I’m thinking mystery snipers, here and in Mariupol during the night of Tues/Wed Apr 15/16. Mystery snipers who materialise and dematerialise like ghosts, in the Maidan as they did in Syria and Egypt. Since I can’t be bothered to keep up with their name changes, I shall continue to refer to them as “Blackwater” – RB
Six reported east Ukraine deaths in overnight checkpoint raid
RT.com, Apr 20 2014
Six people have been reportedly killed in a gunfight in Slavyansk, a city in eastern Ukraine held by anti-government protesters. The fatalities include four protesters and two attackers who are believed to be from the Right Sector paramilitary. The deaths came after a night attack on a protester checkpoint on the outskirts of the city, Rossiya 24 reported. Four cars drove by the checkpoint and opened fire at local residents manning it, killing three people and seriously injuring several others. One gunshot victim died later in hospital from a head wound, local medics said. Another one is undergoing treatment. The checkpoint was in the control of 26 civilians armed with bats. Their lack of firearms was due to a so-called “Easter truce” announced by both the Kiev authorities and the protest leaders to de-escalate tension. As the civilians ran from the checkpoint, a group of protesters with firearms were called from their camp in the city. They opened fire on the attackers, killing two of them and sending the rest running, according to a Life News report. The casualty count may rise as a search for the attackers is underway in a forest, where some of them retreated after the clash. The protesters captured two of the attackers’ four cars. Footage of the equipment confiscated showed firearms including a machine gun, a night vision device, aerial photos of Slavyansk, military uniforms, camping tools and other things handy for guerrilla warfare. There was also a medallion with Right Sector paramilitary symbols, which implicated the radical nationalist movement in the attack.
In a separate incident in central Slavyansk, two people have been injured overnight, after a group of unidentified gunmen fired at them. Two young men were shot in the leg after they ignored an order to stop and tried to flee, RIA Novosti reported. The report gives no account of events after the shooting, but both victims are now in hospital. Protest leaders ordered a curfew in Slavyansk between 12:00pm and 06:00am in response to the overnight violence. Protesters in eastern Ukraine have captured government buildings across the Donetsk region over the past two weeks. They call the authorities in Kiev illegitimate and are demanding a referendum to vote on autonomy for their region. Similar calls are coming from other eastern Ukrainian regions. Kiev deployed military and special operation troops to the Donetsk region in a bid to crackdown on what they referred to “terrorist actions” by the protesters. The crackdown so far has been futile, with a number of troops switching sides to the protesters. Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU signed an agreement this week in Geneva aimed at de-escalating the tension in Ukraine. One of the key points in it is disarming militias and paramilitary units in the country. But neither Right Sector and similar pro-Maidan groups nor the anti-Maidan militias in the east seem to be willing to take the first step.
Gun battle in Eastern Ukraine kills four
AFP, Apr 20 2014
Three pro-Russian militants and one attacker were killed in a gun battle near the volatile eastern Ukrainian town of Slavyansk early Sunday, a local leader told journalists. Vyatcheslav Ponomarev said the battle broke out at a barricade put up in a village east of Slavyansk, which is under the control of pro-Russian militants. Separatist gunmen maintain a firm grip over a string of towns across Ukraine’s industrial east despite an international deal signed last week demanding they vacate state buildings they are occupying. Authorities in Kiev say they have suspended military operations against the pro-Moscow rebels until after the Easter holidays, which end Monday, in a bid to give the agreement time to stick. The heads of the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches traded barbs over the crisis in the country as believers flocked to church for Easter services.
Deadly Ukraine gunbattle threatens fragile Easter truce
Graun, Apr 20 2014
Three pro-Russian militants and at least one other person were killed in a gunbattle near the volatile eastern Ukrainian town of Slavyansk early on Sunday, a local leader told journalists. Vyatcheslav Ponomarev said the battle broke out at a barricade put up in a village east of Slavyansk, which is under the control of pro-Russian militants. Rossiya 24, citing its correspondent in Slavyansk, said two “attackers” were killed, in a total death toll of five. Ukraine’s interior ministry in Kiev could not immediately be reached for comment and interior minister Arsen Avakov had no word of the reported incident on his Facebook page, where he usually posts updates on any clashes. The self-declared mayor of Slavyansk, who supports the pro-Russian separatists in the city, said there had been a clash overnight and there were casualties, a Reuters TV team in the city said. Separatist gunmen maintain a firm grip over a string of towns across Ukraine’s industrial east despite an international deal signed last week demanding they vacate state buildings they are occupying. Authorities in Kiev say they have suspended military operations against the pro-Moscow rebels until after the Easter holidays, which end on Monday, in a bid to give the agreement time to stick.
Niqnaq 