Ukraine sends elite force to key port of Odessa

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By YURAS KARMANAU and RADUL RADOVANOVIC

ODESSA, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine sent an elite national guard unit to re-establish control over the southern port city of Odessa on Monday and troops fought pitched gunbattles with a pro-Russia militia that had seized an eastern city.

The twin moves reflected an apparent escalation of efforts to bring both regions back under Kiev's control. The possible loss of Odessa in the southwest and parts of eastern Ukraine could be catastrophic for the new government, leaving the country landlocked, cut off entirely from the Black Sea.

Ukraine already lost a significant part of its coastline in March, when its Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia.

Gunfire and multiple explosions rang out Monday in and around Slovyansk, a city of 125,000 that has become the focus of the armed insurgency against the new interim government in Kiev.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140505/ukraine-7bd7dd2c9e.html

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Mourners and family members cry next the coffin of regional parliament member Vyacheslav Markin, in Odessa, Ukraine, Monday, May 5, 2014. Markin, who was known for speaking out against the government in Kiev, was buried on Monday while about 300 pro-Russian supporters shouted "Hero, hero!" Markin died Sunday from burn wounds sustained in Friday's fire.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

[Jesus Malverde]

1. "special forces"

Ukraine said the Odessa force, based on "civil activists", would replace local police who had failed to tackle rebel actions at the weekend. Its dispatch was a clear signal from Kiev that, while tackling rebellion in the east, it would vigorously resist any sign of a slide to a broader civil war.

http://news.yahoo.com/pro-russians-storm-odessa-police-station-pm-slams-025701261.html

civil activists must be the Neocon name for "right sector"

[Jesus Malverde]

2. Kiev offensive kills dozens

Ukrainian forces resumed the offensive against anti-government protesters in the country’s east, with dozens reported killed on Monday in fierce fighting near a rebel stronghold in Donetsk region.

Rebel self-defence forces battled advancing government troops on the outskirts of Sloviansk, the flashpoint of armed rebellion in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking southeast.

The Ukrainian army used aircraft and heavy artillery against the rebels, killing “more than 10 militia,” according to Rossiya 24 TV channel. Interfax news agency said at least 20 rebels had been killed.

Government forces lost four servicemen and about 30 were wounded, acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

Self-defence forces retreated into Sloviansk, and the army also pulled back.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry said a helicopter had been shot down over Sloviansk on Monday. Kiev admitted to losing two helicopters during the first assault on Sloviansk last week.

In Donetsk, 1,000 volunteers were reported to have signed up to defend the city against Ukrainian forces following a call for mobilisation from the leaders of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.” Rebels said they will hand out 10,000 firearms captured in the local security service headquarters in Donetsk.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/kiev-offensive-kills-dozens/article5979369.ece

[Jesus Malverde]

3. Ukraine guard unit sent to Odessa

Ukraine has sent an elite national guard unit to its southern port of Odessa, desperate to halt a spread of the fighting between government troops and a pro-Russia militia in the east that killed combatants on both sides.

The government in Kiev intensified its attempts to bring both regions back under its control, but seemed particularly alarmed by the bloodshed in Odessa. It had been largely peaceful until Friday, when clashes killed 46 people, many of them in a government building that was set on fire.

The tensions in Ukraine also raised concerns in neighbouring Moldova, another former Soviet republic, where the government said it had put its borders on alert. Moldova's breakaway Trans-Dniester region, located just north-west of Odessa and home to 1,500 Russian troops, is supported by Moscow, and many of its residents sympathise with the pro-Russia insurgency.

The loss of Odessa, in addition to a swath of industrial eastern Ukraine, would be catastrophic for the interim government in Kiev, leaving the country cut off from the Black Sea. Ukraine lost a significant part of its coastline in March, when its Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia.

Compared with eastern Ukraine, Odessa is a wealthy city with an educated and ethnically diverse population of more than one million. Jews still make up 12% of the population of the city, which once had a large Jewish community.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/ukraine-guard-unit-sent-to-odessa-30244410.html

I understand why they are desperate. It would also be catastrophic for the IMF who would have to focus it's wealth extraction on the poorer parts of the country.

Sending in fascist AKA "civil activists" to a city with a large Jewish population is probably a bad decision, to put it mildly.

[penultimate]

4. Ukraine out of Ukraine!!! Hands off Ukraine, Ukraine!

[EmilyAnne]

5. LOL! How dare the Ukrainian military make such a brazen incursion into UKRAINE! nt