A day after over 40 anti-government protesters died brutally in Ukraine's Black Sea town of Odessa, and Kiev resumed its "anti-terrorist" military offensive in Slavyansk and Krematorsk in what now even Ukraine officials admit [4]is essentially a civil war, Ukraine has escalate its operation against pro-autonomy activists in the city of Mariupol, southeastern Ukraine, as well as the town of Konstantinovka, according to local self-defense activists.
According to RT, [5]the troops have moved into Mariupol and have surrounded an administrative building held by anti-government protesters. There are a few hundred activists inside the building. They told RT that the army is warning them that if they do not leave the building in the coming minutes, they will be fired at and the building will be seized.
“Special forces units are in the city center. Mainly, they are deployed in yards and make warning shots from there,” Mikhail Krutko from the self-defense headquarters told Interfax news agency. “Residents are unarmed, they blocked roads in the city center, built up barricades from tires and other things not to let hardware pass. They set tires on fire,” Krutko said.
“Special forces units are in the city center. Mainly, they are deployed in yards and make warning shots from there,” Mikhail Krutko from the self-defense headquarters told Interfax news agency. “Residents are unarmed, they blocked roads in the city center, built up barricades from tires and other things not to let hardware pass. They set tires on fire,” Krutko said.
People on the ground told RT’s Paula Slier that there are 300-500 anti-Kiev protesters there and they are unarmed. There have so far been no reports of injuries. At the same time, a convoy of Ukrainian APCs has forced its way through self-defense checkpoints near the Donetsk Region town of Konstantinovka. Shots and alarm can be heard inside the city.
There are reports that at least two people have been killed, Paula Slier says. The TV building has reportedly been seized by the army and all transmissions are currently off-air, she adds. Self-defense units earlier seized the security services headquarters in the town.
The location of the latest military escalation: clearly the proximity to the Russian border is concerning.
[6]
The overnight events are hardly the end of the Kiev government's attempt to regain the east: National Security Council secretary Andrey Parubiy has said that Kiev is planning to begin special military operations in other regions of Ukraine after it completes its current operations in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
Over the past few days, Ukraine has stepped up its military operations in southeastern Ukraine against pro-autonomy activists. The main opposition strongholds include Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Lugansk, and others.
Naturally, as the IMF made it quite clear last week, unless the acting government manages to supress eastern militias and activists, any Ukraine bailout money could be halted, the government's crackdown against its people is understandable. Just as understandable would be Russia's inevitable retaliation against Ukraine's crackdown, as the civil war become a full blown conflict between two nations.
But for now, perhaps the most dramatic footage of the night, is this clip from Mariupol, where a branch office of PrivatBank has just burned down to the ground. At this point US bankers are slaying various animals to their assorted idols hoping nobody in the US is watching this clip and getting any ideas.