Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting James Reynolds: Were hearing two separate stories about the shootings Russias foreign ministry has expressed outrage at a fatal shooting incident in eastern Ukraine which it blamed on Ukrainian nationalists. Russian state media reported that five people were killed in a gun attack on a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian activists near the town of Sloviansk. Ukrainian officials said one died in a clash between two groups of citizens. The incident comes as pro-Russian groups continue to occupy government buildings defying a deal to leave. Ertogrul Apakan, who heads the special mission of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe in Kiev, said his deputy would be in Donetsk to try to get them to comply with an agreement reached on Thursday to ease the crisis. Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US agreed during talks in Geneva on Thursday that illegal military groups in Ukraine must be dissolved, and that those occupying government premises must be disarmed and leave. But the separatists spokesman in the city of Donetsk said that the Kiev government was illegal, and vowed they would not go until it stepped down. Lack of will TV pictures showed what was described as the aftermath of an attack on a pro-Russian checkpoint at about 01:00 local time (22:00 on Saturday GMT), including the body of a man under a cover. The BBC is unable to verify the footage. However, a Reuters journalist at the scene reported seeing two bodies in a truck. Daylight Reuters TV footage of the scene shows several burnt-out vehicles. The Russian foreign ministry said the Ukrainian far-right group Right Sector was behind the attack. A business card with the name of its leader Dmytro Yarosh appeared in the unverified Russian TV pictures.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 12:58:30 +0000
Trending Topics
© 2015