An armed man stands in front of a hospital destroyed after shelling between Ukrainian... Read More
Ukraine said rebels and regular Russian
troops pushed north and south from their strongholds in eastern
Ukraine with an unprecedented shelling campaign that included
the deadliest yet on the strategic port city of Mariupol.
At least 20 civilians died and 87 more were wounded in rocket attacks this morning on residential districts in the eastern outskirts of the Black Sea city, Ukrainian officials said during an emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev. Overnight shelling in Luhansk, which borders Donetsk to the north, was the worst the region has suffered during the 10-month conflict, the local governor said.
Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksandr Turchynov, blamed Vladimir Putin for the surge in violence, saying the Russian leader decided at a meeting in Moscow yesterday to “launch offensives everywhere, according to our information.” He didn’t elaborate.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment immediately when reached by mobile phone. Rebel leaders denied shelling Mariupol, calling the accusations from Kiev “provocations” aimed at escalating the Ukrainian military’s involvement, according to Russia’s Interfax news service.
Ukraine accuses Russia of supporting the rebellion with hardware, cash and thousands of regular troops, accusations the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. Russia accuses the government in Kiev of waging war against its own citizens and discriminating against native Russian speakers, who make up the majority of the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials said that 256 “terrorists and mercenaries” had been killed in the past 24 hours, a number impossible to verify.
“The world needs to stop Putin,” Yatsenyuk said, adding that he hopes for a “rapid” and “tough” reaction to Russia’s involvement from the European Union.
Taking Mariupol would be a key objective for any strategy aimed at creating a land bridge across Ukraine linking Crimea and Russia, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta research institute in Kiev. The eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula is less than 200 nautical miles south of Mariupol.
The United Nations said Friday that Jan. 13-21 was “the most deadly period” in the Ukrainian conflict since a cease-fire was signed in Minsk, Belarus, in September. At least 5,086 have been killed since April, according to the UN.
“All parties need to take robust and immediate action in order to end the new escalation in fighting and its heavy toll on civilians,” the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said in an e-mailed statement.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@bloomberg.net; Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net Brad Cook
At least 20 civilians died and 87 more were wounded in rocket attacks this morning on residential districts in the eastern outskirts of the Black Sea city, Ukrainian officials said during an emergency meeting called by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev. Overnight shelling in Luhansk, which borders Donetsk to the north, was the worst the region has suffered during the 10-month conflict, the local governor said.
Ukraine’s national security chief, Oleksandr Turchynov, blamed Vladimir Putin for the surge in violence, saying the Russian leader decided at a meeting in Moscow yesterday to “launch offensives everywhere, according to our information.” He didn’t elaborate.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment immediately when reached by mobile phone. Rebel leaders denied shelling Mariupol, calling the accusations from Kiev “provocations” aimed at escalating the Ukrainian military’s involvement, according to Russia’s Interfax news service.
Ukraine accuses Russia of supporting the rebellion with hardware, cash and thousands of regular troops, accusations the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. Russia accuses the government in Kiev of waging war against its own citizens and discriminating against native Russian speakers, who make up the majority of the populations of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Biden Meeting
President Petro Poroshenko will discuss the surge in “terrorist attacks” with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden today in Saudi Arabia, Yatsenyuk said during the meeting, parts of which were shown on Ukrainian television. Yatsenyuk also called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, where both Russia and the U.S. are permanent members.Ukrainian officials said that 256 “terrorists and mercenaries” had been killed in the past 24 hours, a number impossible to verify.
“The world needs to stop Putin,” Yatsenyuk said, adding that he hopes for a “rapid” and “tough” reaction to Russia’s involvement from the European Union.
Taking Mariupol would be a key objective for any strategy aimed at creating a land bridge across Ukraine linking Crimea and Russia, said Volodymyr Fesenko, a political analyst at the Penta research institute in Kiev. The eastern tip of the Crimean peninsula is less than 200 nautical miles south of Mariupol.
‘Immediate Action’
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said the attacks on civilians in Mariupol were “crimes against humanity” and called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to help organize an immediate investigation. Defense officials said the insurgents used at least six Grad multiple-launch systems to attack houses, shops and a market in Mariupol, which had a population of almost half a million before the insurgency.The United Nations said Friday that Jan. 13-21 was “the most deadly period” in the Ukrainian conflict since a cease-fire was signed in Minsk, Belarus, in September. At least 5,086 have been killed since April, according to the UN.
“All parties need to take robust and immediate action in order to end the new escalation in fighting and its heavy toll on civilians,” the OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine said in an e-mailed statement.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kateryna Choursina in Kiev at kchoursina@bloomberg.net; Daryna Krasnolutska in Kiev at dkrasnolutsk@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at jagomez@bloomberg.net Brad Cook
