait lundi 26 mai une bataille avec hélicoptères et parachutistes pour tenter de reprendre le contrôle de l'aéroport de Donetsk, occupé par des insurgés pro-russes au lendemain de l'élection du milliardaire pro-occidental Petro Porochenko comme président de l'Ukraine........http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/monde/20140527.OBS8578/ukraine-35-morts-dans-une-bataille-a-l-aeroport-de-donetsk.html?xtor=RSS-17
27/5/14
A rocket-propelled grenade fired by the Ukrainian army has hit a truck carrying wounded self-defense fighters near the Donetsk airport, killing a driver, People’s Republic of Donetsk (DNR) source told RIA Novosti.....
ReplyDelete“Only the driver was killed in the shelling. A few wounded were taken to the hospitals of Donetsk. But we don’t know if they received fresh wounds in the attack," the representative of the DNR said.
There are conflicting reports on the number of casualties from the latest attack. Earlier people’s governor of Donestk Region, Pavel Gubarev, said in a post on Facebook that 35 people were killed and 15 were wounded in the strike. The truck carrying the wounded was marked as an ambulance, he added.
According to Itar-Tass citing a correspondent of St. Petersburg's Fifth Channel, at least 24 people were killed.
It is hard to verify these reports but local medical authorities do confirm that many people with gunshot wounds are being taken to the city’s hospital, RT’s Maria Finoshina says.
Few hours later self-defense forces reported that Ukrainian military opened fire at an ambulance transporting two injured from the Donetsk airport. The doctors inside the ambulance were unharmed, deputy of Donbass’ self-defense forces, Sergey Tsypakov, told RIA Novosti. The two wounded remain in the ambulance and it is not possible to evacuate them at this point, he added.
This comes as the Ukrainian military is broadening its offensive against anti-Kiev forces in the southeast of the country.
The fighting in Donetsk is continuing around the airport and the railway station, Interfax cited the self-defense force as saying. .............http://rt.com/news/161592-donetsk-truck-grenade-killed/
27/5/14