UKRAINE LAUNCHES FIRST MAJOR ATTACK ON PRO-

RUSSIAN FORCES IN RESTIVE EAST

Putin says assault destroyed the last hope for
implementing agreement to defuse crisis
May 2, 2014 7:45AM ET Updated 12:30AM ET

Ukraine launched what appeared to be its first major assault
against pro-Russian forces who have seized government
buildings in the country's east, with fighting breaking out in the
early hours on Friday around a city that has become the focus
of the insurgency. Three deaths were reported in early fighting,
but Ukraine's president claimed that an additional,
unsubstantiated number of pro-Russian militiamen were
subsequently killed and injured.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said the
offensive "effectively destroyed the last hope for
the implementation of the Geneva agreements," deals intended
to defuse the crisis.
Two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down and two of their
crew members killed on Friday morning in Slovyansk, both
sides said. A pro-Russia militiaman was reportedly killed in a
separate incident there, according to The Associated Press.
The Ukrainian Security Service said one of the helicopters was
shot down with a surface-to-air missile, which it said undercut
Russia's claims that the city is in the control of civilians who
took up arms.
Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said "many
rebels" had died in his army's offensive.
"The criminals suffered heavy losses: many killed and many
prisoners," he said.
"I appeal to the leadership of the Russian Federation: Stop the
hysteria around the events taking place in Ukraine," he added.
Al Jazeera was not immediately able to verify Turchynov's
claims.
He said previously on Friday that "armed saboteurs" had
attempted to cross into Ukraine overnight but were pushed
back by Ukrainian border troops.
Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian
militants, said one of their men was killed and another injured.
She offered no further details.
The center of Slovyansk appeared quiet but empty and tense,
and fighting outside the city seemed to be over by Friday
morning when an AP crew got into town.
Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin had sent
an envoy to Ukraine's southeast to negotiate the release of
foreign military observers who were captured by pro-Russian
militias in Slovyansk.
In comments to Russian news agencies, Peskov said the
Kremlin has not been able to get in touch with the envoy,
Vladimir Lukin, since Ukraine launched the offensive.
However, Russia's Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies
quoted Lukin's aides as saying he was in touch and safe.
Russias Foreign Ministry also warned that Ukraine's use of
the army against its own people in the east will lead to
catastrophe and urged the West to renounce its "destructive
policies."
The action came a day after Putin said that Ukraine should
withdraw its military from the eastern and southern regions of
the country. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops
along the Ukrainian border as it warns Ukraine's military not to
move against the insurgents in the east.
Turchynov said this week that some troops were "either
helping or cooperating with terrorist organizations."
The Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said in a
statement that government troops met fierce resistance but had
managed to take control of nine checkpoints on roads around
Slovyansk.
Avakov called on the insurgents to lay down their arms and
release the hostages they have taken.
"We are ready to negotiate with protesters and their
representatives," Avakov said on Friday. "But for terrorists and
armed separatists there is only punishment."
The official spokesman for the military wing of the pro-
Russian forces, who would give only his first name, Vladislav,
said fighting had broken out at several points around the city.
He said government armored vehicles were seen on roads
leading into Slovyansk and claimed that Ukrainian troops had
made incursions into the city itself.
Details of these claims could not be independently confirmed.
On the road leading into Slovyansk from Kramatorsk to the
south, an AP reporter saw six Ukrainian armored vehicles
parked on the side of the road Friday morning.
The armed element of the insurgency is focused on Slovyansk,
a city 100 miles west of Russia in which seven European
military observers from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe remain held by pro-Russian gunmen.
Hours after Putin said Thursday that Ukraine should withdraw
its military from the eastern and southern regions of the
country, Turchynov ordered that the military draft be renewed,
citing "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial
integrity" and interference by Russia in its internal affairs.
Moscow has repeatedly denounced Ukrainian security forces'
largely ineffectual operation against the eastern insurgents, and
has warned the government not to commit violence against
civilians.
In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel, Putin said the removal of military units was the "main
thing," but it was unclear if that could be construed as an
outright demand.
Earlier in the week, the acting president said police and
security forces had been effectively "helpless" against
insurgents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the heart of the
unrest, and that efforts should be focused on preventing the
instability from spreading to other parts of the country.
So far, U.S. and European Union sanctions on Moscow over
Ukraine have not affected natural gas or oil flows from Russia,
a regional energy giant. Still, the unrest is stoking fears that
political instability will affect the global energy supply.
In a joint briefing with Merkel on Friday at the White House,
President Barack Obama stopped short of saying sanctions
would target Russia's energy sector.
Obama said the militia members killed by Ukrainian military
forces were "heavily armed militants who are receiving
significant support from Russia. Russia needs to use its
influence over these paramilitary groups so they disarm."
If the militia does not withdraw before Ukraine's elections,
slated for May 25, the U.S. and EU will "impose costs on
Russia for its actions," he added.
Merkel echoed Obama's threat on deepened sanctions.
"This is not something that we want. We have made an offer
for a diplomatic solution. It's very much up to the Russians,"
she said.
Russia's energy minister has said natural gas exporter Gazprom
would reduce supplies to Ukraine in June if no prepayment is
received this month.
In a move aimed at offering Ukraine economic independence
from Moscow, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger
said Friday that the EU wants a uniform price for Russian gas
for all its member states, adding that Europe's common gas
infrastructure should include Ukraine, Georgia and the western
Balkans.
Currently, EU member states buy Russian gas on the basis of
bilateral contracts with Moscow, and pay different prices.
Common purchases would improve the EU's negotiating power
and cut the price.
Ukraine fully supports the idea of introducing a unified price
for natural gas in the EU, its energy minister, Yuri Prodan, told
reporters in Warsaw ahead of a meeting with his Russian
counterpart and Oettinger.
Ukrainian energy independence would make it more difficult
for Russia to exert pressure on Ukraine as well as the rest of
Europe. In the winters of 2006 and 2009, when Ukraine and
Russia clashed over oil prices, Moscow halted deliveries not
only to Ukraine but to the rest of Europe.