Kremlin strategy sees Kiev lose ground as Ukraine up to the elbows in blood
BOJAN PANCEVSKI THE TIMES MAY 04, 2014 9:55AM
Fierce battles continue in Ukraine 2:24
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More than 50 people have died in two days of clashes between Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian rebels.
Pro-Russian activists shout "We will not forgive Odessa" in front of the offices of IndusPro-Russian activists shout "We will not forgive Odessa" in front of the offices of Industrial Union of Donbass Corporation in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Source: AP <>
Fierce battles continue in UkrainePro-Russian activists shout "We will not...
UNDER the cover of darkness, a squadron of heavily armed Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunships roared into the air from a Ukrainian military base on a top secret mission.
The flying tanks, as they were known during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, were heading towards the eastern town of Slovyansk, the pro-Russian stronghold of a separatist rebellion that has been spreading through this part of Ukraine like wildfire.
The rebels, many of them members of the elite Russian special forces, were ready and waiting, however: they had received a tip-off more than 24 hours before the attack early last Friday morning.
As the gunships swooped, the rebels fired Russian-made Igla surface-to-air guided missiles, shooting two helicopters down and damaging another.
The failure of such a high-profile mission was humiliating confirmation that Ukrainian security forces, heavily infiltrated by Russian sympathisers, are losing the battle to stop the gradual takeover of the eastern and southern regions by Kremlin-sponsored separatists.
"The Kremlin is waging an unconventional war on Ukrainian territory; we are losing the eastern regions," said a senior Ukrainian defence source. "The Russians have spies within our system, and they have excellent intelligence capabilities."
The debacle in Slovyansk came amid a week of escalating violence and bloodshed that reached a climax on Friday in the southern city of Odessa when at least 42 people died — many of them separatists trapped inside a burning trade union building, while police and fire service apparently stood by and did nothing.
A woman from Odessa caught up in the violence described how she and other bystanders sought refuge in the building, only to be bombarded by a baying pro-Kiev mob, who fired small arms and threw molotov cocktails against the building.
"The men told us to go upstairs and that they would protect us," she said. "The crowds outside were shouting, 'Kill them, kill them.' When someone went to the windows because of the fire, they yelled, 'Jump, jump.'
About 2,000 people yesterday laid flowers outside the building, which was surrounded by hundreds of troops from the Ukrainian interior ministry. The bodies of 30 or so pro-Russian protesters were still inside.
The Kremlin accused the government in Kiev of "allowing extremists and radicals to burn people alive".
"Their arms are up to the elbows in blood," thundered a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian interior ministry claimed the separatists, armed with molotov cocktails, had accidentally set the building on fire themselves.
In a rare piece of good news, a team of international military observers seized by pro-Russian separatists were freed yesterday after a week held hostage. "We're happy that we are finally out," said Axel Schneider, a German colonel and member of the group.
Meanwhile, several more people were reported killed yesterday in an assault by the Kiev government on the eastern city of Kramatorsk.
"What we are facing in the Donetsk region and in the eastern regions is not just some kind of short-lived uprising; it is in fact a war," said Vasyl Krutov, the head of the government's "anti-terrorist centre".
Despite such operations, there appears to be a growing realisation in Kiev that the government is losing its grip over large swathes of territory.
The climax is expected next Sunday, when separatists plan referendums across the east and south in regions including those around Donetsk and Luhansk, and possibly Kharkiv and Odessa.
The result is expected to be a vote to break away from the west to become an independent state — or even to follow the example of Crimea, which in March joined Russia. By the time of presidential elections, set for May 25, Ukraine may no longer exist as a single country.
During the course of last week, I watched as separatists took over all the state institutions in the industrial regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
One by one, headquarters of the police, the judiciary and the state-owned broadcasters were occupied by masked men in military fatigues and pro-Russian protesters. In all cases, police appeared impassive and even complicit.
In Donetsk, the regional capital, masked thugs in uniforms, wielding clubs and makeshift weapons, terrorised the city as they took over government buildings.
On Thursday, traditional May Day celebrations turned ugly as 200 separatists first occupied the regional police headquarters then stormed the office of the regional prosecutor. Putting up only feeble resistance, the 400 police in full riot gear were disarmed, beaten and dragged out.
I was in the building as the masked men looted the offices, ripping hard drives from computers and destroying legal files. Security sources said later that they wanted to destroy evidence against criminals paid to join the rioters.
The attack was supported by about 1,500 local people, some of them waving Russian flags and posters of Josef Stalin, the Soviet dictator — chanting slogans against the "fascists" and the "junta", as they describe the government in Kiev, which took over after the ousting of the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in February.
"Kill them, kill the fascists," chanted a group of elderly women, as rioters dragged out police officers who waited in vain for reinforcement.
Similar scenes were seen in more than a dozen other towns and cities. What had begun as a political battle turned into hatred that split communities across the country.
Friday's helicopter attack — a joint effort by the interior and defence ministries and National Guard — was a seemingly failed last-ditch attempt to halt the Russian advance.
Yet few are convinced such operations will be enough to hold the county together.
As the situation deteriorated, senior officials of the Donetsk regional government said they felt abandoned by the Kiev government.
"Our biggest mistake was to expect help from Kiev," said a senior official. "I'm ready to pack and take the first flight out when the Russians take over completely."
Such despair is understandable: while there is no doubt that large swathes of the population of the east and south of Ukraine have little love for the government in Kiev, there are strong suspicions the uprisings are orchestrated by Moscow.
Ukrainian secret services say the operations are being led by Igor Girkin — nicknamed Strelkov — a colonel in the Russian special forces who is alleged to have led the takeover of Crimea.
Strelkov stepped out of the shadows last week to confirm the claims in an interview with the Moscow newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. His deputy, according to the secret service, is Serhii Zdryliuk, another Crimean veteran, who holds both Russian and Ukrainian citizenship.
The use of sophisticated Russian Igla air-defence missiles, which operate on infra-red guidance, to defeat Friday's helicopter attack was evidence that the rebels are armed by the Kremlin, Ukraine's security service said.
The separatist paramilitaries were armed with special versions of the popular Kalashnikov — AK-101, AK-102, and AK-103 — also supplied by Russia.
The governor of the Donetsk region, Sergei Taruta, an oligarch turned politician estimated to be worth $US2.7bn, admitted people "lived in fear" and that even he and his family could no longer "sleep peacefully at night".
While admitting that Kiev was becoming increasingly remote, he expressed his grievances about the lack of action by Britain and other western countries. "We are left on our own — that's how all of Ukraine feels."
Yesterday, his own office in Donetsk was stormed and looted by separatists. Masked youths chanting "we won't forget Odessa" were seen later drinking his Veuve Clicquot on the pavement outside.
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