US/NATO/EU and the desperate subversion of Ukraine

[John Dolva]

KIEV, April 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Valery Bolotov, the newly elected people’s governor of the Luhansk region, has pledged to take courts and police under control, Ukrainian media quoted Bolotov as saying on Monday.

“The people of the Luhansk region have empowered me to occupy this high post of an acting people’s governor. I will try to justify their trust,” Bolotov said as quoted by the media.

He plans to create a people’s council of the Luhansk region that will comprise representatives of all cities located in the region.

“The re-subordination of law enforcement agencies, including courts and the Interior Ministry, will be legal. The bodies of the Luhansk people’s power will act in cooperation with other regions in south-eastern Ukraine,” Bolotov known as the commander of “the southeast army” said.

[John Dolva]

RT :

Woman detained in eastern Ukraine denies being spy, says she's reporter

Published time: April 21, 2014 16:30

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Screenshot from YouTube user Graham Phillips

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Prominent Maidan activist, Irma Krat, who was detained on Sunday in eastern Ukraine’s protester-held town of Slavyansk, has refuted accusations of being a Kiev spy, saying she is in the Donetsk region in her capacity as a journalist.

The self-defense forces suspect Krat (dubbed by the media as ‘the Fury of Maidan’), of links with the radical and ultranationalist Right Sector movement.

One of the local anti-government protesters told Life News that the 29-year-old is suspected of using fire arms against Berkut riot police and involvement in the torture of a pro-Russian activist during February’s coup in Kiev, which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich.

During her media-conference in Slavyansk on Monday, Krat denied her links with the radicals, saying that she came to the Donetsk region to prepare TV-reports about the events in the area.

“It’s unclear what will happen next. But I want to say that they shouldn’t even try to bring such charges against me. It will be in vain,” she said.

Krat even presented a press-card, which says she is the editor-in-chief of the Svoboda Slova (Freedom of Speech) newspaper.

However, the representatives of the Donbass self-defense forces pointed out that the document is outdated, as it expired in December 2013.

At presser, Krat's press pass is brought out, 'self-defence' draw attention to its being out of date. #Slovianskpic.twitter.com/wcEU6qHRwr

— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 21, 2014

Krat confirmed that she was part of the so-called Women Squadron during the Maidan riots, but stressed that “we were journalists, lawwomen and lawyers. So we didn’t take part in military action, we only helped with judicial consultations and the organization of live broadcasting.”

But if criminal charges are brought against her, Krat said that she’ll be able to stand up for herself as she’s “a good defender of rights.”

The activist told the reporters in Slavyansk that she’s disappointed with the Maidan protests and what the overthrow of the government brought down on Ukraine.

“We didn’t think that something like this could happen… Nobody thought that there’ll be a civil war, that Ukraine will be split into two parts,” she said.

When asked about whether she would have taken part in the Maidan protests if she had known its outcome, Krat replied: “I don’t know. I can’t answer this question. Maybe I wouldn’t even have gone.”

“There’s no law now – what we have in Ukraine is total anarchy,” she added.

Photo from twitter.com user @GrahamWP_UK

The activist said that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who was released from prison after the coup-imposed authorities amended the law, had failed to meet expectations as well.

“I thought the person would change during her time in prison. That she’d be a different after being granted freedom. That she’d save the country, and, with her good relations with Putin, she’d make thing work. But we didn’t see that,” she stressed.

The activist said that the protest at Maidan, which she supported, and the protest movement in southeastern Ukraine mirror each other.

“There are no Russians. There are no separatists here. It’s just the people here, talking and asking questions,” she said.

Krat concluded her discourse with the media by saying that she was treated well by her captors and that she feels fine.

“I don't worry as I’ve done nothing wrong,” she stressed.

Anti-government protesters have captured government buildings in Donetsk and other regions across southeastern Ukraine over the past two weeks.

They call the coup-installed Ukrainian authorities illegitimate and are demanding a referendum to vote on autonomy for their regions.

With Kiev’s promised military crackdown on the protesters turning out to be a flop, radicals from the Right Sector movement are believed to be taking the army’s place.

Five people, including three protesters and two attackers, were reportedly killed in a gunfight at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Slavyansk early on Sunday.

Supporters of the referendum on Ukraine's federalization are seen outside the building of the regional department of internal affairs in the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk Region.(RIA Novosti)

[Steven Gaal]

Poland’s Hand in Ukraine Coup d’Etat: Trained Putchists Two Months in Advance, on Behalf of US-NATO

=====

http://www.globalresearch.ca/polands-hand-in-ukraine-coup-detat-trained-putchists-two-months-in-advance/5378655

================

Lies have shorter and shorter legs. Two months after the change of regime in Kiev, the Polish press has disclosed the role of Donald Tusk’s government in preparing the coup.

The new revelations belie Western discourse and demonstrate that the current interim government of Oleksandr Tourtchynov was imposed by NATO in violation of international law.

The Polish left-wing weekly Nie (No) published a startling witness account of the training given to the most violent of the EuroMaidan [1] activists.According to this source, in September 2013, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski invited 86 members of the Right Sector (Sector Pravy), allegedly in the context of a university exchange program. In reality, the guests were not students, and many were over 40. Contrary to their official schedule, they did not go to the Warsaw University of Technology, but headed instead for the police training center in Legionowo, an hour’s drive from the capital. There, they received four weeks of intensive training in crowd management, person recognition, combat tactics, command skills, behavior in crisis situations, protection against gases used by police, erecting barricades, and especially shooting, including the handling of sniper rifles. Such training took place in September 2013, while the Maidan Square protests were allegedly triggered by a decree suspending preparations for the signing of the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement, which was issued by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov on November 21, i.e. two months later. The Polish weekly refers to photographs attesting to the training, which show the Ukrainians in Nazi uniforms alongside their Polish instructors in civilian clothing.These revelations warrant a fresh look at the resolution adopted in early December 2013 by the Polish Parliament (Sejm), pledging its

“

total solidarity with Ukrainian citizens who, with strong determination, are showing the world their desire to achieve the full membership of their country in the European Union.

“

In his capacity as EU negotiator, Radosław Sikorski signed a crisis settlement agreement with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in the evening of February 21, 2014. The following morning, the men he had secretly trained in Poland were about to take power.

Naturally, the MPs were not yet aware of their country’s involvement in the training of the very individuals who were planning – and ultimately achieved – a violent takeover of power. This scandal illustrates the role assigned by NATO to Poland in Ukraine, analogous to the one entrusted to Turkey in Syria. The government of pro-European liberal Donald Tusk is fully committed to playing its role. Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski – a journalist and former political refugee in the United Kingdom – was the mastermind behind Poland’s integration into NATO. As a member of the “Weimar Triangle”, he was one of three EU representatives who brokered the 21 February 2014 agreement between President Viktor Yanukovych and the three main EuroMaidan leaders [2].

Needless to say, the Ukrainian president was unaware of the Polish representative’s entanglement with the rioters. As for the Interior Minister and special services coordinator, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (the great grand-son of novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, best known for Quo Vadis?), he co-founded the Office for State Protection (Urzd Ochrony Państwa), Poland’s current intelligence agency. He also co-created and served as vice-president of the Centre for Eastern Studies (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich), a national think-tank dealing with the situation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, with particular emphasis on Ukraine and Turkey. It exerts a profound influence on the West’s perception of current events, through its agreements with Carnegie Foundation [3].

During Yulia Tymoshenko’s government (2007-2010), the current interim president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tourtchynov, had served as intelligence chief and deputy prime minister. He liaised at the time with the Poles Donald Tusk (already Prime Minister), Radosław Sikorski (then Defense Minister) and Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (director of the private intelligence firm ASBS Othago).

To overthrow the government of its neighbor state, Poland resorted to Nazi activists in the same way that Turkey uses Al-Qaeda to overthrow the Syrian government. Not only is it not surprising to see the current Polish authorities rely on the grand-children of the Nazis that the CIA tucked into the NATO Gladio network to fight against the Soviet Union, but we should also be reminded of the controversy which broke out in the 2005 Polish presidential election, when journalist and MP Jacek Kurski revealed that Józef Tusk, the grandfather of Donald Tusk, had intentionally enrolled in the Wehrmacht.

After denying the facts, the Prime Minister finally admitted that his grandfather had indeed served in the Nazi army, but claimed he had been forcefully conscripted after the annexation of Danzig. A recollection that speaks volumes about how Washington selects its agents in Eastern Europe. In summary, Poland trained a mob of thugs to overthrow the democratically-elected president of Ukraine and pretended he was subscribing to an appeasement agreement with him on 21 February 2014, while his rioters were in the process of seizing power. Moreover, there is no doubt that the coup was sponsored by the United States, as evidenced by the telephone conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt [4]. Similarly, it is clear that other NATO members, including Lithuania (in the past, Ukraine was dominated by the Polish-Lithuanian empire), and Israel in its capacity as a de facto member of its military command structure, took part in the coup [5]. This arrangement suggests that NATO now runs a new Gladio network in Eastern Europe [6]. In addition, following the coup, mercenaries working for Greystone Ltd., a subsidiary of Academi, were deployed in the country in coordination with the CIA [7].

These facts radically modify the perception that we may have had of the coup of 22 February 2014. They undermine the arguments provided supplied to the press by the U.S. Department of State (points 3 and 5 of the factsheet dated March 5) [8] and constitute an act of war under international law. Therefore, the arguments peddled by the West regarding the ensuing the events, including the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the current uprisings in East and South Ukraine, are null and void.

Notes

[1] « Tajemnica stanu, tajemnica Majdanu », Nie, n°13-2014, 18 April 2014.

[2] “Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine”, Voltaire Network, 21 February 2014.

[3] “The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace”, Voltaire Network, 25 August 2004.

[4] “What about apologizing to Ukraine, Mrs. Nuland?”, Oriental Review/Voltaire Network, 7 February 2014. And “The Secret Agenda of Ashton and Nuland Revealed”, by Wayne Madsen, Strategic Culture Foundation/Voltaire Network, 12 March 2014.

[5] “Camouflaged Israeli soldiers on Maidan Square”, Voltaire Network, 3 March 2014.

[6] “The new Gladio in Ukraine”, by Manlio Dinucci, Voltaire Network, 21 March 2014.

[7] “US mercenaries deployed in Southern Ukraine”, and “CIA director in Kiev searching for missing mercenaries”, Voltaire Network, 4 March and 16 April 2014.

[8] “State Department Fact Sheet on Putin’s False Claims About Ukraine”, Voltaire Network, 5 March 2014.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Steven Gaal

[John Dolva]

Poland’s Hand in Ukraine Coup d’Etat: Trained Putchists Two Months in Advance, on Behalf of US-NATO

=====

http://www.globalresearch.ca/polands-hand-in-ukraine-coup-detat-trained-putchists-two-months-in-advance/5378655

================

Lies have shorter and shorter legs. Two months after the change of regime in Kiev, the Polish press has disclosed the role of Donald Tusk’s government in preparing the coup.

The new revelations belie Western discourse and demonstrate that the current interim government of Oleksandr Tourtchynov was imposed by NATO in violation of international law.

The Polish left-wing weekly Nie (No) published a startling witness account of the training given to the most violent of the EuroMaidan [1] activists.According to this source, in September 2013, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski invited 86 members of the Right Sector (Sector Pravy), allegedly in the context of a university exchange program. In reality, the guests were not students, and many were over 40. Contrary to their official schedule, they did not go to the Warsaw University of Technology, but headed instead for the police training center in Legionowo, an hour’s drive from the capital. There, they received four weeks of intensive training in crowd management, person recognition, combat tactics, command skills, behavior in crisis situations, protection against gases used by police, erecting barricades, and especially shooting, including the handling of sniper rifles. Such training took place in September 2013, while the Maidan Square protests were allegedly triggered by a decree suspending preparations for the signing of the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement, which was issued by Prime Minister Mykola Azarov on November 21, i.e. two months later. The Polish weekly refers to photographs attesting to the training, which show the Ukrainians in Nazi uniforms alongside their Polish instructors in civilian clothing.These revelations warrant a fresh look at the resolution adopted in early December 2013 by the Polish Parliament (Sejm), pledging its

“

total solidarity with Ukrainian citizens who, with strong determination, are showing the world their desire to achieve the full membership of their country in the European Union.

“

In his capacity as EU negotiator, Radosław Sikorski signed a crisis settlement agreement with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, in the evening of February 21, 2014. The following morning, the men he had secretly trained in Poland were about to take power.

Naturally, the MPs were not yet aware of their country’s involvement in the training of the very individuals who were planning – and ultimately achieved – a violent takeover of power. This scandal illustrates the role assigned by NATO to Poland in Ukraine, analogous to the one entrusted to Turkey in Syria. The government of pro-European liberal Donald Tusk is fully committed to playing its role. Foreign Affairs Minister Radosław Sikorski – a journalist and former political refugee in the United Kingdom – was the mastermind behind Poland’s integration into NATO. As a member of the “Weimar Triangle”, he was one of three EU representatives who brokered the 21 February 2014 agreement between President Viktor Yanukovych and the three main EuroMaidan leaders [2].

Needless to say, the Ukrainian president was unaware of the Polish representative’s entanglement with the rioters. As for the Interior Minister and special services coordinator, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (the great grand-son of novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz, best known for Quo Vadis?), he co-founded the Office for State Protection (Urzd Ochrony Państwa), Poland’s current intelligence agency. He also co-created and served as vice-president of the Centre for Eastern Studies (Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich), a national think-tank dealing with the situation in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, with particular emphasis on Ukraine and Turkey. It exerts a profound influence on the West’s perception of current events, through its agreements with Carnegie Foundation [3].

During Yulia Tymoshenko’s government (2007-2010), the current interim president of Ukraine, Oleksandr Tourtchynov, had served as intelligence chief and deputy prime minister. He liaised at the time with the Poles Donald Tusk (already Prime Minister), Radosław Sikorski (then Defense Minister) and Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (director of the private intelligence firm ASBS Othago).

To overthrow the government of its neighbor state, Poland resorted to Nazi activists in the same way that Turkey uses Al-Qaeda to overthrow the Syrian government. Not only is it not surprising to see the current Polish authorities rely on the grand-children of the Nazis that the CIA tucked into the NATO Gladio network to fight against the Soviet Union, but we should also be reminded of the controversy which broke out in the 2005 Polish presidential election, when journalist and MP Jacek Kurski revealed that Józef Tusk, the grandfather of Donald Tusk, had intentionally enrolled in the Wehrmacht.

After denying the facts, the Prime Minister finally admitted that his grandfather had indeed served in the Nazi army, but claimed he had been forcefully conscripted after the annexation of Danzig. A recollection that speaks volumes about how Washington selects its agents in Eastern Europe. In summary, Poland trained a mob of thugs to overthrow the democratically-elected president of Ukraine and pretended he was subscribing to an appeasement agreement with him on 21 February 2014, while his rioters were in the process of seizing power. Moreover, there is no doubt that the coup was sponsored by the United States, as evidenced by the telephone conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Ambassador Geoffrey R. Pyatt [4]. Similarly, it is clear that other NATO members, including Lithuania (in the past, Ukraine was dominated by the Polish-Lithuanian empire), and Israel in its capacity as a de facto member of its military command structure, took part in the coup [5]. This arrangement suggests that NATO now runs a new Gladio network in Eastern Europe [6]. In addition, following the coup, mercenaries working for Greystone Ltd., a subsidiary of Academi, were deployed in the country in coordination with the CIA [7].

These facts radically modify the perception that we may have had of the coup of 22 February 2014. They undermine the arguments provided supplied to the press by the U.S. Department of State (points 3 and 5 of the factsheet dated March 5) [8] and constitute an act of war under international law. Therefore, the arguments peddled by the West regarding the ensuing the events, including the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the current uprisings in East and South Ukraine, are null and void.

Notes

[1] « Tajemnica stanu, tajemnica Majdanu », Nie, n°13-2014, 18 April 2014.

[2] “Agreement on the Settlement of Crisis in Ukraine”, Voltaire Network, 21 February 2014.

[3] “The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace”, Voltaire Network, 25 August 2004.

[4] “What about apologizing to Ukraine, Mrs. Nuland?”, Oriental Review/Voltaire Network, 7 February 2014. And “The Secret Agenda of Ashton and Nuland Revealed”, by Wayne Madsen, Strategic Culture Foundation/Voltaire Network, 12 March 2014.

[5] “Camouflaged Israeli soldiers on Maidan Square”, Voltaire Network, 3 March 2014.

[6] “The new Gladio in Ukraine”, by Manlio Dinucci, Voltaire Network, 21 March 2014.

[7] “US mercenaries deployed in Southern Ukraine”, and “CIA director in Kiev searching for missing mercenaries”, Voltaire Network, 4 March and 16 April 2014.

[8] “State Department Fact Sheet on Putin’s False Claims About Ukraine”, Voltaire Network, 5 March 2014.

Eastern Ukraine stands defiant against Kiev LIVE UPDATES

http://rt.com/news/eastern-ukraine-army-operation-680/

[John Dolva]

RT :

Wednesday, April 23

10:26 GMT:

Aleksandr Sapunov, who was proclaimed ‘People’s mayor’ of the eastern Ukrainian city of Gorlovka by anti-government protesters there, has announced his resignation.

“Following an attack, of which my close circle and I became targets, taking into account a threat to my life, I’m no longer going to fulfill duties of the ‘People’s mayor’ and also of the MP of the ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’,” he told RIA Novosti.

He said he will still be the leader of the local ‘City order’ movement and an active participant of the city’s self-defense.

Sapunov said unknown people blocked a car driven by his friend on April 16. When the assailants found out there was no ‘People’s mayor’ in the car, they drove away.

08:58 GMT:

Resumption of the military operation in eastern Ukraine is contrary to the Geneva agreement, a representative of the self-defense forces of the Donetsk Region, Sergey Tsyplakov, told RIA Novosti.

“The Kiev junta gets it the way they want. When it comes to vacating [government] buildings, only the east should do this… This is all cynicism and double standards,” Tsyplakov said.

08:46 GMT:

The military operation against protesters in eastern Ukraine, which the authorities in Kiev describe as an “anti-terrorist” one, has been resumed following its suspension during the Easter holidays , first vice-president Vitaly Yarema told journalists.

“Law enforcement agencies are working on the eradication of all groups currently active in Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and other cities of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions,” Interfax reported him as saying.

Yarema said no military operations were carried out overnight.

________

ITAR-TASS : http://en.itar-tass.com/

[John Dolva]

KIEV, April 24. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukraine's extremist organization Right Sector has moved its headquarters from Kiev to Dnepropetrovsk, said its leader Dmitry Yarosh who is running for president.

"It's easier to monitor the situation in Donbass from Dneptropetrovsk," Yarosh said on Wednesday.

Earlier, local media reported a meeting in camera between Yarosh and head of the Dneptropetrovsk regional administration Igor Kolomoisky.

The Right Sector leader denied receiving funding from oligarchs. "We're not using oligarchs' money in politics, but when a war is on, we do not object to their funding the army," he said.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Right Sector, despite the Geneva accords, remained quite active.

"We agreed in Geneva that any violence should be stopped," the diplomat said. "But the next day, /parliament-appointed acting President/ Turchinov ordered the army to shoot at unarmed people participating in peaceful protests. In Geneva, we also agreed that extremists should be disarmed, but Right Sector is still active."

In Russia, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Yarosh on charges of public calls for terrorist and extremist activities which he had made through mass media. Yarosh was put on the international wanted list. Moscow's Basmanny court sanctioned his arrest in absentia.

[John Dolva]

DONETSK, April 23. /ITAR-TASS/. Striking miners in Krasnodon, a city in Ukraine’s eastern Lugansk region, have refused to pay 10% of their wages to restore Independence Square in Kiev that was devastated by protests in February this year.

The miners have been blocking the administration of the rasnodonugol Company responsible for running the mines for the past two days because they did not receive part of their advance payment early this week.

Miner Stanislav Denisenko, one of the protest movement’s activists, said he had not received 10% of his wages which had been transferred for the restoration of Kiev’s centre.

“I do not understand what we have got to do with it. It was not we who took block stones to pieces and burnt houses in Kiev! I earn 3,000 hryvnias or about 9,000 roubles a month, and they take away part of my wages for God knows what!” Denisenko complained.

According to local media reports, Krasnodonugol’s Director General Alexander Angelovsky tried to talk to the protesters. He urged the striking miners to unblock the administrative building and hold constructive talks.

“That will make it possible to solve the accumulated problems soon,” Angelovsky went on to say.

More than 3,000 striking miners gathered outside Krasnodonugol’s administrative building in Krasnodon on Wednesday. They demand that all their wages be paid to them. They also want to see their wages increased.

[John Dolva]

RT :

Moscow is “surprised” by Kiev’s interpretation of the four-sided Geneva agreement adopted by Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU on April 17, it added.

Despite the call for disarmament of “all the illegal armed groups” specified by the agreement, Kiev, Washington and a number of European leaders “keep harping on the necessity to ‘hand over weapons’ [referring] only to the Ukrainian citizens defending their rights in southeastern Ukraine.” With that, the Western powers “are turning a blind eye to the ongoing provocative actions of the gunmen of the far-right groups, including that of the so-called Right Sector.”

Such actions, which have been taking place in both the capital, Kiev, and in southeastern Ukrainian cities, “have already led to death of people overnight into April 20,” the ministry said.

Russia continues to believe that the Western partners are “earnest” in their stated commitment for the peaceful resolving of the Ukrainian crisis, the statement said. However, the facts “regretfully speak to the opposite,” it added. Kiev has not moved to enter a dialogue with the regions of Ukraine protesting against its rule, while the US officials have apparently chosen not to discourage the coup-imposed authorities in their “strongarm ambitions.”

Immediately after US Vice-President Joseph Biden ended his April 21-22 talks and left the Ukrainian capital, Kiev announced the renewal of the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in eastern Ukraine, the statement noted. Previously, CIA director’s John Brennan’s April 13 visit to Kiev coincided with the start of the same military operation, it said.

Moscow blasted the US-backed distinction between “legally occupied” buildings in central Kiev at the Independence Square (Maidan) and the “illegally occupied” buildings in southeastern Ukraine, calling US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland’s recent statements on the issue “absolutely incorrect.”

The statements voiced by the Ukrainian oligarch and multibillionaire Igor Kolomoysky, picked by the Kiev authorities as the governor of the Dnepropetrovsk region, “look even more absurd,” the ministry said. Kolomoysky’s deputy Boris Filatov recently announced a $10,000 bounty for each “Russian mercenary” captured and handed over to the Kiev-backed authorities and a $200,000 reward for each regional administration building freed. Filatov also said the servicemen at the Mariupol military base, who on April 16 killed three people and injured 13 more during an attempted storming allegedly inspired by the anti-government activists, have been paid 500,000 hryvnas ($43,000).

[John Dolva]

Donetsk activists seized by security service

World

April 24, 10:14 UTC+4

East Ukraine’s Donetsk republic plans to hold sovereignty referendum jointly with Luhansk

DONETSK, April 24. /ITAR-TASS/. The Security Service fo Ukraine (SBU) had seized at least ten federalization supporters in Donetsk alone and had been holding them in custody in Kiev, Denis Pushilin, co-chairman of the board of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, told ITAR-TASS.

Last Friday, activist Leonid Baranov was seized by Kiev's Security Service and taken into the Lukyanovskoye jail in Kiev, where he is held alone in a cell. Previously, Alexei Belousov was seized under similar circumstances. Ten activists were held there, and there were others unknown, he noted. Among them were people who were there accidentally.

Pushilin said that the Donetsk region’s first people's governor Pavel Gubarev also was in the Lukyanovskoye jail.

[John Dolva]

Unknown gunmen have attacked a checkpoint near Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine. Two people were killed, local self-defense forces spokesperson Stella Horosheva told RT.

“Unfortunately, the reports of a shooting have been confirmed,” Horosheva said. “Every night some sort of an incident takes place at one of our checkpoints. This time suspicious armed people were passing by and the self-defense members approached them to check their IDs. But the gunmen opened fire.”

Horosheva said that self-defense forces were investigating the incident, trying to find out who was behind the attack.

[John Dolva]

Civil war looms as fighting rages in eastern Ukraine LIVE UPDATES

Published time: April 15, 2014 14:19

Edited time: April 24, 2014 10:17

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Ukrainian security force officers walk past a checkpoint set on fire and left by pro-Russian separatists near Slavyansk April 24, 2014 (Reuters / Gleb Garanich)

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Kiev’s troops remain in eastern Ukraine as the OSCE mission starts its work on “de-escalating” the situation on the ground. Anti-government protesters are unwilling to leave the seized buildings, demanding that the troops are pulled out first.

Thursday, April 24

10:33 GMT:

Militia reinforcements from the town of Krasny Liman who arrived in Slavyansk today have taken part in the action to repel an attack of pro-Kiev government troops. The armed levy is currently checking the woodland near the city to make sure there are no snipers or Ukrainian troops operating there.

10:18 GMT:

As a result of the attack by Ukrainian troops on Slavyansk, three defenders of the town have been shot dead at a checkpoint leading out of the town on the highway to Kharkov, which has been captured by Ukrainian troops. Journalists present at the checkpoint have not been injured.

10:03 GMT:

PHOTO: #Slavyansk checkpoint attacked by Ukraine army http://t.co/NGeWsTJDnU

— RT (@RT_com) April 24, 2014

09:58 GMT:

Self-defense of Slavyansk has returned the key checkpoint on the main entrance to the city, forcing three armored vehicles of Ukrainian troops to retreat. The checkpoint is situated a mere 3km from the central square of the city and, if captured, opens way to direct attack of the government headquarters currently captured by the anti-Kiev protesters.

Ukrainian army drive off at high speed after #Sloviansk checkpoint attack, reports of fatalities. pic.twitter.com/dChfXxmxN7

— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 24, 2014

09:54 GMT:

Citizens of Slavyansk have been told to stay at home, popular mayor of the city Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Rossiya 24 TV.

“Everybody has been warned. If necessary, we’re ready to start mass evacuation of the citizens,” he said.

09:54 GMT:

#Славянск силы спецназа проводят военную операцию. Обыскивают местных жителей

— Evgeny Poddubnyy (@epoddubny) April 24, 2014

09:53 GMT:

IMAGE: Black smoke at checkpoint in #Slavyansk as Ukrainian armored vehicles enter city http://t.co/NGeWsTJDnU

— RT (@RT_com) April 24, 2014

09:52 GMT:

Ukraine’s Interior Ministry reports that five defenders of Slavyansk have been killed, one police officer from the forces storming the city was seriously wounded. Three checkpoints set up by the self-defense forces of the city have been eliminated.

09:48 GMT:

Заняли плацдарм, провели разведку, потом отошли. Не решились продвигаться ближе к центру #Славянск #штурм

— Evgeny Poddubnyy (@epoddubny) April 24, 2014

09:43 GMT:

Ukrainian troops are advancing toward downtown Slavyansk in two columns, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the town’s “people’s mayor,” told Russia-24 TV. “We’re under siege and preparing to repel the attackers,” he said. At the moment, one column is about 3 kilometers from the town center, while another one is some 6 kilometers from the center. People, and in the first place children from schools and kindergartens, are being evacuated to safe locations, Ponomaryov said.

Ukrainian special forces take position in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 24, 2014 (AFP Photo / Kirill Kudryavtsev)

09:40 GMT:

Славянск pic.twitter.com/prtqbKCEnY

— Rual' Shef'ango (@Shef_ango) April 24, 2014

09:37 GMT:

Ukrainian troops have launched an offensive on the defiant city of Slavyansk. Up to eight armored vehicles and troops loyal to the coup-imposed government in Kiev have surrounded the city and attacked checkpoints in the suburbs. Three attack helicopters are roaring above the city.

IMAGE: Ukraine army helicopter traverses flaming #Slavyansk checkpoint during 'anti-terror op' http://t.co/N5JpAqzvHn pic.twitter.com/h71YGrYaEW

— RT (@RT_com) April 24, 2014

Cell phone networks in Slavyansk have been disconnected.

08:45 GMT:

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook that the city hall in Mariupol had been cleared of protesters.

“The Interior Ministry has been organizing normal work,” Avakov said. “Bomb disposal experts will now check the building. The city hall is going to be under protection. The mayor is already inside.”

Earlier, anti-government activists in Mariupol said that in the early hours of Thursday unknown people broke into the city council building, which for several days had been under protesters’ control. The armed men, according to eye-witnesses, started to beat up those who were inside the building and smash everything around them.

Five people were injured in the attack, Interfax reported, citing the Ukrainian Interior Ministry.

06:11 GMT:

Around 3.5 million voters living in the Donetsk Region can take part in a referendum over sovereignty, co-chairman of the presidium of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, told ITAR-TASS.

“The minimal turnout is expected to make 60 percent of all regional residents entitled to vote," he said. Voters will have to say yes or no in response to a single question: "Do you support the state independence of the Donetsk People's Republic?"

Pushilin said the region is not going to vote for a new Ukrainian president on May 25.

"As for the presidential elections, we will certainly ignore them. How can we participate in elections which are held actually among our neighbors [ukraine], but not among us? This is wrong, actually in current situation it is impossible to elect a president who would suit western and eastern Ukraine," Pushilin said.

[John Dolva]

11:19 GMT:

A source in Ukraine’s Joint General Staff has told RIA Novosti that the operation against Slavyansk has been planned by the country’s Security Service, the SBU, and that Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is no longer responsible for the operation.

The groups storming Slavyansk consist of approximately 5,000 militants of the far-right nationalist Right Sector movement, either acting on their own as terror groups or operating as National Guards, the source said. These groups are being supplied with NATO intelligence and aerial photos of the region. The data is being delivered by couriers to avoid interception.

Kiev is not planning to deploy regular troops into the mutinous regions, as the soldiers have been refusing to fight against their own people. The SBU has also deployed up to 500 troops from special forces groups to the area, the source said.

11:15 GMT:

Sloviansk today, man shouts at Ukrainian army 'we are friends'. #Ukraine #Russia pic.twitter.com/FK8FGez4zy

— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 24, 2014

10:57 GMT:

The ongoing crisis in Slavyansk and Mariupol is the result of irresponsible policy by Kiev authorities supported by neo-Nazi groups, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Russian authorities have no doubt that the US can and should make Kiev start the de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine, he added.

[John Dolva]

Kievs juntas armed offensive against the people of ukraine continues. A number of people have been killed. Actions at the moment appear to be tests of strength.

It is important to note that any dependence on cell phones for communication is a bad idea. Not only can the supporters of the junta like the cia/military ind comp continue to provide intelligence to the junta and seed disinformation by the same, the ability to simply shut down networks makes a dependence on such means of communication a flawed strategy.

[John Dolva]

There is a big amount of conflicting reports saying what is causing the explosions.

According to witnesses, the airplane of Kiev military crashed in the airfield.

“An Mi-8 airplane has exploded at Kramatorsk airfield, with no victims reported. A pilot managed to jump [from the plane],” Dmitry Tyimchyuk, the head of the Center for War-Political Investigations told Kramatorsk.info news, “The preliminary theory is that the airplane caught fire during a warm-up before a flight.

[John Dolva]

RT timeline :

10:36 GMT:

Ukraine soldiers out guarding the airfield at #Kramatorsk, as talk builds of military operation imminent. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/YMV81pPpDP

— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) April 25, 2014

10:31 GMT:

Ukrainian troops are carrying out a “second stage” of the military operation in eastern Ukraine, aiming at isolating the city of Slavyansk, according to Sergey Pashinsky, the interim head of the presidential administration appointed by Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament).

“The goal is to completely blockade Slavyansk, to localize the problem. The operation is being carried out at this moment,” he said.

10:14 GMT:

Ukrainian Interior Ministry officials said no causalities have yet been reported and they suspect that militants set off the blasts. However, reports from eyewitnesses contradict the Interior Ministry’s statements, claiming the blast went off while Ukrainian soldiers were loading ammunition onto a helicopter and at least three people died.

10:06 GMT:

Several large explosions have rocked an airfield in the southeastern city of Kramatorsk. A video uploaded onto YouTube shows smoke rising from the airfield and a second large explosion detonating.