Ukraine's Channel 5 television said earlier the Ukrainian National Guard had seized the administrative center in Mariupol, a mainly Russian-speaking city of half a million and key component in the self-declared breakaway People's Republic of Donetsk that will hold a referendum on secession this weekend.
But witnesses said the soldiers left after smashing furniture and office equipment. The smell of tear gas hung in the air inside the building which was largely empty in the morning, except for activists in gas masks clearing debris.
[jpost.com]
7/5/14
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Despite claims by Kiev that the city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine is under the control of Interior Troops, the flags of the People Republic of Donetsk and Russia have been again raised by anti-Kiev activists above the local administration building.....
ReplyDeleteEarly Wednesday, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that the city council in Mariupol had been cleared of the supporters of the People’s Republic of Donetsk.
“The city is under full control of the authorities,” the interior minister in Ukraine’s coup-imposed government, Arsen Avakov, announced. “Mariupol is unblocked; the traffic in the streets and access to all administrative buildings have been restored.”
The interior troops used toxic gas as they stormed the administration building in Mariupol, one of the protesters told RIA-Novosti news agency.
As the self-defense forces abandoned the city council fearing for their lives, around 60 armed men began shooting in the air, he said.
The use of poison gas by the radicals is also believed to be the reason for the death of 46 people in the Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 2.
Around 20 activists were detained by the Kiev forces during the raid, with 16 of them currently remaining in custody.
The barricades around the city council were dismantled and the Ukrainian national flag was raised.
However, local media reports that it only remained above the administrative building for three hours before being removed.
“Currently, the flag of the People’s Republic of Donetsk is back on the flagpole, and besides there’s a flag of the Russian Federation above the entrance,” a Mariupol resident who identified herself only as Yulia told RT.
Several hundred of ant-Kiev protesters have gathered in front of the city council, forcing the interior troops to leave the area around the city council, 0629.com.ua website reports............http://rt.com/news/157428-ukraine-mariupol-donetsk-assault/
7/5/14