MOSCOW, April 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that deadly clashes in Slaviansk and Mariupol are the result of Kiev’s irresponsible policies that rely on extremism.
“What is going on in Slaviansk, and what happened that night in Mariupol, is the result of such irresponsible policies; policies that, and I repeat, rely on ultra-extremism, extremist, and for the most part neo-Nazi groups,” Lavrov said.
On Thursday, People’s Mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarev said two columns of armored vehicles of the Ukrainian military were advancing toward Slaviansk. Two checkpoints of the self-defense forces had been attacked, and a gunfight at one of them was continuing.
Five people have been reported killed in the clashes.
Federalization supporters in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slaviansk and Kramatorsk have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and have demanded a Crimea-style referendum on the status of their regions. In response to pro-federalization rallies Kiev’s interim government has launched a special operation in crackdown on protesters.
Following deadly attacks on activists last Sunday, Slaviansk has remained a hotspot for demonstrations despite the Kiev interim government’s vow to crack down on the pro-federalization drive inspired by last month’s referendum in Crimea.
In a bid to de-escalate the ongoing conflict, top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union approved a statement on April 17 calling on the sides in Ukraine to refrain from violence, extremism and provocations, disarm militants and launch a national dialogue on constitutional reform.
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier this week said Kiev has failed to implement the Geneva accords and is reluctant to disarm nationalists and extremists.