| CNN | - |
Slavyansk,
Ukraine (CNN) -- As growing Ukrainian violence turned deadly Friday,
President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to
seek harsher sanctions against Russia if Ukraine doesn't stabilize in
time for elections this month.
Obama: U.S., Germany united in sanctioning Russia for Ukraine crisis
updated 2:12 PM EDT, Fri May 2, 2014
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: Further sanctions would target specific sectors of Russian economy, Obama says
- NEW: But he says targeting energy sector is "unrealistic"
- NEW: May 12 meeting of European Union could determine sanctions, Merkel says
- Violence has killed two Ukrainian officers, five pro-Russian activists and two civilians
Obama said any further
sanctions on Russia would target specific sectors of the Russian
economy, but he would not go into detail. He did say, however, that "the
idea that you're going to turn off the tap" on all energy trade between
Russia and Europe was "unrealistic."
He echoed earlier
comments by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that continued "disruptions
and destabilization" that impede elections scheduled for May 25 would
leave the United States and European Union no choice "but to move
forward on additional and severe sanctions."
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Merkel said that a May 12
meeting of European Union foreign ministers will "play a very important
role" in determining the further response to Russia's actions in
Ukraine, and that the release of German monitors being held by
pro-Russian forces was "a very crucial step that needs to happen for
us."
The two leaders made
their comments at the White House on a day when violence intensified in
Ukraine between security forces and pro-Russian separatists. Two
Ukrainian military officers on a helicopter mission, five pro-Russian
activists and two civilians died in the violence, officials said.
Obama criticized Russia
over its actions in Ukraine and its response to international efforts to
resolve the situation, saying "there just has not been the kind of
honesty and credibility about the situation there and the willingness to
engage seriously" in finding a diplomatic solution.
He added that the United
States and Germany are "united in our determination to impose costs on
Russia for its actions," including sanctions, and also are united "in
our outrage" over the treatment of German monitors held by pro-Russian
forces in Ukraine.
If Russia "continues on
its current course" in Ukraine, the United States and its European
allies "have a range of tools at our disposal, including sanctions
targeted at certain sectors of the Russian economy," and will "move
quickly" on taking additional steps, Obama said.
Ukrainian helicopters downed
Two Ukrainian government
helicopters were brought down in the flashpoint city of Slavyansk on
Friday, apparently by fire from pro-Russian separatists, Ukraine's
Defense Ministry said.
The violence came as
Ukrainian security forces launched their most intensive effort yet to
try to dislodge pro-Russian separatists.
Meanwhile, five
pro-Russian activists and two civilians were killed in Slavyansk in a
Ukrainian military operation aimed at dislodging pro-Russian
separatists, the city's self-declared mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, said
Friday. CNN could not independently confirm the death toll.
Residents of Slavyansk
were warned to stay home and avoid windows as the latest phase of the
authorities' "anti-terrorist operation" got under way.
The two Mi24 helicopters
were downed with mobile air defense systems, killing two military
officers and injuring others, according to the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry website. Another army helicopter, an Mi8, was damaged but no
one was hurt, it said.
Militants took one badly
injured pilot hostage after his helicopter was forced to make an
emergency landing, the ministry said, and efforts to free him are
ongoing.
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Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said one helicopter that came under attack was carrying medics, one of whom was injured.
Photos: Crisis in Ukraine
"The terrorists opened
fire at Ukrainian units with some heavy guns, including grenade
launchers and portable air defense systems," Interior Minister Arsen
Avakov said in a post on his official Facebook page.
Four separatists have
been detained at a checkpoint on suspicion of involvement in bringing
down the aircraft, the Defense Ministry said.
Clashes reported in Slavyansk
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti earlier reported that one Russian separatist was killed and another wounded in Slavyansk.
Ponomaryov said Slavyansk was under attack in a video statement published by local media and posted to YouTube.
"We are being stormed,
we have got casualties. I'm asking children, women and the elderly not
to leave their homes and I ask armed men to provide us all the
assistance they can," he said. "I think we will be able to successfully
stand up for our city. Thank you for your attention, thank you for your
assistance, we will win."
The operation, also
targeting the town of Kramatorsk, is aimed at pro-Russian militia groups
that have taken effective control of swaths of eastern Ukraine.
What's not yet clear is
whether the escalating violence may prompt a response by Russia, which
has previously said it has the right to intervene in Ukraine to protect
Russian speakers.
Russia has called for a
session of the U.N. Security Council to be held Friday because of the
situation in Ukraine and "actions by the Kiev powers," a spokesman for
the Russian U.N. mission said.
A senior State
Department official said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha
Power would argue at the meeting that Russia has not taken any steps to
de-escalate the situation in Ukraine since an international agreement
was signed last month.
Russia slams 'punitive' operation
The Russian Foreign
Ministry earlier blamed ultranationalist Ukrainian groups for what it
called a punitive military operation in Slavyansk. It called Kiev's use
of its military criminal, and described calls by the government to
launch a national dialogue as "hypocrisy."
Russian President
Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, also told CNN that Ukraine's
military operation was "totally unacceptable."
He said it was "the last
nail in the coffin" for the deal agreed to last month in Geneva,
Switzerland, which called for illegal militia groups to disarm and
vacate seized buildings.
Putin has been kept
fully informed of unfolding events in eastern Ukraine by Russian
intelligence agencies and regards the situation with "grave concern,"
Peskov said.
He added that Russia has
been "deeply involved" in negotiations to secure the release of
captured OSCE military observers and that the Ukrainian operation had
made this "harder."
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Pro-Russian activists
have held the seven Western observers from the Organization for Security
and Co-operation in Europe captive in Slavyansk for the past week.
Going forward, Peskov
said Russia was using its influence to prevent further casualties and
expected Western countries to do the same. "The West is quick to blame
Russia, but it is now high time they condemn Kiev's actions," he said.
Russia's Foreign
Ministry raised concern about the safety of a special presidential
envoy, Vladimir Lukin, sent to southeastern Ukraine to negotiate a
possible release of the OSCE observers.
Its statement also cited
"reports about English-speaking foreigners spotted among attackers,"
saying there should be no "external interference" in Ukraine's affairs.
While Russia has claimed
that the United States is directing events in Ukraine, Kiev and the
West have repeatedly accused Russia of fomenting unrest and supporting
the separatist groups.
Meanwhile, Russian
airline Aeroflot said it was canceling flights Friday to the eastern
cities of Kharkiv and Donetsk because it didn't have permission to enter
Ukrainian airspace.
Human shield allegation
In his Facebook post,
Avakov, the Ukrainian interior minister, said nine checkpoints that were
under control of pro-Russian separatists in Slavyansk have been taken
back by Ukrainian forces, who now encircle the town.
The operation is being conducted by the Interior Ministry, the national guard and the army, the Interior Minister said.
What the Ukrainian
authorities want from the separatists has not changed, he said --
release the hostages, turn in weapons, vacate seized administrative
buildings and allow the normal functioning of the city.
Avakov urged residents
not to go outside and to be careful at windows while the operation
continues. The separatists "shoot from the windows of residential
apartments," he said, aware that the Ukrainian forces have been told not
to fire toward homes.
Ukraine's security
service also accused separatist leaders of ordering activists to use
residents as human shields in the city and at checkpoints.
The service said the
downing of a military helicopter indicated that those shooting were
"highly professional foreign military, rather than peaceful residents
with hunting guns, as the Russian leadership says."
A CNN team north of
Slavyansk saw Ukrainian armored personnel carriers on the road, and
heard the sound of two explosions that may have been rocket-propelled
grenades.
A contingent of
Ukrainian forces at a bridge on the outskirts of the city encountered a
hostile crowd of locals who vowed not to let them pass. They were
angered that an armored personnel carrier had injured an elderly man.
The local population's
antipathy toward the authorities in Kiev will probably make the
Ukrainian security forces' task harder as they seek to regain control.
Previous phases of the
"anti-terror operation" by the Ukrainian forces have not resulted in any
significant gains, despite some official claims of success.
Donetsk clashes
On Thursday, pro-Russian
activists and Ukrainian riot police clashed at the prosecutor's office
in the eastern city of Donetsk as simmering tensions spiraled into
violence.
At least one police
officer was injured as the separatists seized control, the Ukrainian
Interior Ministry said. The regional health authority said 26 people
were injured, four of them with gunshot wounds.
Earlier in the day, crowds marched through Donetsk, demanding greater autonomy for the restive eastern region.
Some view the interim
government in Kiev as a "junta" that seized power thanks to backing from
ultranationalist groups, and they are angered by its actions.
Separatist leaders want to hold a referendum on May 11 on Ukraine becoming a federal state.
Eastern Ukraine was a
heartland of support for pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, ousted
in February after months of protests by people upset that he had turned
away from Europe in favor of Moscow.
The interim government has said it'll look at constitutional reforms ahead of national elections due on May 25.
IMF approves $17.1 billion bailout
Acting Ukrainian
President Oleksandr Turchynov acknowledged this week that the central
government has effectively lost control of the country's Donetsk and
Luhansk regions to the pro-Russian separatists.
He signed a decree
introducing military conscription Thursday in a bid to beef up Ukraine's
military, citing "real and potential threats to Ukraine."
Besides the threat from pro-Russian separatists, NATO estimates that Russia has some 40,000 troops massed near Ukraine's border.
In a key sign of
international support for the Kiev authorities, the International
Monetary Fund approved a $17.1 billion bailout for Ukraine on Thursday.
Russia annexed Ukraine's
southeastern Crimea region in March after a controversial referendum.
Its actions have prompted fears that it may seek also to intervene
directly in eastern Ukraine, which has a large Russian-speaking
population.
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