Those who don’t lay arms, will be destroyed – Ukrainian military op commander
A Ukrainian general leading the operation against protesters in the east of the country has warned that activists who refuse to lay down their arms will be “destroyed.”
Follow LIVE updates as military operation
unfolding in eastern Ukraine
“They must be warned that if they do not lay down their arms,
they will be destroyed,” General Vasily Krutov, first deputy
head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) told reporters, as
cited by AFP.
Krutov, recently appointed chief of the SBU’s Anti-Terrorist
Center, added that activists were being supported by hundreds of
soldiers from the Russian army’s Main Intelligence Directorate
(GRU).
The Kremlin said the allegations about Russia’s military presence
in eastern Ukraine are “absurd.”
“These are absurd statements. There are no Russian troops
there. The president and the foreign minister have spoken about
it,” said Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov on
Tuesday.
“We can only be startled by the fact that all these
statements made by the Russian side are deliberately chosen not
to be heard (by the West),” he added.
Kyiv authorities launched a military operation against
anti-government protesters in the East of the former Soviet
republic.
The military operation is a “huge mistake” committed by
the interim government in Kyiv, a political commentator from
London, Aleksandr Nekrassov, believes. He argues that
negotiations between authorities and Kyiv and leaders of the
protest movement in the east of Ukraine are the only way to
prevent the crisis from escalating into a civil war.
“Unfortunately the people in Kyiv at the moment are listening
to the advice given to them by CIA agents and people from the EU,
they are not listening to reason,” Nekrassov told RT.
“They have been very vocal in blaming president Yanukovich
for ordering his police to clash with demonstrators and claiming
that he ordered to shoot people. Well, now, they’re on the
receiving end. Now they are doing things they were accusing
Yanukovich of. They should realize they will be held
responsible.”
According to activists, four people were killed and two others
injured on Tuesday as troops seized an airfield in the city of
Kramatorsk, which had earlier been controlled by protesters.
A source at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry told Interfax that there
were no victims among the military as a result of the operation.
Acting President Aleksandr Turchinov confirmed that Ukrainian
special forces regained control over the facility.
On Tuesday evening, Krutov, who personally supervised the
operation in Kramatorsk, appeared before
local residents gathered on the airfield. According to RIA
Novosti, the SBU official attempted to explain to them that the
military had arrived at the site to protect them from
“terrorists.” However, the crowd responded shouting they
were “peaceful citizens.” The activists then pushed
Krutov several times, but were stopped by special forces troops
who fired warning shots into the air.
Conflicting reports say that Ukrainian military – supported by
armored vehicles and helicopters – have also entered the city of
Slavyansk.
Earlier on Tuesday, Roman Sokolenko, from the People’s Militia of
Donbass, told RT that transport was not being allowed out of the
eastern city while “tanks were approaching.” He said
protesters were manning barricades in preparation for the
possible storm. Activists were in good spirits and “ready to
protect their land.”
As of early Wednesday morning, federalization supporters in
Ukraine’s eastern city of Kramatorsk were still blocking the exit
from the airport, RIA Novosti reported. Activists built
barricades out of tires and are burning them by the airport
gates. Meanwhile, the eastern town of Slavyansk remains under the
control of federalization supporters.