ATO continues in Sloviansk, Odessa stabilizes

Thirty pro-Russia insurgents and four government troops have been killed Monday during an anti-terrorist operation (ATO) in cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Ukraine’s interior minister Arsen Avakov reported May 7. He gave the death toll on his Facebook page Tuesday, adding that 20 government troops were injured during fighting in Sloviansk. It is not clear exactly when the deaths took place.

There was much fighting around the city on Monday as the interim government sought to squash weeks of unrest in Ukraine’s east. Avakov said Monday about 800 pro-Russia forces in and around Sloviansk were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars and there were injuries on both sides. By Tuesday morning, Ukrainian forces had taken hold of a key checkpoint north of the city, dealing a blow to insurgent lines of communication. The checkpoint had come under repeated attack since the government offensive began. The battle with terrorists is continuing in the outskirt of Sloviansk this morning, military expert Dmitry Tymchuk reported via Facebook. 

Leaders of the anti-government movement in Luhansk and Donetsk say they plan to hold a referendum on autonomy for eastern regions on May 11. No visible preparations for the voting have yet to been seen. Ukrainian authorities and westaern governments contunie  blaming Moscow for causing the unrest in the east, accusing it of attempting to derail Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election. 

The central government attempted to re-establish control over the southern region of Odessa, where 46 people died on May 2 after a pro-Ukraine march was attacked by extremists. In a statement published on the president’s website, the Kyiv authorities announced they replacing Odessa governor with Ihor Palytsya, a close ally of Ihor Kolomoiskiy, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region. The same day, Dmytro Fuchedzhy, the ex-top policeman of Odessa who was caught by reporters helping extremists during the May 2 events, was arrested.