Donetsk Governor Says Kyiv Has Not Lost Control of East

DONETSK — The Kyiv-appointed governor of Donetsk said in an interview with VOA that the Ukrainian government has not lost control of the troubled region.
Businessman Serhiy Taruta, a diminutive man who resembles Hollywood actor Woody Allen, rejects accusations that the Kyiv government isn’t doing enough when it comes to security in east Ukraine and says progress is being made in the government’s campaign to restore order.

The industrial region abutting the Russian border has seen government buildings being occupied by pro-Russian militiamen in more than a dozen towns.
Separatist leaders announced Thursday they plan to go ahead with a referendum to decide whether to secede from Ukraine – a referendum Kyiv politicians have denounced as contrived and illegal.
Last week, the interim leaders in Kyiv re-launched a military campaign to combat armed separatists, focusing most of their efforts on the flashpoint towns of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk a hundred kilometers north of Donetsk.
But the campaign appears to be floundering and both rust belt towns still remain in rebel hands.
Taruta said the Kyiv government is fighting back.
“Kyiv constantly monitors, supports and increases the numbers of police in Donetsk region,” he said........[voanews.com]
9/5/14
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