| ABC News | - |
The
Russian government said today it is "outraged" by a shootout overnight
near Slovyansk that left at least three dead, saying the attack was
carried out by a Ukrainian right-wing nationalist group.
Russia 'Outraged' by Deadly Ukraine Shootout
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The Russian government said today it is "outraged" by a shootout
overnight near Slovyansk that left at least three dead, saying the
attack was carried out by a Ukrainian right-wing nationalist group.
The attack took place before just before 2:30 a.m. on the outskirts of
Slovyansk, a town under the control of pro-Russian forces. Four vehicles
reportedly approached a checkpoint and opened fire, and video of the
aftermath showed spent bullet casings and two burned out vehicles.
According to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, three people were killed and
three wounded in clashes between armed groups, but it denied Ukrainian
forces played any role. The Sloviansk hospital declined ABC News'
request for comment, but Slovyansk's pro-Russia mayor confirmed the
three dead to reporters.
"The Russian side is outraged with the provocation, which indicates that
Kiev is unwilling to put in check and disarm nationalists and
extremists," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted by the
state-run Russia Today channel.
Moscow "insists on the strict implementation by the Ukrainian side of
its commitments to de-escalate the situation in southeastern Ukraine,"
the ministry statement said.
Ukraine's Security Service called the incident a "cynical provocation"
by "armed offenders and saboteurs who are terrorizing the local
population in Slovyansk."
A pro-Kremlin website posted video of what it said was evidence of the
nationalist group Right Sector's involvement in the attack, including
crisp $100 bills, Google Maps satellite images of the area, bullets and
the business card of the group's leader.
Sloviansk's new mayor quickly calling on Russian President Vladimir
Putin to send Russian "peacekeepers" to defend the region's citizens
from "fascists and imperialists."
On Thursday, foreign ministers from the United States, Russia, Ukraine
and the European Union signed an agreement that "all illegal armed
groups must be disarmed" and that "all illegally seized buildings" in
Ukraine must be vacated. But the armed groups occupying those buildings
in eastern Ukraine haven't moved, arguing that the "criminal" government
in Kiev has to first step down.
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