MOSCOW, April 15 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian army has built up divisions centered on the border between eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, a deputy commander of the Donbas self-defense forces said Tuesday.
“We know that there are serious forces and military equipment in Izium, a town on the border between the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, some 50 kilometers from Slaviansk,” Sergei Tsylakov said.
Although the Kiev regime’s army lacks soldiers “willing to shoot at their brothers,” the troops have serious military equipment, Tsyplakov said, adding that in the near future they will “receive an order and attack Slaviansk.”
Citizens have defied the threat of a violent crackdown and have come to “defend the city,” the activist said, adding that people from the whole Donetsk region are arriving to protect Slaviansk.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ukraine’s speaker of parliament and interim President Olexander Turchynov announced the start of a military operation in the north of Donetsk Region, where demonstrations by pro-federalization protesters are ongoing.
The rallies of pro-federalization activists began last month in eastern Ukraine, with protesters in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv calling for a referendum on the autonomy of their respective regions.
The protests spread Saturday to several more cities of Donetsk region, including Slaviansk, Mariupol, Yenakievo, Kramatorsk and a number of small towns, where protesters seized government buildings. Last Monday, pro-federalization activists declared the formation of the independent People’s Republic of Kharkiv and the Donetsk People’s Republic.
On Sunday, Ukrainian security forces launched an operation in Slaviansk, some 150 kilometers from the border with Russia, to quash unrest by demonstrators who had seized local government buildings. At least one person was killed and nine injured in the clashes, according to local health officials. Activists said at least three people died.
