US/NATO/EU and the desperate subversion of Ukraine

[John Dolva]

ROME, May 18. /ITAR-TASS/. Hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the Ukrainian embassy in Rome on Saturday to protest against European media’s distorted coverage of the Ukraine crisis. The action took place on the initiative of Julietto Kieza, an Italian public figure, prominent journalist and a former European MP.

“No one in Italy knows the truth about what’s going on in Ukraine. The information they are giving us is absolutely false. We should dissuade our people, who are slowly coming to realize what is really going on (in Ukraine),” Kieza told Itar-Tass.

He is convinced that the events in Ukraine were more than just a “regional crisis” and were posing “an unprecedented threat to all”.

[John Dolva]

DONESTSK, May 17, 17:21 /ITAR-TASS/. Donetsk People’s Republic has prepared a query for allowing it to accede Russia.

“Our industry is linked with Russia. If we maintain close economic relations with Russia, the Donetsk People’s Republic economy will develop,” the Donetsk People’s Republic Prime Minister, Alexander Borodai said on Saturday.

“The query will be sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry after the republic’s government is formed. The official draft has been prepared. It is timely to talk about the concrete date for sending the query,” the Donetsk People’s Republic press service told Itar-Tass.

Earlier, on May 12, the Donetsk People’s Republic asked Moscow to consider its accession into Russia.

“We, the people of Donetsk, based on results of the May 11 referendum and the declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People’s Republic, declare that from now on DPR is now a sovereign state,” Republic Co-Chairman Denis Pushilin said.

“Given the will of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic, and in order to restore historical justice, we ask Russia to consider the issue of our republic’s accession into the Russian Federation,” he said.

[John Dolva]

Donetsk People’s Republic bans any special events without proper coordination

World

May 17, 23:06 UTC+4

“In order to prevent unauthorised actions in Donetsk special operations and special events should be coordinated with the DPR Security Council,” Denis Pushilin said

RT :

Ukrainian police stopped a group of armed men from entering Europe's largest nuclear power plant, located in southeastern Ukraine. In video footage allegedly showing the attempted break-in, the men say they are members of the Right Sector group.

The gunmen were stopped Thursday at the entrance of the city of Energodar, near Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, the facility's press service said in a Friday statement on its website.

The power plant’s authorities said the incident did not affect the station’s operations. However, security at the plant and throughout Energodar has been heightened.

Several cars full of men who introduced themselves as members of the notorious neo-Nazi group Right Sector were stopped at a checkpoint near Energodar, Ukraine’s Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper reported. The men were wearing masks, had guns, and said that they were headed to “protect the nuclear power plant and the city from possible seizures,” according to the paper.

[John Dolva]

Reportan cruentos combates en Slavyansk, sureste de Ucrania

Kiev, 17 may (PL) La ciudad de Slavyanks, el principal foco de resistencia a la operación de castigo en el sureste de Ucrania, despertó hoy impactada por cohetes y morteros en el centro urbano, donde tienen lugar enfrentamientos entre las milicias y fuerzas regulares.

edit add eng pg down

Edited May 18, 2014 by John Dolva

[John Dolva]

Sunday, May 18

15:02 GMT:

An APC convoy is heading to the center of Kramatorsk, while self-defense is fighting with Kiev military forces, according to local activists.

"About 10 fighters wearing black uniforms with no markings, as well as several people in camouflage are sitting on top of each combat vehicle," a member of self-defense told Itar-tass. He believes there are National Guard and Right Sector militants among them.

Powerful explosions and intense shooting, including from large-caliber guns, can be heard from the city center.

15:01 GMT:

A quiet day in #Slavyansk after last night's conflict, but now reports of Ukrainian military action in nearby city of #Kramatorsk

— GrahamWPhillips (@GrahamWP_UK) May 18, 2014

15:00 GMT:

Several self-defense checkpoints have been attacked by the Kiev army near the eastern city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, according to self-defense forces. One of the factories in a suburb of the city is on fire.

14:43 GMT:

Russian FM Sergey Lavrov, and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, have expressed concern about the continuing military clashes in eastern Ukraine. The ministers “urged both sides of the conflict to deescalate tensions to avoid new victims and to create favorable conditions for an all-inclusive national dialogue concerning constitutional reform in Ukraine,” the statement published on Russia’s foreign ministry website said.

"Lavrov emphasized the need for Kiev to cease using armed force against protesters, as required by the April-17 Geneva Agreement," the ministry added.

13:34 GMT:

Lazy day in #Donetsk. Valiant western journos amusing themselves w. @GrahamWP_UK videos. #straightforwardness pic.twitter.com/YJ6jBE1g44

— Irina Galushko (@IrinaGalushkoRT) May 18, 2014

12:02 GMT:

Several thousand demonstrators have gathered in Donetsk, demanding that the Donetsk People’s Republic open its borders with Russia, Vitaly Ivanov, an employee of the press service of the Republic told RIA Novosti.

The protesters are chanting “Republic!” and “Crimea-Donbass-Russia!” They are calling for the boycott of the upcoming Ukrainian elections in a week.

11:22 GMT:

The parliamentary elections in Donetsk People’s Republic will take place by the majority principle, co-chairman of the republic, Denis Pushilin, said during a demonstration in the city of Donetsk.

“We’re currently preparing for the elections on September 14. The elections will take place by the majority principle. We’re working on it, and we’ll reach our goal,” he said, as quoted by Itar-Tass news agency.

06:33 GMT:

The People’s Mayor of Donesk says 7 members of the Ukrainian National Guard have been killed during their assault on the city.

“Gunfire began yesterday evening and continued all night. Our fighters retaliated and killed at least 7 of the aggressors,” said the People’s Mayor to Interfax.

[John Dolva]

Moscow demands OSCE take measures to free journalists detained by Kiev

Kiev army shells Kramatorsk, city ‘left without water’ – self-defense coordinator

Kiev Nazi authorities are only obstacle to peace in Ukraine – ex-presidential candidate

It’s a dead end': German FM joins chorus of discontent over Russia sanctions rhetoric

02:47 World

Putin: in Ukraine, terror has been unleashed against civilians

Self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic elects its leader

16:53 World

East Ukraine’s Kharkov region to hold independence referendum - movement “Southeast”

[John Dolva]

Ukrainian Neonazi Leader Urges to Launch Guerrilla War in Crimea

Kiev, May 18 (Prensa Latina) Dmitry Yarosh, presidential candidate in early elections set for May 25 and leader of neonazi, extremist Right Sector party, urged today to launch a guerrilla war against Russia in Crimea.

During a broadcast discussion prior to elections, Yarosh reiterated that guerrilla war is the right way to regain the Crimean peninsula.

Yarosh, who was included by Russia in the wanted list of Interpol for inciting to terrorism, referred to Crimea several times during the program broadcast by the main television channel of Kiev.

Yarosh said that Crimea has always been Ukrainian despite its undeniable reunification with Russia and that in order to regain the peninsula a guerrilla war should be launched there.

He also promised that if he wins elections, Maidan extremists will be appointed to the senior positions of Government.

rma/eav/mgt/jpm Modificado el ( domingo, 18 de mayo de 2014 )

[John Dolva]

Kiev Nazi authorities are only obstacle to peace in Ukraine – ex-presidential candidate

Published time: May 18, 2014 20:02

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Oleg Tsarev, a withdrew candidate in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election (AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff)

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The removal of Kiev’s coup-imposed authorities from power is the only way to restore peace and stability in Ukraine, opposition leader and ex-presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev told RT.

Tsarev has blamed Igor Kolomoisky, the Kiev-appointed Dnepropetrovsk region governor and oligarch, for making “quite a large” contribution to the current violence in Ukraine.

He said it is Kolomoisky who is responsible for recruiting nationalists into the National Guard and special police units, which are now waging war in the country's southeast.

Tsarev, who spoke to RT during his visit to Moscow, said he has information that “the National Guard fighters, who were dressed in civilian clothes, participated in the events in Odessa” – where at least 48 anti-Kiev protestors died on May 2 after radicals set fire to the Trade Unions House.

A pro-Kiev protester walks past a burning anti-Kiev tent camp near the Trade Union Building in Odessa May 2, 2014. (Reuters / Yevgeny Volokin)

The MP also confirmed the authenticity of the leaked phone call from May 9 , in which Kolomoisky said that he offered US$1 million for Tsarev’s head.

“As I understand he didn’t want me to come to Lugansk and Donetsk to take part in organizing the referendum,” he said.

Referendums in Lugansk and Donetsk regions took place on May 11, two days after the phone call leak, with over 90 percent of voters supporting independence from Kiev.

Tsarev, who was a self-nominee for the presidential election, withdrew his candidacy from the race, as he believes “the vote can’t be held when the army is on a reprisal raid against its own people...and dozens die every day.”

With no candidate boasting support in both east and west Ukraine, any president elected on May 25 will be “a half-president,” he stressed.

“I called upon the current Ukrainian authorities to solve the country’s problems first; carry out a constitutional reform, disarm the militants, release over 400 of our activists from prison on amnesty, and organize an election after that,” the MP said.

Activists of the South-East movement and Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev make a stop at the checkpoint during a motor rally from Makeyevka to Slavyansk. (RIA Novosti / Natalia Seliverstova)

But the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev are pushing to hold the election “at any cost,” because they realize that “their rating is falling” and now is their only chance to succeed, he explained.

Tsarev assured that Donetsk and Lugansk regions won’t be taking part in the Ukrainian election, adding that he has urged his supporters around the country to follow their example.

The ex-presidential candidate has called Ukraine’s acting prime minister, Arseny Yatsenyuk, “a great imitator” for faking dialogue between the east and the west of the country.

“They gather their own representatives, who live in the southeast, and hold roundtables with them,” Tsarev said, adding that he and other actual leaders of protesters from the east aren't invited to take part in the discussions.

“They’re basically talking to themselves...There’s no real dialogue,” he added.

The opposition leader reminded that there are howitzers ready to shell the protester stronghold city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region, with Kiev’s forces neglecting to provide a humanitarian corridor for the civilians to evacuate in case of attack.

It’s “not realistic” to talk to the “murderers” under such conditions, because dialogue between Kiev and protestors in the southeast is only possible after the ceasefire is agreed, he explained.

However, Tsarev stressed that the only obstacle to peace and stability in Ukraine are the “current Nazi authorities of Ukraine,” which must be removed from power.

He added that during his stay in Moscow, he has seen that the Russian people have “largely accepted” the independence of Donetsk and Lugansk regions from Ukraine.

Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev speaks with journalists in Donetsk. (RIA Novosti / Natalia Seliverstova)

Tsarev said the issue is not as simple when it comes to the position of Russian authorities, because they are responsible for Russia's fate – for economic sanctions which may be introduced against Russia.

But the opposition leader stressed that protestors in eastern Ukraine aren’t looking for independence from their compatriots in the country's west.

“They just don’t want to be in the same country with the current authority,” he said.

The Kiev regime chose to send the army against citizens in the southeast because its rule is “based on fear,” he added.

“But it’s impossible to defeat the people by military means,” Tsarev stressed. “The army doesn’t want to fight against the people. In order to make the military obey orders, they deployed Nazis there, who shoot at self-defense forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic, and then fire at the soldiers, who refuse to fight.”

“The number of casualties in the ranks of the Ukrainian military has reached 1,000 people. And sooner or later...I think sooner rather than later, the Kiev authorities will be held responsible for the war crimes against their own people,” he added.

Oleg Tsarev ©, a withdrew candidate in the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election (AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff)

Oleg Tsarev was previously a main figure in the Party of Regions – the party of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who was ousted by a nationalist-powered coup back in February.

A few weeks later, in April, he was registered as a presidential candidate. Several days later, he was brutally beaten by radicals from the Right Sector movement.

Tsarev is backing the idea of creating an independent Federal Republic of Novorossia, following the lead of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which revolted against the new Kiev authorities.

[John Dolva]

Monday, May 19

01:44 GMT:

The forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) are currently negotiating the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the city of Mariupol, self-defense leader Andrey Borisov said, according to UNN news agency. “Right now we are negotiating to have them leave the territory, we don’t want to use force against them, we don’t want bloodshed,” Borisov said. He said the DNR has already organized a strong power unit that can fight “the military without any resistance on their part," adding that "we can destroy their armored vehicles and everything else.”

[John Dolva]

KHARKOV, May 18 /ITAR-TASS/. East Ukraine’s Kharkov region will hold a regional independence referendum following south-eastern Ukrainian cities of Donetsk and Lugansk, member of the coordinating council of movement “Southeast” Yuri Apukhtin said at a rally near the monument to Soviet leader Lenin on the Square of Freedom in this Ukrainian city on Sunday.

Donetsk People’s Republic prepares draft for acceding Russia

“Kharkov region will hold a referendum on independence following Donetsk and Lugansk. Our task is not to participate in Ukrainian presidential elections in any case. We should meet on this square on May 25. We do not recognise these elections,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Apukhtin criticised the second all-Ukraine national unity roundtable meeting in the city of Kharkov on Saturday. In his words, he refused to participate in this meeting, though he was invited to attend it.

Representatives from movements “Southeast”, “Borba” (Struggle) and the Ukrainian Communist Party are participating in the rally on the Square of Freedom. Many demonstrators came with Russian national flags.

[John Dolva]

Monday, May 19

11:12 GMT:

Moscow has appealed to the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to launch an international investigation into the May-2 tragedy in Odessa, when 48 people died, mostly in the fire at the Trade Unions House.

“We will seek an objective and impartial investigation, which is only possible if it's an international one,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding Moscow did not trust the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) to carry out the investigation.

Lavrov said new details of the events on May 2 were emerging, including reports that “on the eve of the tragedy around a thousand militants, including allegedly foreign mercenaries” arrived in Odessa.

“We want these [reports] to be thoroughly investigated, as well as reports that say people didn’t die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but from toxic chemical substances, and from bullet wounds. Many were allegedly finished off, after they had managed to get out of the burning building.”

A protester wrapped in a Ukrainian flag walks past a burning tent camp and a fire in the trade union building in Odessa May 2, 2014.(Reuters / Yevgeny Volokin)

10:25 GMT:

A television crew from the Rossiya channel has been deported from Ukraine according to RIA Novosti. Correspondent, Kseniya Kibkalo said that police came to the house where they were staying in Uzhgorod, which is in the far west of Ukraine, near the Slovakian border. They were taken to a police station without being told what done wrong, before they were asked why they had decided to come to Uzhgorod and which places they had already visited. According to Kibkalo, she was asked to sign a statement, where she was suspected of inciting national hatred, creating separatism and of destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. It was recommended that they leave the country by May 19, otherwise they would be deported.

[John Dolva]

The Donetsk People's Republic (Russian: Донецкая народная республика, Donétskaya naródnaya respúblika) is a self-proclaimed state in eastern Ukraine.

Odessa fire victims died from chloroform vapors — senior Ukrainian investigator

KRAMATORSK, May 19. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian law enforcers have opened fire from mortars on the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Region, one of the mortar shells exploded near an area with country houses, a police spokesman told ITAR-TASS on Monday.

Two other shells exploded outside residential areas. The city's self-defense headquarters said it could be registration of guns.

The police also said three military trucks were spotted 15 kilometers from the center of Kramatorsk between the villages of Belokuzminovka and Semyonovka. The trucks were carrying some 50 people in black uniforms without insignia.

There are problems with cellular communications in the city.

OSCE calls on Kiev to free Russian journalists, ‘stop intimidating media’

The Russian detained journalists are being investigated on the charges of “aiding the terrorist groups”. Screenshot from YouTube (Life-Maria Channel)

Monday, May 19

22:17 GMT:

NATO is ready to offer help to Ukraine in reforming its defense sector, making it more adaptive to so-called "hybrid war" methods, Andrey Parubiy, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said after meeting the alliance’s delegation.

After meeting with the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group, Parubiy said partners discussed the issue of NATO experts “conducting the inspection of the security sector, and implementation of these reforms.”

According to the Ukrainian politician, the “so-called hybrid warfare” method includes the use of “subversive groups, criminal elements, and information warfare,” which all now require a reform of the Ukrainian defense sector.

Parubiy also said that NATO is offering “big morale support to Ukrainians” and has informed the Ukrainian side that member countries have donated “bulletproof vests, helmets, night-vision devices, and other varieties of non-lethal aid” to strengthen Ukrainian security.

21:41 GMT:

NATO’s increased military activity near the Russian border is not improving European security, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Monday, commenting on a phone conversation between the chief of general staff of the Russian armed forces, General Valery Gerasimov, and NATO General Knud Bartels. "Army General Valery Gerasimov expressed concern over the substantial increase of NATO military activity near the Russian border, which does not contribute to security in Europe," the statement said.

21:34 GMT:

The NATO-Russia Council’s meeting over the deteriorating situation in Ukraine may take place in the coming days, Russian ambassador to NATO Aleksandr Grushko said. “Considering the urgency of the situation in Ukraine we expect that NATO members will respond to our initiative positively and the meeting will take place in the coming days this week,” he said, as quoted by Interfax.

21:20 GMT:

Russia has called for an unbiased investigation into the tragedy in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa. “Russia insistently calls on the leadership of leading international organizations to use all capabilities to influence the Kiev regime which in essence is sabotaging the investigation,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Russian FM Sergey Lavrov has sent a relevant message to OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, and Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland. “The sent messages in particular emphasize the inadmissibility of closed consideration by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada of the circumstances of that crime,” the ministry added. “Those guilty and initiators of what happened must be established and brought to account.”

21:01 GMT:

Kiev may have to block the payment of pensions and salaries of state employees in the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk due to the “substandard security situation,“ Ukraine’s acting interior minister Arsen Avakov told the press. “On the territory of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk it has become critically impossible to exercise government functions of financial support of the population,“ he said, adding that these payments will be accumulated until there is a possibility to transfer them to the population. Meanwhile, a representative of Kramatorsk's anti-crisis committee told Itar-Tass that in such a case, the city would be able to resume social payments within two or three weeks, and that all the necessary arrangements have already been discussed with the pension fund and insurance companies.

15:33 GMT:

Switzerland has added 13 more people to the list of individuals who are facing sanctions in connection with Russia’s position on Ukraine, reports Itar-Tass, citing the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The blacklist is aimed at preventing individuals from “circumventing international sanctions,” and is similar to that introduced by the European Union last week.

Among those who were added to the list on Monday is the deputy head of the presidential administration, Vyacheslav Volodin, the commander of Russian airborne troops, Vladimir Shamanov, Crimean Prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya and her Sevastopol counterpart Igor Shevchenko. Six pro-autonomy activists in eastern Ukraine are also subject to sanctions.

15:11 GMT:

The parliament of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) banned preparations for the Ukrainian presidential election, set to take place on May 25. All the election commissions will be closed as “their activity is illegal on the territory of the LPR,” said Interfax, citing the parliamentary decision.

15:07 GMT:

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry is investigating four possible reasons for the deadly clashes in Odessa on May 2, according to the head of the ministry’s investigation department, Vitaly Sakal, who said the case could go to court in a month.

“There are four versions of what happened: first, an attempt by extremist groups to destabilize the situation in the country; second, illegal actions by local authorities and law enforcers with the purpose of discrediting the country’s government; third, uncontrolled actions by fans of the Chernomorets and the Metallist football clubs together with pro-Russian activists, accompanied by the passivity of authorities and the police; fourth, provocation by radical forces,” Sakal said.

The official also said 32 people died in the House of Trade Unions on May 2, after they inhaled chloroform vapors. Traces of the substance have, according to Sakal, been found in soot and litter at the House of Trade Unions.

15:06 GMT:

The self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Lugansk has applied to the UN for recognition of “the sovereignty and independence of our state,” reads the statement published on the website of the United Army of the South-East.

However, the UN has not confirmed that it has received Lugansk’s appeal.

“No, I can’t confirm that we received such an appeal,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for Secretry-General Ban Ki-moon, told Itar-Tass.

14:11 GMT:

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has acknowledged that it’s impossible to hold presidential elections in some parts of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions.

“We clearly see and aren’t deceiving anyone that it won’t be possible to hold elections in a normal way on the huge territory of the Donetsk and the Lugansk regions,” Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said at a press-conference, as cited by RIA Novosti.

Avakov said the election will be held anyway, even if it appears to be disrupted in some places.

13:22 GMT:

Denis Pushilin, 33, has been elected the head of the self-proclaimed People ’s Republic of Donetsk.

“Denis Pushilin was elected the Chairman of the Supreme Council presidium,” a co-chairman of the “republic’s” government, Miroslav Rudenko, told Interfax.

According to the recently adopted Constitution of the People’s Republic, the Supreme Council is its parliament and the only legislative body of power.

[John Dolva]

Southeast Ukraine Says Presidential Elections Are Illegitimate

Kiev, May 19 (Prensa Latina) Southeastern Ukraine considers the presidential elections scheduled for May 25th to be illegitimate, governor of the Donetsk People's Republic Pavel Gubarev have said.

It is a way to legitimate the coup in last February and and they violate Ukraine's Constitution, Gubarev told in an interview to Rossiya 24 channel.

The popular leader, who was recently released as a result of Russia's mediation efforts, warned that elections will not take place in the territories of Donetsk and Lugansk, where the majority of the population voted for the region's independence and the sovereignty of the self-proclaimed republics.

He insisted they will not acknowledge the results of the presidential elections since none of the 23 candidates represent the interest of the region.

Gubarev also referred to the concern generated by the support that some States give to the coup-imposed authorities in Kiev, adding that the United States, the European Unions and international financial elites will most likely recognize the election.

"A one-sided agreement on association will be signed and projects on exploitation of shale gas will be continued on Ukraine's territory and Russian speakers will be derogated from their rights and ribbons (St. George's ribbons) will torn from the chests of our veterans," Gubarev said.

He mentioned as well a number of events that evidence foreign military presence in the territory and said the militias are ready to respond appropriately to any aggression attempts.

Regarding the ties between Donetsk and Lugansk, the activist said that both republics support each other in security and humanitarian aid issues.

The governor earlier came up with the suggestion to establish a new federal state, called Novorossiya (New Russia) in the southeastern Ukraine that will build up relations with the Russian-led Customs Union and the countries of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

sgl/ef/cbr/ro/oda Modificado el ( lunes, 19 de mayo de 2014 )

[John Dolva]

Tuesday, May 20

[The Siege of Slavyansk]

03:26 GMT:

Ukrainian forces have resumed their assault on Slavyansk early Tuesday morning from Karachun Mountain in the Donesk region, ITAR-TASS reports, citing a representative of the People's Militia.

According to the source, loud explosions can be heard throughout the city and windows are shuddering.

Monday night attacks caused partial damage to residential buildings on the outskirts of the city, near the village of Semyonovka. One women was wounded in the shelling, the source said, adding that after the initial attack, self-defense forces also clashed with a Ukrainian National Guard unit.

02:09 GMT:

A group of armed men attacked Transamiak chemical plant in the village of Gorlovka, located in the Donetsk region, RIA Novosti quoted the local city council as saying.

“Several pieces of automotive and computer equipment were stolen. The building was damaged,” authorities said, stating that the plant continues to work as usual. There is no health risk to the local population following the attack on the ammonia plant.

[John Dolva]

DONETSK, May 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have decided on a program to nationalize business enterprises operating there, local head Denis Pushilin announced at a news briefing on Tuesday.

The move reflects unwillingness by regional business "oligarchs" to pay taxes to the local budget, the authority's press service told ITAR-TASS.