Special forces, right sector besiege rebellious Slaviansk
Special forces loyal to government and armed men from the radical Right Sector movement launched an operation Sunday to suppress pro-federalization protesters in the east Ukrainian town of Slaviansk, RIA Novosti reported.
At least three people, including a pro-federalization supporter, were killed in clashes in the town, some 150 kilometers from the border with Russia, while two other activists were injured, activists said.
Pro-federalization activists seized a local administration building, a district police department and a security service office on Saturday.
The leader of the Right Sector movement, Dmytro Yarosh, called on his supporters Saturday to mobilize amid the recent events in eastern Ukraine, where local residents rally in support of federalization.
Ukraine’s Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page early on Sunday an operation was underway in the city involving “all the country's law enforcement agencies.”
A source with Ukraine’s special forces told RIA Novosti Sunday on condition of anonymity that the restive city of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine was being stormed by all special forces units from the country’s pro-regime west.
“Every single unit from western Ukraine is now storming Slaviansk,” the source said.
Armed men from the radical Right Sector movement arrived in Slaviansk to participate in the special operation against pro-federalization protesters, a coordinator of the international liberation movement, Vladimir Karasev, said.
“Reports from Slaviansk say that some 150 people dressed in black uniform have arrived at the airfield in the town. According to all indications, they are from the Right Sector,” said Karasev, of the Russian Sector-Ukraine movement initiated by Ukrainians who have left their country fearing violence from the Kiev regime.