Two Ukrainian Helicopters shot down

Two Ukrainian helicopters shot down in battle near Slovyansk

The pilot of one of the military helicopters survived the crash and photos show him being assisted by pro-Russian activists. The offense has ‘destroyed’ hopes for peace in the region, the Kremlin says.  

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Friday, May 2, 2014, 11:19 AM

Updated: Friday, May 2, 2014, 1:15 PM

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Rossia 24 Television Channel/AP Two crew members of the Ukrainian helicopters were killed in the crash after fighting broke out around dawn near Slovyansk. Some pro-Russia militiamen were killed as well, reports say.

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russia forces shot down two Ukrainian helicopters Friday and Ukraine reported "many" rebels dead and wounded as the interim government in Kiev launched its first major offensive against an insurgency that has seized government buildings across the east.
The Kremlin said Kiev's military move against the insurgents "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva agreement on cooling Ukraine's crisis. President Barack Obama said it was obvious to everyone now that the pro-Russia militants were not peaceful protesters and the U.N. Security Council held an emergency session in Ukraine at Russia's request.
Fighting broke out around dawn near Slovyansk, a city 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russian border that has become the focus of the armed insurgency. Two helicopter crew members were killed in the crashes, both sides said, and the insurgents reported one member killed.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov later said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and seven wounded in Friday's clashes and the insurgents suffered significant losses, including many killed or injured. It was not clear if the two referred to the helicopter crew.
"Our security forces are fighting mercenaries of foreign states, terrorists and criminals," he said in a statement
By early evening, Turchynov said the army controlled all of the checkpoints around Slovyansk, a city of 125,000 people.

Rossia 24 Television Channel/AP Pro-Russian militia shot down two Ukrainian helicopters in Solvyansk after fighting broke out around dawn on Friday. Images show the injured pilot of one of the military helicopters being carried by pro-Russian activists.

Rossia 24 Television Channel/AP The pilot is one of two Ukrainian military helicopters shot down after the launch of a major offense against the pro-Russian insurgents after they seized several government buildings including police stations.

One of the helicopters was hit by a surface-to-air missile, the Ukrainian Security Service said, adding that the sophisticated weapon undercut Russia's claims the city was simply under the control of armed locals. The service said its forces were fighting "highly skilled foreign military men" in Slovyansk.
The Russian state television channel Rossia 24 showed one man they said was a wounded helicopter pilot reportedly being helped by pro-Russia forces.
Central Slovyansk still remained in the hands of pro-Russia gunmen, according to AP journalists in the city. Several foreign news crews were detained for several hours Friday before being released.
A clash also broke out late Friday between pro-Russians and government supporters in Odessa, on the Black Sea coast some 550 kilometers (330 miles) from the turmoil in the east. Odessa had remained largely untroubled by unrest since the February toppling of pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, which ignited tensions in the east. News reports said several people were wounded, but there was no immediate official information.
Turchynov admitted earlier this week that the central government had lost control of the east, where some government troops and police were "either helping or cooperating with terrorist organizations." He said forces were working to prevent the unrest from spreading to central areas like Odessa.

BAZ RATNER/REUTERS On Thursday, Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, ordered a military draft be renewed following threats against the nation’s “territorial integrity.”

In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said the Ukrainian offensive "effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements" that aimed to defuse the crisis. But Dmitry Peskov said Russia "continues to undertake consistent efforts on de-escalation."
A day earlier Putin warned Ukraine not to move against the insurgents and said it should withdraw its military from eastern and southern regions.
Ukraine, a nation of 46 million, is deeply divided between those in the west who favor closer ties with Europe and many Russian-speakers in the east who look toward Moscow. Ukraine has accused Russia of backing the insurgents who have seized government buildings in 10 eastern cities and fears that Moscow is seeking a pretext to invade; Russia has already stationed tens of thousands of troops in areas near the Ukrainian border.
Russian troops backed separatists in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March, then annexed the region after a referendum called for secession.
The deal in Geneva last month aimed to get those who had seized government buildings in Ukraine to leave and calm down the tensions that have prompted the United States and the European Union to slap Russia with rounds of sanctions.
Russia's foreign ministry accused Ukraine's fledging government of using "terrorists" from ultranationalist organizations for the military operation. It also claimed that Kiev deployed tanks and helicopters that were "conducting missile strikes on protesters," something that neither side in Ukraine reported.
An Associated Press crew also saw no evidence of missile strikes in Slovyansk.
Russia also cited insurgents in Ukraine as saying that some of the government attackers spoke English.
Ukrainian troops met fierce resistance Friday morning but managed to take control of nine checkpoints on the roads around Slovyansk, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement. He called on the insurgents to lay down their arms and release their hostages.
"We are ready to negotiate with protesters and their representatives," Avakov said. "But for terrorists and armed separatists, there is only punishment."

Earlier in the day, Slovyansk appeared quiet but empty and tense and an AP reporter saw six Ukrainian armored vehicles on a road into the city. Black plumes of smoke could be seen on the edge of the city and residents said emergency sirens had sounded at dawn.

Television crews from Sky News and CBS were detained Friday on the outskirts of Slovyansk. Sky News said in a statement its crew was detained for several hours but is now "safe and well."

CBS correspondent Clarissa Ward told "CBS News This Morning" that she and her crew were stopped by pro-Russia insurgents at a checkpoint just outside Slovyansk, then taken to a nearby town where they were blindfolded tightly with masking tape. They were released several hours later, unharmed except for one man who was beaten.
The spokesman for the military wing of the pro-Russia forces, who would give only his first name, Vladislav, said fighting had broken out at several points around Slovyansk and said Ukrainian troops had made incursions into the city itself. That claim could not be independently confirmed.
Peskov said the Kremlin had sent envoy Vladimir Lukin to Ukraine's southeast to negotiate the release of seven foreign military observers among those being held hostage by pro-Russia militia in Slovyansk.
Kiev's interim government came to power after Yanukovych fled to Russia in February, drummed out by months of anti-government protests. Ukraine plans to hold a new presidential election on May 25.

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It is important I think that people understand that this is a total FSB  (KGB) run show in Ukraine. It is totally FSB officers with mercenary (experienced veterans from Chechnya and likely even when the Soviets were in Afghanistan). So, the same 300 to 1000 people are the ones who are taking each municipal office and police station in each city and destroying businesses by psychological warfare and vandalism etc. Then those same core FSB operatives go and take the next place. There might be some local sympathizers but the core of these people actually taking places are extremely well trained in psychological warfare and intimidation with minimum bloodshed in doing what they are doing. Anyone who believes what Putin is saying about all this is a fool (or just so incredibly partisan that they want another Soviet Union to exist in both Ukraine and Russia).