By Lukas I. Alpert
Ukraine launched a military operation Friday to regain control of the pro-Russian separatist stronghold of Slovyansk, overrunning numerous roadblocks and surrounding the city, officials said, but meeting stiff resistance from militants who managed to shoot down at least one helicopter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman accused Ukraine of ordering aircraft to fire on civilian towns and said the operation "effectively destroys" an international agreement reached in Geneva meant to calm eastern Ukraine. Officials in the West have already said the agreement was effectively dead, blaming Russia for not making any effort to rein in the separatists.
Militant fighters fought back against the advancing Ukrainian units with heavy weaponry, including grenade launchers and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said. Mr. Avakov said the operation would proceed cautiously as to avoid civilian casualties, although as the morning progressed, there was little evidence of a push into the city center.
Separatist leaders claimed to have shot down four Ukrainian helicopters in the clash, Russian state media reported, but Ukraine's defense ministry said two helicopters had been shot down and that two soldiers were killed and several more wounded. Ukraine's state security service confirmed only one Mi-24 chopper was taken down, with one pilot killed and the other taken captive.
A spokeswoman for the separatists said one person was killed and another wounded on their side.
The Ukrainian defense ministry also said a medical helicopter had been hit by small-arms fire but wasn't brought down.
The renewed operation comes as Ukraine has increasingly lost control of territory in the east and as a prior military operation to force the pro-Russian militants out has stalled. Around the region, Ukraine's industrial heartland, heavily armed and professionally trained pro-Russian militants have seized town halls and police stations, apparently seeking to lay the groundwork for a referendum on sovereignty.
"The fact that shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles were used against our armed forces clearly indicates that this is a not a 'peaceful protest,' in the Donetsk region but a well-trained and armed professional subversive group committing acts of terrorism and sabotage in order to destabilize the region," the Ukrainian defense ministry said in a statement.
At the end of the early morning assault, Mr. Avakov said Ukraine had taken control of nine checkpoints leading into the city and were moving to cut off a number of key railway junctions. Russian state television showed plumes of thick black smoke rising from the outskirts of the city from what appeared to be piles of burning tires near checkpoints leading into town, but the footage revealed no indications of any fighting.
"Now comes the real battle with professional mercenaries. The terrorists have no aversion to shooting while hiding behind the civilians of Slovyansk and from residential apartment buildings and they are aware that our units have been ordered not to fire back when there is a threat to residential areas," Mr. Avakov said.
He said Ukraine was determined to "free hostages, force the militants to lay down their arms and vacate government buildings, and to restore the normal functioning of the city."
Ukraine and the West have blamed Russia for instigating the unrest and have accused it of sending in elite military-intelligence officers to help organize the rebellion. Russia has insisted it has played no role in the unrest.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that Mr. Putin was receiving up-to-the-minute updates on the operation. Mr. Peskov said the assault had ended all chances for the success of a de-escalation agreement reached between Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the European Union in Geneva in mid-April.
"As Russia makes efforts to de-escalate and settle the conflict, the Kiev regime orders combat aircraft to fire at civilian towns, launching a punitive operation that effectively destroys all hope for the viability of the Geneva agreements," he was quoted as saying.
The Foreign Ministry said that "we repeatedly warned that the use of the army against one's own people is a crime and is leading Ukraine towards catastrophe."
Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said Wednesday that local Ukrainian forces were "helpless" in countering ongoing moves by the insurgents to seize control of government buildings in several cities.
Mr. Putin on Thursday called on Ukraine to withdraw its military forces from the southeast of the country--effectively ceding control. Mr. Turchynov responded by ordering that a military draft be renewed.
Slovyansk has emerged as the focal point of the insurgency and remains firmly in the hands of pro-Russian gunmen. Several efforts by Ukraine's military to make inroads have failed to advance further than temporarily overrunning a handful of the numerous roadblocks ringing the city.
A German-led team of military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who were taken captive by militants last week in eastern Ukraine and accused of being spies, are being held in Slovyansk.
The protesters are demanding independence for an entity they are calling Donetsk People's Republic, and they plan to hold a referendum on May 11. In the regional capital of Donetsk, protesters have occupied buildings including a television station and the regional government headquarters for weeks.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
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