Troops seize TV center in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine - interior ministry — RT News

Troops seize TV center in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine - interior ministry — RT News:

Ukrainian troops, continuing their special operation against anti-government protesters in the city of Slavyansk, have taken a local television broadcasting center under control, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry says, as cited by Itar-Tass.

Meanwhile the Donetsk region self-defense forces say they have managed to regain some of the areas, previously seized by Ukrainian troops. That’s according to Miroslav Rudenko, one of the Donbass self-defense leaders, who was interviewed by Interfax.

While the military operation is currently on in a number of cities and towns in the Donetsk region, the city of Donetsk itself is peaceful and getting ready for a referendum on the region’s status, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin told Itar-Tass over the phone.

“Donetsk is calm,” he said. “We’ve heard no more threats from the authorities in Kiev. We’ve been preparing for the May-11 referendum. We are setting up election committees, printing ballots etc.”

The ballots will only have one question to be answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’: “Do you support the act on independence of the Donetsk republic?”

The storming of Slavyansk is part of a wider military operation in eastern Ukraine, which intensified in the first days of May.

 

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Ukrainian soldier points his weapon at an approaching car with armoured
personnel carriers behind him at a checkpoint near the town of
Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine (Reuters/Baz Ratner)