By James Marson and Lukas I. Alpert
Pro-Russian forces opened fire Sunday on Ukrainian soldiers
trying to clear a police station in the eastern city of Slavyansk
that the armed and camouflage-clad men had seized the day before,
officials said.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the operation to
drive the approximately 20 men from the building was being directed
by the antiterrorist division of the state security service and had
enlisted forces from across the country's military and police
units.
"May God be with them," Mr. Avakov wrote on his Facebook page
early Sunday, announcing the operation had begun.
A short time later, he said that the men holed up inside the
building had begun firing at the Ukrainian special forces, seeking
to drive them out, and urged residents in the center of the eastern
Ukrainian city to remain indoors and away from their windows.
Residents reported seeing armored personnel carriers approaching
the city and helicopters flying overhead. Russian television
station Rossiya 24 reported that tires that had been used as a
barricade in front of the building had been set on fire and black
smoke could be seen above the city center.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com and Lukas I.
Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
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