KOSTYANTYNIVKA
Ukraine on Sunday vowed to broaden its “anti-terrorist” operation against pro-Russian rebels, as the crisis-hit country marked its second day of mourning after violence that left more than 50 dead.
National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy said the armed forces would expand the “active stage of the operation in other towns where extremists and terrorists are carrying out illegal activities”.
Reporters near the eastern town of Kostyantynivka, where rebels seized the town hall on April 28, saw a pro-Russian checkpoint abandoned and smouldering and barricades being hastily erected in the centre.
Rebels defending the town hall behind makeshift barriers said there had been fighting overnight near the town’s television tower.
On Saturday, fierce gun battles erupted around the flashpoint town of Slavyansk as the authorities stormed rebel-held checkpoints in a bid to tighten the noose around what has become the epicentre of pro-Russian fervour.
Central Slayvansk appeared relatively calm on Sunday morning but citizens reported increasing difficulty obtaining basic foodstuffs in the besieged town of 160,000 people.
Meanwhile, seven European inspectors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe arrived home late Saturday after an eight-day ordeal in captivity, a small chink of light in the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War.
Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov declared two days of mourning on Saturday after brutal violence in Odessa claimed 42 lives and at least 10 died in military operations around Slavyansk.
The scenic Black Sea port of Odessa was bracing for fresh violence as supporters of the Western-backed government in Kiev planned a fresh march amid fears it could be disrupted by pro-Russian militants.
Late on Saturday, two Ukrainian soldiers sustained wounds after pro-Russians attacked a local recruitment office in the eastern city of Lugansk, according to local officials.
Local media reported four were wounded in sporadic fighting overnight in the port of Mariupol, where pro-Russian militants remain holed up in the town hall.