07:50
2.5.2014
Here is the latest from RFE/RL's news desk on the situation in eastern Ukraine:
Ukraine's Defense Ministry has confirmed that two of its helicopters were shot down and the pilots killed in a major offensive to retake the eastern city of Slovyansk.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook the goals of the offensive are to "free the hostages, lay down their arms, and free administrative buildings, and restore the normal functioning of the town's administration."
Slovyansk, which has a population of some 140,000 people, has been under the control of the pro-Russian separatist forces since last month.
Avakov said separatists had fired antiaircraft missiles and used heavy artillery and grenades.
He said Ukrainian troops had taken control of nine checkpoints on roads around the city.
Avakov said, "It's a real battle we are waging against professional mercenaries."
Separatists described the Ukrainian offensive as "large-scale."
A plume of black smoke was seen rising on the outskirts of the city. Correspondents report gunfire and explosions. An AFP reporter saw a column of eight Ukrainian armored vehicles breaching a rebel-held checkpoint just south of Slovyansk.
The rebels have detained Slovyansk's mayor, several journalists, three Ukrainian Security Service members, and are also holding a team of OSCE military observers.
Meanwhile, in Donetsk,the provincial capital about 100 kilometers south of Slovyansk, hundreds of pro-Russian separatists stormed the local prosecutor's office on May 1.
They pelted police with stones and beat them before stripping them of their riot gear and running them away from the building.
In Kyiv, acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov has signed an order reinstating military conscription. The order comes into effect immediately.
Turchynov said in a statement the move was necessary "given the deteriorating situation in the east and the south...the rising force of armed pro-Russian units, and the taking of public administration buildings...which threaten territorial integrity."
In Israel, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Hennadiy Kernes, has regained consciousness.
Kernes was flown to Israel after being shot by unknown assailants on April 28.
Kernes first held a pro-Russian stance, but later positioned himself as loyal to the pro-Western government in Kyiv.
In Washington, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow says the alliance must reconsider its position toward Russia.
Vershbow said on May 1 in Washington that despite trying for some 20 years to build a partnership with Russia, Moscow has "declared NATO as an adversary."
Because of that, he says NATO must now also "begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary."
Ukraine's Defense Ministry has confirmed that two of its helicopters were shot down and the pilots killed in a major offensive to retake the eastern city of Slovyansk.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook the goals of the offensive are to "free the hostages, lay down their arms, and free administrative buildings, and restore the normal functioning of the town's administration."
Slovyansk, which has a population of some 140,000 people, has been under the control of the pro-Russian separatist forces since last month.
Avakov said separatists had fired antiaircraft missiles and used heavy artillery and grenades.
He said Ukrainian troops had taken control of nine checkpoints on roads around the city.
Avakov said, "It's a real battle we are waging against professional mercenaries."
Separatists described the Ukrainian offensive as "large-scale."
A plume of black smoke was seen rising on the outskirts of the city. Correspondents report gunfire and explosions. An AFP reporter saw a column of eight Ukrainian armored vehicles breaching a rebel-held checkpoint just south of Slovyansk.
The rebels have detained Slovyansk's mayor, several journalists, three Ukrainian Security Service members, and are also holding a team of OSCE military observers.
Meanwhile, in Donetsk,the provincial capital about 100 kilometers south of Slovyansk, hundreds of pro-Russian separatists stormed the local prosecutor's office on May 1.
They pelted police with stones and beat them before stripping them of their riot gear and running them away from the building.
In Kyiv, acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov has signed an order reinstating military conscription. The order comes into effect immediately.
Turchynov said in a statement the move was necessary "given the deteriorating situation in the east and the south...the rising force of armed pro-Russian units, and the taking of public administration buildings...which threaten territorial integrity."
In Israel, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Hennadiy Kernes, has regained consciousness.
Kernes was flown to Israel after being shot by unknown assailants on April 28.
Kernes first held a pro-Russian stance, but later positioned himself as loyal to the pro-Western government in Kyiv.
In Washington, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow says the alliance must reconsider its position toward Russia.
Vershbow said on May 1 in Washington that despite trying for some 20 years to build a partnership with Russia, Moscow has "declared NATO as an adversary."
Because of that, he says NATO must now also "begin to view Russia no longer as a partner but as more of an adversary."
07:39
2.5.2014
In an interview with the "Financial Times," acting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk described the period between May Day and Victory Day (May 9) at "the most dangerous 10 days" for Ukraine since 1991. He said Moscow is planning clashes during events that evoke nostalgia for the Soviet Union and said there are "10-20 well-trained Russian agents" working in eastern Ukraine, moving from one town to another.
RFE/RL on April 30 published a "reporter's notebook" from Donetsk about the failure of the Geneva agreement to have any impact there and about the mounting anxiety about what may happen in the next week.
RFE/RL on April 30 published a "reporter's notebook" from Donetsk about the failure of the Geneva agreement to have any impact there and about the mounting anxiety about what may happen in the next week.
07:34
2.5.2014
Russian news agency Interfax is quoting pro-Russian militant spokeswoman Stella Khorosheva in Slovyansk as saying "one was killed and another one was injured on the militia's side" during fighting there on May 2. The pro-militant website Slavgorod.ua is reporting that Sloyansk residents are forming a "human shield" at a roadblock in Cherevkovka.
07:29
2.5.2014
This snippet from Rossiya-24 television purports to show a Ukrainian helicopter being shot down by pro-Russian militants in Slovyansk:
07:25
2.5.2014
This photo purports to show a street in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kramatorsk that has been blocked by comandeered city buses:
06:52
2.5.2014
It appears to be confirmed that four helicopters have been shot down.
06:24
2.5.2014
06:10
2.5.2014
More on the helicopters: On his Facebook page, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov confirmed that one pilot had been killed and others wounded after separatists fired antiaircraft missiles.
06:09
2.5.2014
05:50
2.5.2014
Now RT is reporting that a fourth army helicopter has been shot down in Slovyansk.