Ukraine: 'Many' insurgents killed in Slovyansk
Source: AP-Excite
By PETER LEONARD
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine (AP) — 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 offensive against the insurgents "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva agreement on cooling Ukraine's crisis.
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 pro-Russia militiaman was reported killed.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and seven wounded in Friday's clashes and the insurgents suffered significant losses, including many killed and injured. By early evening, he said the army now controlled all of the checkpoints around Slovyansk.
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A Pro-Russian gunman holds a weapon behind barricades in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Friday, May 2, 2014. 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 Friday in a city that has become the focus of the insurgency. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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