Kiev nationalists clash with police outside Orthodox monastery

Ukraine nationalists have clashed with police outside the citadel of the Orthodox Church in #Kiev, the Pechersk Lavra, as the churchgoers and monks were about to hold a peace service praying for an end to violence in #Ukraine.

According to various media reports up to 500 ultra-nationalists, representing the Right Sector and Ukraine's Patriots neo-#nazi movements, clashed with around 100 policemen in an attempt to disrupt the Procession of the Cross at one of the centers of the Eastern Orthodox monasticism in Eastern Europe.

The procession was supposed to start at noon local time in the Holy Dormition Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and end up at the monument of the Unknown Soldier. Participants in the rally, mostly elderly, oppose Kiev's military operation in the Donetsk region.

Ultra-nationalists claimed that “separatists” were planning to use the event as a chance to gather and form a “Kiev's People Republic” and used a “few dozen grandmas” to disguise their plan.

After the armed ultra-nationalist crowd arrived at the gates of the convent, the Lavra was forced to shut fearing clashes.

“After the crowd of activists with baseball bats and hammers, some wearing bulletproof vests arrived at the Lavra, the entrance and exit to the shrine was closed. According to law enforcement, this was done to avoid clashes,” spokesman for Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Fr. Georgiy Kovalenko shared his account of the events surrounding the procession service on his Facebook page.

 The clergy asked the angry mob – some of whom claimed they came to the monastery “to pray” – to lay down their arms. But when asked to cite a prayer, according to Kovalenko, they could not remember a single one.

Around 250 people, some wearing St. George’s ribbons, were forced to seek shelter and hold the procession inside the walls of the monastery, while around 100 law enforcement officers secured the premises. It is still unclear how many people were injured in the clashes outside the walls of the monastery.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra issued a statement after the incident saying that according to Appeal Holy Synod, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church “as always calls on all parties to the peaceful resolution of conflicts and enhanced prayer.” It reminded that the monastic life should not be disturbed or used for political purposes.

Policemen guard the entrance of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian complex of monasteries and cathedrals in Kiev, to prevent storming by activists of various pro-Ukrainian radical youth groups on June 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)

After the raid on the monastery around 60 nationalist activists staged a rally at the Russian embassy in Kiev, Russia's Press Atache Oleg Grishin said.

“The gathered are behaving aggressively. They are trying to break through the cordon of the consulate building, stoning representatives Ukrainian law enforcement agencies,” RBK quoted Grishin. “The situation is tense,” the diplomat added. No one was detained at the rally that lasted around two hours.

Activists of various pro-Ukrainian radical youth groups sing the anthem as policemen guardthe entrance of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian complex of monasteries and cathedrals in Kiev, to prevent storming by activists of various pro-Ukrainian radical youth groups on June 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)

Also on Sunday, the nationalists vandalized a Kiev branch of Russia’s Sberbank pelting cobble stones and throwing firecrackers inside.

Policemen guard the Sberbank of Russia building after it was attacked with stones by activists of various pro-Ukrainian radical youth groups in Kiev on June 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)

Ukrainian policemen guard the entrance of Kiev Pechersk Lavra, an Orthodox Christian complex of monasteries and cathedrals in Kiev, to prevent storming by activists of various pro-Ukrainian radical youth groups on June 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Sergei Supinsky)

People with their faces covered take part in a pro-Ukrainian anti-separatist rally near Kiev Pechersk Lavra, in Kiev June 22, 2014. (Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko)

Activists of pro-Ukrainian radical youth group pose in a front of riot police outside Consulate department of Russian embassy in Kiev June 22, 2014. (Reuters / Valentyn Ogirenko)

Ukraine leader vows to punish rebels after chopper downed on Thursday

Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko in Kiev. (AFP/SERGEI SUPINSKY)

KIEV: #Ukraine's president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed to punish pro-#Russian rebels who downed an army helicopter in the east of the country, killing 12 troops in one of the deadliest attacks of the insurgency.

The militants shot the Mi-8 helicopter gunship out of the sky with a sophisticated surface-to-air missile Thursday, prompting the White House to say the incident raised concerns about the rebels being supplied "from the outside".

"We have to do everything we can to ensure no more Ukrainians die at the hands of terrorists and bandits. These criminal acts by the enemies of the Ukrainian people will not go unpunished," said #Poroshenko, according to Ukrainian news agencies.

Defence Minister Mykhailo Koval was to give details on the attack near the industrial town of Slavyansk at a press briefing early Friday.

One of the separatists' leaders made a surprise admission Thursday that 33 out of more than 40 rebels killed during a raid on Donetsk airport this week were Russian nationals from Muslim regions such as Chechnya.

The revelation challenged President Vladimir Putin's rejection of Russian links to the separatist drive and supports Kiev's claims that the rebels do not represent the true will of the miners and steel workers who have turned the east into the economic engine of Ukraine.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said late Thursday there was "evidence of Russians crossing over, trained personnel from Chechnya trained in Russia, who've come across to stir things up, to engage in fighting".

Kerry urged Russia to take advantage of Sunday's presidential election and "build a road forward where Ukraine becomes a bridge between the West and the East".

Russian troops massed on Ukraine's borders are also moving back toward Moscow, but there are still "danger signs", he told PBS television.

Moscow meanwhile called on Kiev to impose an immediate ceasefire and urged the West to use its influence to prevent "a national disaster" in Ukraine.

"The international community awaits from Kiev an immediate ceasing of military activities in the east of the country and the withdrawal of troops. Without that, achieving peace in Ukraine is impossible," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Western-backed Poroshenko -- winner of 54.7 per cent of Sunday's vote and due to be inaugurated on June 7 -- needs to avert another showdown with Russia that could see his economically teetering nation cut off from gas supplies by the start of next week.

But cash-strapped Ukraine appeared to avert the immediate threat of a gas cut-off when the European Union announced that a new round of talks between the EU, Russia and Ukraine will be held in Berlin on Friday.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who will attend the meeting, said earlier this week Russia and Ukraine had a "good chance" of striking a deal by Sunday.

Yet the Kiev government's attention Thursday was fixed on Slavyansk -- an industrial city of 120,000 mostly ethnic Russians that was the first of a dozen towns and cities seized by the rebels in response to the February ouster in Kiev of a pro-Kremlin president.

"I just received information that near Slavyansk, the terrorists -- using a Russian man-portable air defence system -- shot down our helicopter," acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told parliament.

Those killed included General Volodymyr Kulchytskiy, six members of the National Guard force made up of volunteers and interior ministry troops.

It was the highest death toll since Ukraine lost 18 soldiers during hours of heavy fighting in the same Donetsk region on May 22.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said while still trying to verify the reports, "we are concerned that this indicates separatists continue to have access to advanced weaponry and other assistance from the outside."

A separatist spokesman had earlier told Russian news agencies that the helicopter was downed in a fierce battle that was still raging on the southern outskirts of Slavyansk.

The city's self-proclaimed "people's mayor" announced that four civilian monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) had been detained on suspicion that they were spies.

"No one arrested them. We detained them. Now we will work out who they are, where they were going and why, and we will let them go," Vyacheslav Ponomaryov told Russia's Interfax news agency.

He later told Russia's RIA Novosti agency that they were being held in the town of Makiivka on the eastern outskirts of Donetsk.

But the pro-Russian "prime minister" of the self-declared Republic of Donetsk added confusion over their fate, raising uncertainty about their whereabouts.

"We do not know where they are and we are looking for them," said Alexander Borodai, adding that the Slavyansk mayor had a tendency "to exaggerate things".

A source at the OSCE told AFP that the missing team -- a Dane, an Estonian, a Swiss national and a Turk -- included one woman and that negotiations for their release had been going on for some time.

With the Berlin talks set for Friday Kiev has been relieved from a deadline to pay Russia $2 billion under an EU-brokered agreement or face a halt in gas supplies next week that would also hit parts of Europe.

Russia and Ukraine launched their third gas war in less than a decade after Moscow decided to cancel its previous rebates and nearly double the price it charges Kiev for gas after Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych's fall in February.

About 15 per cent of all gas consumed in Europe is pumped in from Russia through Ukraine and analysts say it is in both sides' interest to find a compromise.

- AFP/nd

14 military killed in chopper downed in E. Ukraine - Acting President

Reuters / Baz Ratner

Fourteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in a helicopter crash near the city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk Region, according to the acting president of #Ukraine, Aleksandr Turchinov.

Anti-government protesters in Slavyansk have downed a Ukrainian forces helicopter in the south-east of Slavyansk in the #Donetsk region.

Fourteen servicemen, including a major-general, Vladimir Kulchitsky, have have been killed in a helicopter crash near Slavyansk, according to the acting president of Ukraine, Aleksandr Turchinov, who spoke at a parliamentary session in Kiev.

Kulchitsky, 51, was the head of the department of Combat and Special training in Ukraine’s National Guard.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s National Guard reported 12 dead: six servicemen, including the helicopter crew and six members of the Berkut forces.

Ukraine’s army has started shelling the eastern Ukraine cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, thereby resuming its massive military operation in the East of the country, local news outlets report.

“A full-scale military operation has begun in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. BM-21 launch vehicle “Grad” are being used,” Donbas-based Ostrov agency says.

“Intensive shooting has been heard in the region, and thick black smoke seen,” he added.

#Славянск еще один разрушенный дом. Во время попадания снаряда жители были во дворе

Meanwhile, Itar-Tass has reported that fighter jets have been flying over the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk Region. “The hospitals were told to evacuate patients from the upper floors,” said a representative from the self-defense forces.

On Wednesday a school and a kindergarten were shelled in Slavyansk. In the kindergarten at least 9 civilians were injured, including a 4-year old boy.

A teacher from the targeted school said that the shell exploded right above the school hall, where children are usually gathered for festive events, and part of the roof “was simply blown away.” Luckily, no children were in the hall at the time. All the pupils and teachers were quickly evacuated to the basement. --RT

Tensions high in Donetsk as rebels claim to repatriate dead

During a lull in fighting in the East Ukrainian city of #Donetsk, coffins have been seen lined up outside local mortuaries.

On Monday there was a bloody battle between pro-#Russian separatists and government forces, after rebels tried to overrun the city’s airport.

Since electing a new #Ukrainian president on Sunday, Kyiv has vowed to clamp down on resistance in its troubled East.

Now an uneasy calm has descended over Donetsk, with both forces trying to assert control in the area.

A pro-Russian separatist using the name Varan, had this to say on the situation: “I can only say that I hope Ukraine makes up its mind and will not bring its troops into the city. Especially as the city is surrounded by Ukrainian troops. If they want a war there will be slaughter on both sides.”

At least 50 pro-Russian separatists were reported to have been killed on Monday during fighting.

Now with Ukrainian troops still surrounding the city, separatist leaders are increasing calls for outside assistance.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the self proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic remarked to local journalists: “At the moment we need to be defended from the outside.”

Reports are circulating that they may have already had some help, Pushilin has been quoted as saying so-called Russian volunteers died in the recent fighting, their bodies are reportedly set to be repatriated.
Source: Euro News 

Rebels shoot down government helicopter near Slovyansk

Black smoke rises from a shot down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Slovyansk

#Rebels in eastern #Ukraine have shot down a government military helicopter amid heavy fighting around the eastern city of Slovyansk, killing 14 soldiers including a general, Ukraine's leader said.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told the parliament in Kiev that rebels used a portable air defence missile to down the helicopter and said General Volodymyr Kulchitsky was among the dead.

Slovyansk has become the epicentre of fighting between pro-#Russia insurgents and government forces in recent weeks. Located 100 miles from the Russian border, it has seen constant clashes and its residential areas have regularly come under mortar shelling from government forces, causing civilian casualties and prompting some residents to flee.

An Associated Press reporter saw the helicopter go down and the trail of black smoke it left before crashing. Gunshots were heard around Slovyansk near the crash site and a Ukrainian air force jet was seen circling above. It was too dangerous to visit the site itself.

The city of 120,000 is in the Donetsk region, one of the two sprawling provinces in eastern Ukraine that have declared independence from the government in Kiev.

The Kiev government condemns the insurgency roiling the east as the work of "terrorists" bent on destroying the country and blames Russia for fomenting it. Russia denies the accusations, saying it has no influence over rebels, who insist they are only protecting the interests of Russian speakers in the east.

Still, fighters from Russia, including from the battle-hardened region of Chechnya, have been appearing recently in the ranks of the separatists.

Also today, an insurgent leader confirmed that his fighters were holding four missing observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and promised that they would be released shortly. Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" of Slovyansk, told the AP that the monitors — who are from Turkey, Switzerland, Estonia and Denmark — were safe.

"I addressed the OSCE mission to warn them that their people should not over the coming week travel in areas under our control. And they decided to show up anyway," Ponomarev said.

Children look through bus windows while leaving the city fearing shelling attacks during a fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian militants in Slovyansk (AP)

"We will deal with this and then release them," he said, without setting a specific timeframe.

The OSCE had lost contact with the team in Donetsk on Monday evening. Their teams have been deployed to Ukraine to monitor the security situation following Russia's annexation of Crimea and the rise of the pro-Russia separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine. They also observed Sunday's presidential vote, won by billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko.

Poroshenko has promised to negotiate with people in the east but also vowed to uproot the armed rebels.

In the most ferocious battle yet, rebels in Donetsk tried to take control of its airport Monday but were repelled by Ukrainian forces using combat jets and helicopter gunships. Dozens of men were killed — some insurgent leaders said up to 100 fighters may have been killed.

The mood in Donetsk was calm on Thursday, although many businesses have stopped opening due to fears of renewed fighting.

The separatists in Ukraine have pleaded to join Russia, but President Vladimir Putin has ignored their appeal in an apparent bid to de-escalate tensions with the West and avoid a new round of Western sanctions.

Putin has supported an OSCE peace plan that calls for ending hostilities and launching a political dialogue and has said Russia would work with new leader Poroshenko. But Russia has repeatedly urged the Ukrainian government to end its military operation against the separatists.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday called for quick international mediation to persuade Kiev to halt what he described as a "punitive operation" in the east. - Independent 

Incoming Ukrainian President Poroshenko Requests Time on EU Deal

Ukraine president-elect Petro Poroshenko. European Pressphoto Agency

The winner of Sunday’s presidential election in #Ukraine has told senior European Union leaders he wants some time before committing to a major economic and political deal with the bloc, according to more than a half-dozen officials briefed on conversations.

Officials say they have seen no evidence that incoming Ukrainian president-elect #Petro Poroshenko is wavering on the agreement, and they still expect him to wrap it up over the next couple of months. But they say the billionaire #chocolate maker has sent the message that he will approach the Europeans when he is ready.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Poroshenko said the incoming president will discuss the timing of the signing of the accord after he meets some European leaders late next week in Poland.

The bilateral deal would transform Ukraine’s ties with the EU and has been at the center of the country’s political crisis for most of the past year. But Russian President Vladimir Putin bitterly opposes the accords, and Moscow has threatened economic retaliation against the former Soviet countries that sign deals with the EU.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to abandon the agreement in November sparked protests that eventually toppled his government in February. --WSJ

Rebel leader in Ukraine claims, they have four OSCE observers

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-proclaimed 'people's mayor' of Slovyansk, said the observers are safe and promised they would be released soon.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-proclaimed 'people's mayor' of Slovyansk, Ukraine, May 25, 2014. Photo by AP

An insurgent leader is quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency that his fighters are holding four observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" of Slovyansk, a city in the Donetsk region, said Thursday that the four monitors are safe and promised that they would be freed soon. He didn't put any conditions for their release.

The OSCE said it had lost contact with one of its four-man monitoring teams in Donetsk on Monday evening. Rebels have previously kidnapped #OSCE monitors in #Ukraine.

The OSCE monitors have been deployed to Ukraine to monitor security situation following Russia's annexation of Crimea and a pro-Russia separatist insurgency that has engulfed regions in eastern Ukraine. They also observed Sunday's presidential vote. --Haaretz

80 Ukrainian soldiers surrender to self-defense forces in Lugansk

Reuters / Marko Djurica

All of the 80 Ukrainian troops holed up at a Lugansk military base have surrendered to self-defense forces who stormed the military installation hosting the #Ukrainian National Guard.

The initial assault lasted for 10-15 minutes with almost unceasing #gunfire, witnesses say. A video reportedly filmed near the attacked facility has appeared on YouTube.

There are conflicting reports on casualties and the outcome of the attack, which took place on the territory of an Air Force academy. Earlier, at least one Ukrainian soldier was reported to be seriously injured.

According to RIA Novosti, all of the 80 Ukrainian soldiers holed up at the base surrendered. They were escorted out of the building as the other side applauded.

Self-defense commander Gennady Tsepkalo also confirmed to journalists that all troops have surrendered. He promised that all soldiers will be sent home shortly.

It had earlier been reported that only ten troops surrendered and others barricaded themselves inside the base, with some of the soldiers saying that their captain had orbidden them from surrendering.

These events come as Kiev has intensified military operations in eastern Ukraine. On Wednesday, Kiev mortar shells hit a school and a kindergarten in Slavyansk, injuring at least nine civilians. --RT

Calm Returns after Fight as divided east Ukraine city awaits fate

Miners from around the region walk during a demonstration in support of the self-proclaimed 'Donetsk People's Republic' in Donetsk, May 28, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/MAXIM ZMEYEV

(Reuters) - Uneasy calm returned to the streets of #Donetsk on Wednesday after the biggest battle of a pro-#Russian separatist uprising in eastern #Ukraine, a conflict transformed by the landslide election of a pro-European leader who has vowed to crush the revolt.

Government forces killed dozens of rebel fighters on Monday and Tuesday in an assault to retake the airport, which the rebels had seized the morning after Ukrainians overwhelmingly elected Petro Poroshenko as president.

Pro-Moscow gunmen have declared the city of a million people capital of an independent Donetsk People's Republic.

After the government assault - the first time Kiev has unleashed its full military force against the fighters after weeks of restraint - morgues were filled with bodies of rebel gunmen. Some were missing limbs in a sign of the massive firepower used against them.

The separatist authorities say as many as 50 died, including a truckload of wounded fighters blasted apart as they were driven away from the battlefield. The government said it suffered no losses in the operation, which saw its aircraft strafe the airport and paratroops land to reclaim it.

Poroshenko, a billionaire confectionary magnate who became the first Ukrainian since 1991 to win the presidency outright in a single round of voting, repeated his promise to restore government control rapidly over secessionist-held areas.

“We are in a state of war in the east. Crimea is occupied by Russia and there is great instability. We must react,” he told Germany's Bild newspaper. “The anti-terrorist operation has finally begun in earnest. We will no longer permit these terrorists to kidnap and shoot people, occupy buildings or suspend the law. We will put an end to these horrors – a real war is being waged against our country.”

His swift offensive has thrown down a challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who made defending Russians in other parts of the former Soviet Union a pillar of his rule since declaring his right to use military force in Ukraine in March.

Moscow has demanded Kiev halt the military operation in the east, but Putin has also announced the withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops he had massed on the frontier. A NATO officer said on Wednesday thousands of Russian troops had indeed been pulled out, although tens of thousands were still in place.

Moscow says it is willing to work with Poroshenko but has no plans for him to visit for talks. It denies accusations by Kiev and Western countries that it is behind the rebellion.

“I have no doubt that Putin could end the fighting using his direct influence,” Poroshenko said. “I definitely want to speak with Putin and hold talks to stabilize the situation.”

In Donetsk, some shops were closed and streets were quieter than usual, but calm had returned. Around 1,000 miners bussed in from around the eastern Donbass coalfield staged a demonstration in support of the separatists in Donetsk on Wednesday.

"Kiev does not rule us any more, we will no longer accept that," Denis Pushilin, leader of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic which held a referendum on independence on May 11, told the miners. A Ukrainian fighter jet roared overhead, and some gunfire could be heard in the distance, apparently from rebels shooting at the aircraft.

"KIEV JUNTA"

A miner from the state-owned Abakumova mine attending the demonstration who gave his name as Valery said: "I want peace and to be able to work and make money. I want the occupying soldiers to leave and return to their Kiev junta," he said.

Russia and its state media which broadcast into eastern Ukraine have consistently described the government in Kiev, which took power after a pro-Russian president fled in February, as illegitimate and led by "fascists".

But Moscow's position was undermined by the scale of Poroshenko's election victory, and Kiev now appears to feel emboldened to act against the rebels with less threat of Russian retaliation.

A former cabinet minister under both pro- and anti-Russian presidents, Poroshenko won nearly 55 percent of the vote in a field of 21 candidates and commanded support across the east-west divide that has defined Ukrainian politics since independence. His nearest challenger won just 13 percent.

Other potential rivals had bowed out and urged supporters to back the frontrunner in a show of national unity.

The separatists managed to block voting in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk provinces, but the 10 percent of the electorate kept away from the polls would not have made a difference in the outcome.

Although many in eastern Ukraine are skeptical of the government in Kiev, opinion polls have shown most favor some sort of unity with Ukraine. The majority in the east describe themselves as ethnic Ukrainians although they speak Russian as their primary language.

"We live in Ukraine," said Mikhail, 31, a theater manager. "I work at the Ukrainian Theatre in Donetsk. Would I work at the Donetsk People's Republic Theatre? That doesn't sound so good. I think all this mess is only temporary.

"I didn't vote because we could not vote here, but Poroshenko seems decent," he said. "We will see. Many were elected as decent and then turned into bribetakers as a general rule. I hope he will not let Ukraine down."
Source: Reuters

Arseny demands $1bn from Russia for Stolen Gas in Crimea

Arseny Yatsenyuk (Reuters / Andrew Kravchenko / Pool)

#Russia owes #Ukraine about 2.2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas worth around $1 billion, which was “stolen together with Crimea,” self-appointed Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Tuesday.

"We have no idea what he means," Reuters quotes Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov as saying.

Earlier on Tuesday Yatsenyuk said he was waiting for a reply from Russia on his claim 2.2 bcm of natural gas was "stolen" by Russia when it took over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and consequently local gas supplier Chornomornafrogaz (Black Sea #Gas). At Gazprom prices the value of the gas is about $1 billion, Yatsenyuk calculated.

If Ukraine and Russia do not agree on a gas settlement by Thursday, May 29, “we’ll meet with Russia’s Gazprom in a Stockholm court,” the self-appointed head of Ukraine’s cabinet said.

May 29 is a deadline for a pre-arbitration settlement of the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute. Russia “has so far not done anything to fix the row,” Yatsenyuk insisted.

“We are ready to pay for the gas bought. However, in order to pay it’s necessary to sign the documents. We don’t have time,” he said.

The comments follow Monday's meeting between the energy leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and the EU, who tried to find a solution to the dispute.

Each party at the energy talks in Berlin have separate views on the results of the meeting.

While Russia’s Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said the parties agreed on the first $2.5 billion payment to cover Ukraine's gas debt, the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy Yury Prodan insisted that no specific agreements were reached.

He also did not answer whether Ukraine will pay Russia a part of the gas debt this week.

"It simply shows the risks that Ukraine won’t pay the gas debt till Friday is remaining," Gazprom head Aleksey Miller said in an interview to Russia-24 channel. "Hope springs eternal, but following the way the press conference of the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy was held, I suppose everyone has felt that the risks are remaining and the risks are high”.

Ukraine says it is ready to pay the gas debt to Russia that has grown to more than $3.5 billion after it confirms the price of further deliveries at $268.5 per thousand cubic meters, Oleksandr Shlapak, the Ukrainian Minister of Finance said.

"We are ready to pay after they confirm to us the price of gas in the future. But the proposals which are expressed now: first you pay and then we will start negotiating, don’t suit us," Shlapak said on Tuesday,

Miller said that Russia is ready to reduce the gas price to Ukraine by lifting an export duty. However, it is subject to further negotiations after Ukraine pays at least a part of its multibillion-dollar debt.
Source: RT

More than 30 killed in Ukraine Donetsk by Pro-Russian Rebels

Pro-#Russian rebels in eastern #Ukraine say that at least 30 of their colleagues have been killed after a day of heavy fighting in the city of Donetsk that included air strikes against insurgents who attempted to seize the city's airport.

Pro Russian Rebels in Ukraine - dailymail

A rebel fighter, who wouldn't give his name because of security concerns, told the Associated Press outside a hospital in Donetsk that 30 bodies of his fellow insurgents were delivered there.

He said the truck carrying the bodies was still parked outside the hospital, waiting for explosives experts to check it for any unexploded ordnance.

Early Tuesday, a group of unidentified men stormed Donetsk's main ice-hockey arena, which was to host the 2015 world championships and set it ablaze, according to the mayor's office.

In the neighboring Luhansk region, the Ukrainian Border Guards Service said that its officers engaged in a gunbattle with a group of gunmen who were trying to break through the border from Russia. It said one intruder was wounded and the border guards seized several vehicles loaded with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket grenade launchers and explosives.

Speaking at a televised government session on Tuesday, Vitaly Yarema, a deputy prime minister in the interim cabinet said the "anti-terrorist operation" in eastern Ukraine will go on "until all the militants are annihilated."

Donetsk, a city of 1 million, was engulfed by warfare Monday, when rebels moved to seize the airport, Ukraine's second largest, and were repelled by government forces using combat jets and helicopter gunships.

A bombardment of the airport reportedly began shortly after noon local time, and black smoke could be seen rising from buildings following the sounds of shelling.

Vladislav Seleznyov, a spokesman for Kiev's anti-terrorist operation, wrote on his Facebook account that the military presented an ultimatum earlier this afternoon to unknown armed men who had occupied the airport to lay down the arms. The airstrikes began when the insurgents did not comply.

Officials closed the airport, and police shut nearby streets for traffic. The city mayor went on television advising residents to stay at home.

The battles in Donetsk came just as billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko claimed victory in Sunday's presidential vote. Poroshenko has vowed to negotiate a peaceful end to an insurgency in the east, where rebels have seized government offices and fought Ukrainian troops for more than a month.

Poroshenko described the separatists as "Somali pirates," saying that arms should be used against "killers and terrorists," but he also indicated that he wants a quick end to the military operation in the east.

"The anti-terrorist operation cannot and should not last two or three months," he said. "It should and will last hours."

Poroshenko, known for his pragmatism, supports building strong ties with Europe but also has stressed the importance of mending relations with Moscow. Upon claiming victory, he said his first step as president would be to visit the east.

He said he hoped Russia would support his efforts to bring stability and that he wanted to hold talks with Moscow.

Russia welcomed his intention to engage in talks with people in the east and said it would be ready to work with Poroshenko.

Poroshenko is yet to be sworn in and the date for his inauguration hasn't yet been set. The interim government, meanwhile, pledged to press ahead with the operation against insurgents, which has angered local residents, many of whom see the authorities in Kiev as nationalists bent on repressing Russian speakers in the east.

Russia has denied accusations by the Ukrainian interim government and the West that it has fomented the insurgency in the east.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has stonewalled the insurgents' appeal to join Russia and welcomed the Ukrainian presidential election in an apparent bid to de-escalate tensions with the West, which has plunged to a post-Cold War low after Russia's annexation of Crimea.

But Russia has kept pushing for Ukraine to decentralize its government, which would give more power to regions, including those in the east, and wants Kiev to withdraw its troops from the area.
Source: Fox News

Rebel Says 30 Insurgents Killed In Eastern Ukraine

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — At least 30 bodies of killed fighters have been brought to a hospital following a day of heavy fighting in #Donetsk in eastern #Ukraine, in which the government forces used combat jets and helicopter gunships against pro-#Russia rebels, an insurgent said Tuesday.

The rebel fighter, who wouldn't give his name because of security concerns, said outside the hospital in Donetsk that 30 bodies of his fellow insurgents were delivered there.

He said the truck carrying the bodies was still parked outside the hospital, waiting for explosives experts to check for any unexploded ordnance.

Sustained artillery and gun fire had been heard from the airport in Donetsk, a city of one million, on Monday. Fighter jets and military helicopters were seen flying overhead and dense black smoke rose in the air. Many flights to or from Donetsk were delayed or canceled and access to the airport was blocked by police.

The airstrikes against the separatists in control of Donetsk airport appeared to be the most visible government military operation yet since it started a crackdown on insurgents last month.

Monday's battle came just as billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko claimed victory in Sunday's presidential vote. Poroshenko has vowed to negotiate a peaceful end to an insurgency in the east, where rebels have seized government offices and fought Ukrainian troops for more than a month. Yet he described the separatists as "Somali pirates." --AP

Ukrainian air force strikes pro-Russia rebels at Donetsk airport

Pro-Russian insurgents arrive near Donetsk's Sergei Prokofiev International Airport on Monday to reinforce separatist gunmen under fire by the Ukrainian air force. (Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press)

DONETSK: Ukraine scrambled fighter jets and combat helicopters to strike rebel gunmen who seized control of the main airport in the eastern city of Donetsk on Monday, triggering heavy gunbattles.

Thick black smoke was seen rising from the airport complex as the sound of explosions and heavy machinegun fire rang out, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

The fierce confrontation erupted after Ukrainian oligarch Petro Poroshenko, who claimed victory in Sunday's crucial presidential election, vowed to press on with an offensive against pro-Russian separatists waging a bloody insurgency across the east.

Scores of gunmen had stormed the airport early Monday in an apparent show of defiance after the election, which was rejected as illegitimate by the rebels who thwarted polling in large parts of the east under their control.

"After the expiry at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) of an ultimatum (for the insurgents to leave) we launched an anti-terror operation," military spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashyvskiy told AFP.

Another spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, said on Facebook that Ukrainian forces were backed by Mi-8 helicopters filled with paratroopers, and fighter jets.

"First, SU-25 fighters fired a warning shot aimed at forcing the terrorists to fulfil our demands. Some of the gunmen began to panic," he said. "Then a MiG-29 delivered an air strike near areas where the terrorists had gathered."

All flights were halted out of the airport from early morning after the insurgents raided the strategic transport hub, which underwent a massive refurbishment for the 2012 European football championship.

It had been evacuated and sealed off after gunmen claiming to be from the self-declared "Donetsk People's Republic" showed up overnight demanding that Ukrainian troops guarding the perimeter be withdrawn.

The last scheduled plane allowed to leave was the 7:00 am (0400 GMT) flight to Kiev.

"We do not know when we will be up working again," airport spokesman Dmytro Kosinov said.

An AFP journalist saw three military trucks with scores of well-armed men in camouflage, some wearing pro-Russian ribbons and others with Cossack hats and beards, driving towards the airport through a traffic police checkpoint a few hundred metres from the main terminal.

"It was quiet and then suddenly two explosions and then another two -- they seemed like they had been fired from a plane," said Maksim Bakhal, a worker at a cemetery on the edge of the airport.

"Then three helicopters flew over and they were shooting at them with machine guns," he said. "Then there was shooting from all sides -- with heavier weapons and cannons."

Separatists in the heavily-Russified eastern rust belt of the ex-Soviet nation launched an insurgency against Kiev's rule in early April and have seized about a dozen cities and towns in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions neighbouring #Russia.

Poroshenko, who is expected to be formally declared president after results showed him with a resounding win on Sunday, said there would be no let-up in efforts to crush the rebels.

"I support continuing the operation, but I demand that its format be changed," he said. "It must be shorter in terms of time-frames and more efficient."

He accused the militants of wanting to turn the region of nearly seven million people "into Somalia" and refused to open dialogue with the rebels until they laid down their arms.

Uraine’s presumed president-elect, Petro Poroshenko, vowed Monday to bring an end to the armed confrontation with pro-Russia separatists in the east and Russia’s top diplomat responded with assurances that the Kremlin is “ready for dialogue.”

But hours later Ukrainian air force troops strafed the armed militants’ positions at the international airport in Donetsk in an attempt to halt their efforts to further disrupt transport and industry in the sprawling industrial Donbass area.

The attack from the air was likely to enrage Moscow, which had appealed for an immediate end to the Kiev government’s “anti-terrorist operation” that has sought, with limited success, to recover territory seized by the pro-Russia rebels over the past two months.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had responded positively to the apparent election of #Poroshenko to lead #Ukraine after a turbulent six months that has witnessed a grass-roots revolution, the ousting of former Kremlin-allied President Viktor Yanukovich, Russian military occupation and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea territory and the separatists’ seizure of a dozen towns and cities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“We are ready for dialogue with Kiev representatives, with Petro Poroshenko,” Lavrov said after the billionaire candidate was projected to win the Ukrainian presidency with 56% of the votes cast Sunday.

But Lavrov warned the next leadership that fighting in the east had to cease if the two former Soviet republics were to make any progress in mending the damage to their relations inflicted by the Russian territorial aggression and the Ukrainian military’s feeble efforts to reassert Kiev’s control.

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the so-called anti-terrorist operation did not end,” Lavrov said of the Kremlin’s insistence that Sunday’s election couldn’t be considered valid if violence was being waged against the Russian-speaking eastern regions. Failure to halt the operations now that Kiev has new leadership in sight “will be a huge mistake,” Lavrov warned.

Pro-Russia gunmen, who last week blocked rail transport through the regions they occupy, took over the main terminal of Sergei Prokofiev International Airport overnight, Ukrainian military officials said Monday. The government deployed helicopters to bring paratroops to retake control of the airport and sent truckloads of soldiers to secure the facility and its vicinity.

The modern glass-and-steel terminal was built just four years ago ahead of Donetsk’s 2012 hosting of a European soccer championship. Donetsk, a city of a million residents, is home to the Shakhtar soccer club, owned by Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man and the biggest employer in the mining and manufacturing area.

“Helicopters of the ATO [anti-terrorist operation] forces destroyed an anti-aircraft gun that terrorists mounted in the Donetsk airport," spokesman Vladyslav Selezniov was quoted as saying by Kiev’s Ukrinform news agency.

Selezniov also denied what he said were reports of a Ukrainian helicopter having been shot down by the rebels.

The BBC carried video showing masked separatists arriving at the airport perimeter to reinforce the militants under fire. The airport was closed to commercial traffic on Sunday when the gunmen first took over the terminal. Other parts of the airport apparently remained under government control.

Poroshenko has said he will not negotiate with illegal armed groups but raised hopes for easing tensions in the east with his swift overture to Moscow. At a Monday morning news conference, he called for talks with Kremlin leaders, conceding that making peace with the militants in Donbass “will be impossible without the participation of Russia.”

Poroshenko said his first official trip as president would be to the Donbass region, the broad industrial belt extending from the Don River basin, and that he hoped to visit Moscow in the first half of June.

Assuming Poroshenko’s first-round victory projection from exit polls is validated by the final vote count, the presidential inauguration is tentatively set for June 15. Until then, interim President Oleksandr Turchynov remains head of state although Russian officials have dismissed him as illegitimate and “coup-appointed.”
The LA Time

Ukraine military strikes rebel-held Donetsk airport

#Ukraine scrambled fighter jets and combat helicopters to strike rebel gunmen who seized control of the main airport in the eastern city of #Donetsk on Monday, triggering heavy gunbattles.

Pro-Russian militants take ther position in the international airport of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on May 26, 2014. (AFP/ALEXANDER KHUDOTEPLY)

"There are no talks with terrorists," said Poroshenko. "Their goal is to turn Donbass (east Ukraine) into Somalia. I will not let anyone do this to our state and I hope that Russia will support my approach."

Rebels on Sunday blocked voting across most of Donetsk and Lugansk, two regions that together make up around 15 per cent of the national electorate.

Several pro-Russian figures and rebel commanders said they did not recognise Poroshenko's legitimacy and would continue their independence fight.

"We consider that the winner of the election is president of west Ukraine -- he is a half president," said Oleh Tsarov, a former member of the Regions Party of toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.

"Let the people who elected him recognise him but for us here he won't be our president," said pro-Russian shopkeeper Tetyana Krasikova.

"In the east his election won't change anything," she said. "The people have been too humiliated, too many have died to go back to the way things were."  Channel News

Top priority is peace, says Ukraine’s Poroshenko

Petro Poroshenko, the confectionary magnate that has declared victory in Ukraine's presidential election, tells CNBC his priority as president would be restoring peace to the troubled country. "We should bring peace. We should bring law and order. We should not allow the build-up of Somalia-style objects that can be dangerous for global security," Poroshenko said, referring to the African nation that has been destabilized by war in recent years. Read More'Chocolate King' hopes for sweet end to Ukraine crisis Exit polls gave Poroshenko, who has long experience in government having served as a minister in previous administrations , more than 55 percent of the vote in Sunday's presidential election. Voting, however, was marred as millions were unable to go to the polls in eastern provinces where pro-Russian militants blocked access to polling stations, highlighting the challenges that await the new leader.

Ssergei Gapon | AFP | Getty Images

Petro Poroshenko.

Asked about his relations with Moscow, which annexed the Crimea peninsula earlier this year, Poroshenko said the real issue was not bilateral relations between #Russia and #Ukraine but one about regional and global security. "After the Crimea aggression, the whole post-war global security architecture was ruined," he said. "That is our responsibility to keep the world stable and predictable…This is the main topic of our negotiation with the participation of the Russian president." Ukraine has been in turmoil for months, with street protests toppling former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovich in February following by an uprising by pro-Russian rebels in the industrial eastern regions. Read MoreUkraine's billionaire president: the $64,000 question Poroshenko has claimed a popular mandate for resuming efforts to bring Ukraine closer to the European Union, a contentious issue for neighboring Russia, and has said he is ready to negotiate with Putin. He has insisted that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine. Russia's annexation of the Crimea peninsula has soured relations with the West, which has imposed sanctions on Moscow for its action. 

"Sanctions are a method, not a purpose; I hate the idea that it would be painful for the Russian people under sanctions," Poroshenko said when asked whether Russia should face further sanctions from the West. "A sanction is just the reason to put everything on the table… If any country violates international law, if any country doesn't recognize territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the independent country, we should act while coordinating our actions in all international organizations," he said. Asked what he saw as the biggest obstacle to peace in the Ukraine, the billionaire businessman referred to as the "chocolate king" replied: "We will have peace. We will stop the war. Nobody and nothing can stop us."

Ukrainian oligarch Poroshenko winning pres race with over 50% votes

Ukrainian confectionary tycoon Pyotr Poroshenko is winning the presidential election in the first round of voting, having secured more than 50 percent of votes, according to the early vote count.

With 25.39 percent of the election protocols counted, Poroshenko is leading the race with 54.14 percent of the votes cast, according to the Central Elections Committee

Poroshenko’s main election rival, ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko of Batkivschina (Fatherland) Party, is not likely to get a referendum on #Ukraine’s accession to NATO that she called for on Sunday during a run-off ballot – as it's highly likely that there will not be one. According to Ukrainian law, a single round of voting is enough for a candidate with more than 50 percent of votes to win.

The early count suggests that Tymoshenko won 13.14 percent of the vote.She reacted to the results of exit polls by saying that she is “ready to cooperate with the winner for building a strong Ukraine.” Earlier in May, the Batkivschina leader blasted all the Ukrainian channels as being owned by oligarchs, calling her supporters to fight for their choice and even threatening to call “Maidan 3.0” if she loses the election.
 

Former prime minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks to supporters at her election headquarters in Kiev May 25, 2014. (Reuters / David Mdzinarishvili)

All other candidates gathered less than 10 percent of votes each, with anti-Russian populist Oleg Lyashko, the head of the Radical Party, running behind with 8.48 percent, former defense minister Anatoly Gritsenko taking 5.53 percent and expelled Party of Regions MP Sergey Tigipko – 5.07 percent of votes. The candidate picked by the Party of Regions of the ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, Mikhail Dobkin, gathered just 3.32 percent.
 
Around percent voted for Ukrainian Communist Party leader, Pyotr Simonenko, despite his recent announcement that he had withdrawn from the elections.
 
Ultra-right radical nationalists appeared to have completely failed in the elections, with Svoboda (Freedom) Party head Oleg Tyagnibok securing 1.17 percent of votes and Right Sector leader Dmitry Yarosh less than one percent.

‘First, I will tour Donbass’

Poroshenko’s UDAR party, whose leader, ex-boxer Vitaly Klitshko, decided to withdraw from elections in favor of the oligarch, has started celebrating victory even as the official vote count began at 8pm local time (5pm GMT). Incidentally, Klitshko is likely to have his moment of glory later at Kiev mayor’s elections, where he is the indisputable favorite, according to ratings.

As the results of exit polls emerged, Poroshenko delivered a speech outlining his plans for the near future as president.

“My first presidential trip will be to Donbass,” Poroshenko said at a party briefing, using the popular name for the historical region in eastern Ukraine.
“We can now state firmly and with confidence – the whole Ukraine cast its vote, this is the choice of the whole Ukraine,” he said. 

Poroshenko also thanked “thousands of Crimeans” and “hundreds of thousands of Donbass residents” for taking part in the elections. It was not immediately clear if the assessment matched the reality, as the vote was effectively disrupted and/or boycotted in eastern Ukraine, where anti-election rallies took place Instead. Several hundred Crimean Ukrainians indeed took part in the election after having been transported to the closest ballot box in a city bordering the Russian region by buses.

People cast votes in a mock ballot box that reads "Rubbish bin for the President" during an anti-election rally in the eastern city of Donetsk May 25, 2014. (Reuters / Maxim Zmeyev)

According to the prospective winner, parliamentary elections will be held in Ukraine before the end of 2014.

Speaking on the possible outcome of the raging political crisis in Ukraine, Poroshenko promised that “we will have a united and unitary, not federative state.”
Poroshenko claimed that his first “decisive step will be aimed at ending the war, ending chaos, and bringing peace to a united and free Ukraine."

 

"I am certain that our decisive actions will bring fairly quick results," the 48-year stated without clarifying what these “actions” would entail, as earlier it was announced that Ukrainian troops are to resume what Kiev calls an “anti-terrorist” operation in eastern Ukraine. 

Paroshenko is certain that he will meet his counterpart Vladimir #Putin, once official results are made public.

“We cannot discuss the seriousness of security in our region without the participation of #Russia. We will find the format and definitely will meet Putin."

 
Earlier, Poroshenko noted that he will recognize neither the results of the Crimean referendum, in which the vast majority of Crimeans voted for joining Russia, nor the referendums held in several eastern regions, which resulted in the proclaiming of Donetsk and Lugansk as “people’s republics.”
 
One of the richest businessmen in Ukraine, worth more than $1.3 billion, the head of Roshen Confectionary Corporation and, unofficially, the man controlling Ukraine’s Channel 5, appeared to be ready to give up his wealth for political victory. Poroshenko said that he is planning to sell his business right after elections are over.

“Concerning my business: right after this [election], there will be a contract signed with an investment company that will search for a buyer,” Poroshenko said as quoted by RIA Novosti.

Election ‘valid’ despite boycotts, violations

While the vote count is still underway, Ukraine’s Central Elections Committee has announced that the presidential elections have taken place and are valid. Some of the regions were unable to vote, but the country’s laws have recently been changed to allow presidential elections regardless of the turnout in any particular region.

With around 35.5 million Ukrainians eligible to vote – some 5.1 million are registered in Lugansk and Donetsk regions, which recently held referendums and declared their independence, saying the presidential race in a neighbouring state was none of their business now.

Despite their announced boycott and protests, the Ukrainian Central Elections Commission said that according to preliminary results the turnout was 12.09 per in Donetsks region, compared to the announced average 60.65 percent throughout the country.

A Ukrainian army soldier looks through binoculars as he stands guard at a checkpoint outside of Slavyansk, on May 25, 2014. (AFP Photo / Genya Savilov)

All in all the regional administration in Donetsk said only 426 of 2,430 polling stations in the region were open Sunday. Sources in Donetsk city administration told Ria Novosti that elections did not take place in large parts of the region –23 cities and 6 districts.

In the nearest future the “active phase of the anti-terrorist operation” will resume in the restive regions, the first deputy PM of Ukraine Vitaly Yarema vowed, claiming that Ukrainian armed forces have completely blocked off parts of the areas under the control of the self-defense forces in Lugansk and Donetsk regions.
Ukraine’s army has only temporarily halted its active actions, Yarema said, “so that the residents of the eastern areas could get to the polls and vote.”

Yet despite the promised calm, a number of armed clashes involving Ukrainian troops have been reported in the east of Ukraine on the day of the vote. The so-called “anti-terrorist” operation with the involvement of air forces and armored vehicles has been dragging for several months now, with dozens of people killed in the shelling – many of them civilians and even international journalists caught in the damage.

In the meantime, while the election officials and international observers say the vote went without major violations, videos and photos have started surfacing online showing the facts.

he press Service of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported 19 violations, which they claim all happened in the turbulent east of the country.

The OSCE monitoring mission of 1,200 observers from 47 countries, so far have not reported any violations. Their full report on the election process is due to be released later on Monday.
Source: RT 

Ukraine begins voting in election shadowed by insurgent threat

May 25, 2014: Former prime minister and Presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko (L), accompanied by her husband Oleksander (R), casts her vote during a presidential election at a polling station in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. (Reuters)

Ukrainians hoping to achieve a measure of stability began casting votes in a presidential election Sunday, even as pro-Russian rebels vowed to block voting in two unstable eastern regions.
The vote is taking place three months after the ouster of the country's pro-Russia leader, who was chased from power by months of protests triggered by his decision to reject a pact with the European Union and forge closer ties with Moscow.

There were no immediate reports of fighting in the eastern regions Sunday after weeks of intense battles. But it was also not clear how much voting would take place in the east: The regional administration in Donetsk said that only 426 out of 2,430 polling stations in the region were open Sunday, and none in the city of Donetsk itself.

"I don't even know where I can vote," Grigory Nikitayich, 72, told Reuters outside a school in a suburb of Donetsk. "No one has said anything. What kind of polls are these? Things are bad."

There was no voting in Luhansk, the center of the neighboring province, but some stations appeared to be open across the region, according to local officials.

Polls have shown the 48-year old billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko far ahead of the other 20 candidates, but short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round, so a runoff set for June 15 is expected. Poroshenko's nearest challenger is Yulia Tymoshenko, the divisive and charismatic former prime minister.

Russian President Vladimir #Putin promised Friday to "respect the choice of the Ukrainian people" and said he would be ready to work with the winner, in an apparent bid to ease the worst crisis in relations with the West since the Cold War and avoid a new round of Western sanctions.

In Kiev, Vera Potemkina, 65, a retired university professor, said she cast her ballot for Poroshenko because she hopes he will steer Ukraine out of Russia's orbit and closer to the West. "We are part of Europe, we do not need Asia," she said.

Tymoshenko, the 53-year-old blond-braided heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution, spent two-and-a half years in prison on abuse of office charges denounced as political by the West. She is still admired by many for her energy and will, but detested by others over her role in the political infighting that has weakened the country in the past.

Vladislav Golub, a 31-year old lawyer, said he voted for Tymoshenko because "Ukraine must stop being an oligarchic state and be part of Europe, instead of serving the interests of the Russian Federation."
Many voters appreciate Poroshenko's pragmatism and his apparent knack for compromise, making him stand out in the nation's political environment long dominated by intransigent figures. Poroshenko strongly backs closer ties with the EU, but also speaks about the need to normalize ties with Russia.

"He is a very smart man who can work hard compared to others, and he is also a businessman and knows that compromises are necessary even if unpleasant," said 55-year old teacher Larisa Kirichenko, who voiced hope that Poroshenko will negotiate a peaceful solution in the east.

Sunday's ballot is taking place despite deadly violence in the sprawling eastern regions that form Ukraine's industrial heartland, where pro-Russia insurgents have seized government buildings and fought government forces in intense battles that have raged for a month-and-a half and killed scores.

The rebels, who have declared two sprawling regions of Donetsk and Luhansk independent, have said they wouldn't allow the vote, which they described as an election in "a neighboring country." They have seized or blocked election offices and intimidated election officials and voters.

Ukraine's deputy interior minister, Serhiy Yarovyi, said Saturday that police are ready to ensure order and security at polling stations in just nine of the 34 electoral districts in the east.
In the city of Slovyansk in the Donetsk region, which has been one of the main epicenters of fighting in the past weeks, artillery shelling -- apparently from government forces -- badly damaged a psychiatric hospital late Saturday, shattering its roof and walls.

On election day, insurgents were helping mostly elderly patients to get from the basement into a section of the building that suffered lesser damage.

In the Black Sea port of Mariupol, 202 out of 216 polling stations were working, indicating that the situation has been brought under some degree of government control there.

The interim Kiev government and the West are accusing Russia of backing the uprising after it annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March. Moscow has denied the accusations.

Ukraine's acting prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said in a televised address late Friday that the election will be the first step to stabilize the situation in the east.

"I would like to assure all my compatriots in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions who will be prevented from going to the polling stations by the war waged on Ukraine: The criminals don't have much time left to terrorize our land," Yatsenyuk said.
Source : Fox News

Vladi­mir Putin says Russia will respect result of Ukraine’s presidential election

KIEV, Ukraine — Russia will respect the result of Ukraine’s presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday, as fighting continued in the country’s restive eastern regions two days ahead of the crucial poll.
The conciliatory sentiment raised hopes that Russia will be willing to work with new authorities in Ukraine after months of denouncing as illegitimate the acting government that replaced pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February amid popular protests.

“We understand and see that people in Ukraine want the country to come out of this lengthy crisis,” Putin said at a conference in St. Petersburg. “We also want the situation to become calmer. We will respect the choice made by the people of Ukraine.”

He also said he hoped that his nation’s relations with the United States, currently at Cold War-era lows, improve after Ukraine’s crisis is resolved. But, he said, “we can’t force anyone to love us.”
There were reports Friday of further clashes between pro-government and anti-government militias near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, a day after intense fighting in the region killed at least 13 soldiers and raised tensions ahead of Sunday’s vote.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Friday that 20 pro-Russian insurgents were killed and more than 30 wounded a day earlier when 500 rebels attacked a Ukrainian military position near the eastern town of Rubizhne. The account could not immediately be confirmed independently, and there was no explanation of why it took authorities so long to release the details. In a separate incident near the town early Friday, one soldier was killed when Ukrainian troops were ambushed by rebels, the ministry said.

Local media also reported heavy shelling Friday in the rebel stronghold of Slovyansk. A 10-minute video posted online, ostensibly from Slovyansk, showed smoke rising from points across a residential landscape amid the repetitive thuds of artillery fire.

A top Russian military commander said Russia would respond to NATO’s troop buildup in Poland and the Baltics, where alliance forces are conducting exercises. The statement by Valery Gerasimov, head of Russia’s Armed Forces General Staff, added to tensions between Russia and the West that have reached Cold War heights.

“In this situation, we cannot ignore these events. We have to take measures in response,” Gerasimov told reporters Friday at an international security conference in Moscow, Interfax reported.

The Thursday clashes prompted Ukrainian officials to call for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and broke several days of relative calm amid reports of divisions in the separatist ranks. The United States and its European allies have accused Russia of sowing chaos in eastern Ukraine to throw off the election, and they have threatened Moscow with additional sanctions if the vote is disrupted.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said Thursday that the 13 Ukrainian troops were killed when rebels attacked a checkpoint with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades near the town of Volnovakha, south of Donetsk. A regional health official later said that 16 people had died.

Witnesses told the Associated Press that the attackers arrived in a bank’s armored car, which the unsuspecting soldiers waved through the checkpoint, only to be mowed down at point-blank range.
The Foreign Ministry also said Ukrainian border guards repelled an attack Wednesday by “several groups of armed militants” who were trying to enter the country from Russia. Describing one of the attacks, the Interior Ministry said in a statement that three trucks and a sport-utility vehicle attempted to cross the border in the Luhansk region late Wednesday but that the border guards fired warning shots and the cars raced back into Russia.

Ukrainians are scheduled to go to the polls Sunday in presidential and mayoral elections that could determine the direction of the country and its alignment between Russia and the West.

Pro-Russian separatists in its eastern region have declared the vote illegal and been actively seeking to halt it.
At district election commission No. 42 here, for example, a group of about 10 armed men from the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk arrived last week to tell the employees their work was done. Their message was clear: There will be no presidential election in Ukraine this Sunday if the pro-Russian separatists have their way.

“I was terrified and locked the door,” said Elvira Maslova, 51, a receptionist who works down the hall.
Separatists have targeted other election offices in the Donetsk region, which is home to about 3.5 million voters, or nearly 10 percent of the country’s voters, a regional election official said.

On Thursday, armed militants closed another of the Donetsk region’s district election commission offices, each of which organizes and oversees voting for several polling stations.

At other locations, some local officials were abducted but usually released a short time later, and at least one was beaten, said Valeriy Zhaldak, a former Ministry of Justice employee who is serving as elections adviser to Donetsk’s regional government. In the city of Horlivka, the person who was heading the district election commission apparently crossed to the separatist side and was proclaimed the “people’s mayor,” Zhaldak said.

“There are always fights somewhere,” Zhaldak said.

Zhaldak, who is working out of a hotel because pro-Russian separatists still occupy the main regional administration building, said some election offices have been relocated from hot spots, such as rebel-held Slovyansk. Some local elections officials also have agreed to hide voter records, ballot boxes and other materials in their homes.

Denis Pushilin, a leader of the People’s Republic of Donetsk who sees the national government as an occupier, said the elections are illegal in his territory but denied using violence to halt them.

“We think it’s inappropriate to hold presidential elections in a neighboring country,” he said in an interview. “As for disrupting the elections, I wouldn’t use this term. I’d say we are opposing them through civilized methods, with the help of law enforcement and police. We are not advocates of violence.”

Alexander Chernenko, who heads a nonprofit organization that trains election commissioners and monitors, said that the interim government must move faster to provide security. At least 5 percent of the region’s local election offices have been closed because of separatist threats, he said.

Ukraine’s parliament has authorized national security forces to guard election offices in areas where local police have failed to do their jobs, either because they are outgunned or sympathetic to the separatists. But Chernenko said little has been done in practice.

In the end, election officials say they must rely on the courage of people such as Aleksandr Stryuk, who is one of the district election commissioners in the office shuttered last week.

“I am a businessman and doing this job not for the money,” he said. “But the main issue is people’s lives. If security is improved, we will continue our duty.”




Kunkle reported from Donetsk. Hauslohner reported from Moscow. Daniela Deane in London and Aleksey Ryabchyn and Anastasiia Fedesova in Donetsk contributed to this report.
Source: CNN News