Wednesday, April 16, 2014

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Pro-Russia insurgents tighten grip in east Ukraine - CBS News

Armed men wearing military fatigues stand guard by Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) outside the regional state building seized by pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, April 16, 2014. Getty



SLOVYANSK, Ukraine -- A column of armored personnel carriers flying Russian flags drove into a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russia demonstrators on Wednesday. Some of the troops aboard said they were Ukrainian soldiers who had switched allegiance.


An Associated Press reporter saw the six vehicles with troops in camouflage sitting atop enter the city of Slovyansk, a hotbed of unrest against Ukraine's acting government. Insurgents in Slovyansk have seized the local police headquarters and administration building, demanding broader autonomy for their eastern Ukraine region and closer ties with Russia.


Eastern Ukraine was the support base for Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February after months of protests in the capital, Kiev, that were ignited by his decision to back away from closer relations with the European Union



and turn toward Russia.

Ukraine's new leaders blame Moscow for instigating the unrest in the east - but CBS News' Holly Williams reports from the sprawling eastern city of Donetsk that the militants have popular support from many Russian-speaking Ukrainians in the region who claim they're discriminated against by their own government.


"We're fighting for ourselves and for our land," one man protesting against the leadership in Kiev to CBS News. "Do I look like a terrorist to you?"


At a checkpoint in Konstaninovka, CBS News found pro-Russian protestors passing out leaflets Wednesday that were written to look and read like a declaration of independence by the people of the Donetsk region. The leaflets congratulate the people on the founding of the "Republic of Donetsk."




Williams reports that such a scenario is exactly what Ukraine's leaders are trying to prevent -- but in spite of repeated threats that the Ukrainian military was carrying out widespread operations to oust the militants, using force against the well-armed pro-Russian forces would be a huge risk; it could provoke a military intervention from Russia, which has condemned Ukraine's actions as criminal.

The fear is a repeat of what happened in Crimea last month when separatist demonstrations were used as a pretext for thousands of Russian soldiers to move in and then formally annex the region.


The armored vehicles rolled into Slovyansk on Wednesday, stopped near the city administration building and flew Russian flags while residents chanted "Good job! Good job!"


One of the men who came in the vehicles, who identified himself only as Andrei, said the unit was part of Ukraine's 25th Brigade of Airborne Forces and that they have switched to the side of the pro-Russian forces.


The Ukrainian Defense Ministry declined immediate comment. The government in Kiev has struggled to reign in the rebels, as some security forces have switched over to the side of the insurgents.


Kiev authorities and Western countries say tens of thousands of Russian troops are stationed near the border with Ukraine and fear that unrest in the east will be used by Moscow as a pretext for a military incursion.



© 2014 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.








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