A photo of National Guard troops being deployed to eastern Ukraine to fight separatism, posted on Facebook by Andriy Parubiy, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
12:38 p.m. -- Andriy Parubiy, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council announced on his Facebook page on April 15 that National Guard troops have been deployed to eastern Ukraine.
Parubiy wrote that he had recently returned from a week-long trip to Luhansk oblast, where he said “The soldiers have a high fighting spirit and readiness to protect Ukraine.” Still, Parubiy, continued, “It is hard there.”
Parubiy posted pictures of the National Guard troops on his Facebook page, saying he is “sure that we'll win because God and Ukraine are with us.” -- Isaac Webb
Lubkivsky: Separatist movements in eastern Ukraine directed by Russian "special-ops groups."
11 a.m. -- On April 14, Danylo Lubkivsky, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s clandestine operation in eastern Ukraine is directed by the FSB (the successor to the KGB) and military intelligence units in concert with a well-prepared network of trained agents in Ukraine.
Lubkivsky said that the operations in Ukraine have moved into a paramilitary stage. Russia’s plan of action mirrors how it took over Crimea, he added.
First, they recruit and arm professional military, second, they deploy them on Ukrainian territory, third, they hire local radicals to pose as “pro-Russian forces”, fourth, they try to make it look like a turmoil coming from beneath,” he noted.
Lubkivsky continued: “However, it’s not a grass root movement. It’s a full-blown foreign aggression on Ukraine, and there are valid proofs of Russian “special-ops groups” being deployed on the ground, including photos of Russian weaponry, videos, radio talks, names of persons, etc.”
One thing is abundantly clear, said Lubkivsky, “that these are not Ukrainians, but professional Russian militants outfitted in bullet-proof vests and camouflage uniforms carrying Russian-origin weapons, some of the faces have been recognized from Crimea. Saboteurs with Russian citizenship have been apprehended. We have multiple interceptions of radio traffic among Russian military units. All of this was reported to the United Nations on April 13, 2014, and not one state supported Russian claims.” -- Mark Rachkevych
In this photo taken on Saturday, April 12, 2014, Armed pro-Russian activists stand outside the police HQ in Slavyansk
AP In this photo taken on Saturday, April 12, 2014, Armed pro-Russian activists occupy the police station in the eastern Ukraine town of Kramatorsk
Interior Ministry creating special public protection units in south and east
The Interior Ministry of Ukraine, the body responsible for public order and safety, has launched a recruitment campaign to buttress its ranks in eastern and southern Ukraine. Two oblasts in particular, Luhansk and Donetsk, saw an estimated 50 percent of police personnel switch allegiance to Russian occupying forces and local pro-Russian separatists that have occupied government and police buildings.
The ministry is also creating special units to serve in Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Kherson oblasts. – Mark Rachkevych
SBU opens criminal case into Russian bank financing terrorism in eastern Ukraine
SBU has uncovered a Russian bank that is financing terrorism in eastern Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says a Russian bank converted Hr 45 million into cash in March-April to finance pro-Russian terrorist groups in eastern Ukraine.
The bank wasn’t named, however. The Kyiv headquarters of the Russian financial institution, according to the SBU, transfers between $200 and $500 daily to payment cards held by terrorists in violation of the law on “Prevention and Counteraction of the Laundering of Proceeds from Crime and Terrorist Financing.” – Mark Rachkevych
he Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has identified Igor Strelkov as the leader of the paramilitary group that has taken control of the eastern city of Sloviansk. Strelkov is a commanding officer of a Russian military intelligence unit.
The press service of the SBU announced that they had identified Strelkov’s voice in a recording of a telephone conversation between Strelkov and a Moscow official on April 14.
The SBU said that Strelkov arrived in Crimea at beginning of March and began directing Russian troops and special forces to occupy Ukrainian military outposts and government buildings, and orchestrated the kidnappings of Ukrainian soldiers, activists, and other Ukrainian and foreign citizens.
Strelkov has reportedly recruited Ukrainian citizens to conduct subversive actions in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine.
According the SBU statement, “The saboteur personally gave orders to Ukrainian citizens “K” and “B” to occupy and hold the Kharkiv regional administration building, military outfits, and law enforcement units with the goal of seizing weapons in the Luhansk Oblast.
The SBU has already started a criminal investigation of Strelkov for “premeditated murder and committing acts threatening the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of Ukraine, conducting subversion, and organizing riots in the eastern regions” of Ukraine. -- Isaac Webb
Latest news:
Ukrainian troops storm Kramatorsk airfield, Sloviansk...
5:25 p.m. -- Espresso TV's correspondent on the ground at Kramatorsk airfield in Donetsk Oblast reports that the elite Omega unit of the Interior Ministry has taken control of the airfield.
Ukraine's Army Starts Anti-Terror Operation in Kramatorsk. World | April 15
Citing the Defense Ministry, Interfax is reporting that Ukrainian armored personnel carriers stormed the airfield, which lies between the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian troops fired on pro-Russian terrorists who had occupied the airfield.
Russia Today reported that several members of armed terrorists were wounded in the attack and there "may be deaths."
Quoting "activists" at the airfield, Russia Today reported that "Other members of the militia (Kremlin-backed terrorists) have blocked the entrance to Kramatorsk and are ready to defend the city, the activists added."
Concurrently, RIA Novosti reported that Ukrainian troops had laid siege on Sloviansk.
Interfax cited eye witnesses who said that a caravan of 500 Ukrainian troops and military hardware has entered Sloviansk. -- Isaac Webb
Ukrainian security forces ended an operation against a pro-Russian group in the eastern town of Kramatorsk.
Earlier shooting was reported at Kramatorsk airport.
Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a witness as saying the Ukrainian military had taken control of the airport. No other confirmation was available.
There were reports of some casualties as a result of what was described as a battle.
The Reuters news agency cited a witness as saying two helicopters landed and Ukrainian troops disembarked at the airport.
The Russian television channel Rossiya 24 showed footage from Kramatorsk that included warplanes flying over the airport and helicopters hovering over the area.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces backed by armored vehicles reached the outskirts of Slovyansk, another town where a pro-Russian group has seized power.
The appearance of the Ukrainian forces comes one day after acting President Oleksander Turchynov vowed to use force if necessary to assert Ukrainian government control over at least 10 cities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian groups have seized administrative buildings.
Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov says government forces have captured the airport in the eastern town of Kramatorsk
There was shooting during the siege of the airport, and an unclear number casualties have been reported.
Ukrainian forces supported by armored vehicles have also entered the eastern city of Slovyansk.
Currently, transport is not being allowed out of the eastern city of Slavyansk while “tanks are approaching,”
Roman Sokolenko from the People's Militia of Donbass (led by Pavel Gubarev) has told Russia Today news agency. Citing a “recon team,” he said that the city is encircled by armored vehicles.
“People are manning barricades and reading for attack. For now it is quiet in the city. Everyone is waiting for the attack [by the Army],” he said.
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