Ukrainian troops behave with restraint – and courage when faced with pro-Russian separatists.
Last edited Fri Apr 25, 2014, 06:42 AM - Edit history (1)
The prospect of war in Ukraine has edged a little closer, following limited military action on the ground and embellished accounts of what happened from the Kiev administration which were immediately seized on by the Kremlin. As a day of tension and violence was drawing to a close, Russia ordered new major military exercises at the border.
The violence itself was not prolonged. One man was killed and another wounded when Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers (APCs) attacked a separatist checkpoint outside Slovyansk, there were some further injuries in clashes at Mariupol and Artemivsk. But, according to the version disseminated by the caretaker government in the capital, this region had gone through a whirlwind. In an 'anti-terrorist operation'. The number of “terrorists eliminated” had been five in Slovyansk; dozens more were injured when Ukrainian forces supposedly retaken public buildings from “terrorists” at Mariupul who also repelled an assault on a military base by 70 more “terrorists”.
In reality, the only death we could ascertain was that of 22-year-old Aleksandr Lubenec at Slovyansk. At Artemivsk, where the desperate attempted storming of the military base had apparently taken place, the only damage one could see was a broken window and a cracked door. At Mariupul there were no signs Ukrainian forces, the administration building which had been “recaptured” was now surrounded by protesters with those newly installed inside negotiating to get out.
Moscow, which has enough assets, human and electronic, in place in this region to know what was really going on, was outraged with alacrity. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu declared: “If this military machine is not stopped, it will lead to greater numbers of dead and wounded. We are forced to react to such a development of the situation.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-ukrainian-troops-behave-with-restraint--and-courage-9284516.html
Ukraine crisis: BBC investigates Mariupol 'liberation' claims.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov says government forces have ousted pro-Russian militants from city hall in the south-eastern city of Mariupol.
However, propaganda and mis-information about the fluid situation and what is happening, by who and why has characterised the unrest in the country.
The BBC's Natalia Antelava has been to the scene to investigate the latest claims.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27153649 includes video