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Ukrainian servicemen ride in a tank close to the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, a facility which has been the site of intense fighting for several weeks.
Ukrainian servicemen ride in a tank close to the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, a facility which has been the site of intense fighting for several weeks.

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

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10:12 5.7.2014

Sounds like sound advice:

10:37 5.7.2014

11:32 5.7.2014

11:44 5.7.2014

12:07 5.7.2014

More from our news desk on the fighting in and around Slovyansk:

Ukrainian government forces have hoisted the national flag on over the pro-Russian rebels' main stronghold of Slavyansk after flushing them out of the eastern industrial city in overnight fighting.

Defense Minister Valeriy Geletey told President Petro Poroshenko in a statement posted on the Ukrainian administration's website on July 5 that the flag had been raised over the Slavyansk city council building, one of the main buildings where the rebels had been based.

Ukraine's interior minister said earlier in the day that most pro-Russian rebels and their top commander had fled the industrial city of nearly 120,000, which they had occupied since April 6.

Arsen Avakov told reporters in Kyiv, "This morning, intelligence reported that Girkin (Igor Strelkov) and a substantial part of the rebels had fled Slavyansk" amid intense fighting overnight.

Avakov said in a Facebook post that the militias were fleeing to Gorlivka, a city of 260,000 about 50 kilometers southeast of Slavyansk that remains largely under the militias' control.

Ukraine alleges that Strelkov is a colonel in Russia's military intelligence unit know as the Chief Intelligence Directorate (GRU).

Both Strelkov and Moscow deny any GRU link despite Western claims that the Kremlin is covertly funding and arming the uprising to destabilise Kyiv's new pro-European leaders and retain control over Russia-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine.

Routing of the rebels in Slavyansk would be Kyiv's biggest success of its nearly three-month campaign to regain control of separatist-held parts of its eastern region.

Poroshenko's website said the newly appointed head of the armed forces general staff had told him separatist fighters came under mortar fire as they tried to break through government forces' lines around Slavyansk.

The website said the separatists had lost one tank and other armored vehicles.

The news TV channel Rossiya-24 said the militia had fought their way out of Slavyansk, and their headquarters has been relocated to Kramatorsk.

13:14 5.7.2014

Separatist leader Denis Pushilin apologizes to Slovyansk residents for failing to "defend" them.

13:18 5.7.2014

Donetsk authorities urge residents to stay off the streets as separatist fighters pour into the city.

13:41 5.7.2014

Separatist leader Denis Pushilin says Moscow "abandonned" eastern Ukraine. "Putin's words about defending the Russian people, about defending Novorossiya, were beautiful. But they were only words."

13:44 5.7.2014

Rebels reportedly blew up a bridge near Luhansk.

13:48 5.7.2014

Refat Chubarov, the head of the Crimean Tatar parliament, the Medzhlis, was barred from entering Crimea.

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