Ukraine Crisis: Heavy Fighting in Pro-Russian Separatist Stronghold

Deaths Reported on Both Sides From Sustained Fighting in Slovyansk

The Wall Street Journal

By LUKAS I. ALPERT and ANDREA THOMAS

Updated May 5, 2014 12:32 p.m. ET

Heavy fighting erupted Monday around a pro-Russian separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine, with dozens of casualties reported as the standoff between insurgents and the government entered a more dangerous phase.

The fighting was the most sustained since acting President Oleksandr Turchynov first sent troops to eastern Ukraine about three weeks ago, in what he called an antiterrorist operation. Accounts from both sides suggested the military was pushing further into the volatile, heavily defended city of Slovyansk, following days of intermittent clashes focused there.

Mr. Turchynov reiterated Monday that the government was prepared to negotiate with the pro-Russian protesters, who are seeking greater autonomy for eastern Ukraine.

But in a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said discussions with "someone who picks up and uses weapons against citizens of Ukraine" would be impossible.

Germany floated the idea of another round of talks in Geneva between Ukraine, the European Union, the U.S. and Russia to send a "strong political signal" that last month's agreement—which both sides have accused the other of ignoring—will be implemented.

Speaking on German television, Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier said he was "not confident at all" that such a meeting would be successful, if held. But he said there weren't many other alternatives left to resolve the crisis peacefully.

U.S. officials gave up on the Geneva agreement last week when they announced new sanctions, but said Monday that they still favor negotiations.

"We continue to support a diplomatic resolution to this crisis, and we'll continue to discuss potential options for diplomacy with our European partners," said a State Department official.

Russia's Foreign Ministry called on Kiev to "stop the bloodshed, withdraw forces and finally sit down at the negotiating table." It also accused the government of "terrorism against their own people" by deploying the military and said a "humanitarian catastrophe" is brewing in the region.

Monday morning, Ukrainian forces around Slovyansk met with strong resistance from a group of about 800 pro-Russian fighters armed with large caliber weapons, mortars and other equipment, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

The Interior Ministry said four Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 30 injured, and an unknown number of militants had been wounded.

A separatist spokesman, who wasn't identified, told the Interfax news agency that there had been a large number of dead among the rebel fighters following pitched battles in various parts of the city, part of the Donetsk region.

"The fighting is still under way. We have managed to stop the enemy from advancing deep into the city but it was with great difficulty. We have a lot of victims—maybe more than 20 people," he was quoted as saying.

He said a gas station had exploded after being hit by gunfire, sending up a large fireball. Ukraine's Defense Ministry said a Mi-24 helicopter had been shot down by machine-gun fire and had crashed into a river, but the pilots escaped unharmed.

The ministry also said that a pilot taken captive by militants during heavy fighting last week in which two helicopters were shot down had been rescued Monday. It said it had disrupted an effort by rebel fighters to convert railway coal carriers into armored cars.

The Interior Ministry said some civilians had been hurt in the fighting. It blamed separatists for using them as human shields.

In the call with Ms. Merkel, Mr. Turchynov stressed that the military operation was only targeting those who had taken up arms, according to a statement on the presidential website.

The combat comes after the deadliest day of fighting on Friday, when 46 people were killed in rioting and a deadly fire in the Black Sea port city of Odessa.

In the eastern region of Luhansk on Monday, an armed pro-Russian mob overran a police station in a small city and beat up the police chief, according to the Interior Ministry.

Tensions also rose in Crimea, which some separatists in eastern Ukraine are hoping to follow in breaking away from Kiev. The new authorities warned leaders of the minority Crimean Tatar community, who strongly opposed Russia's annexation, that they faced possible charges for protesting the exiling of a senior colleague.

The Ukrainian government and the West have repeatedly blamed Russia for instigating the unrest and of helping to organize it by sending in Russian military-intelligence officers. Moscow has denied playing any role in the uprising.

Ukraine is seeking to regain control in the east ahead of presidential elections scheduled for May 25, while pro-Russian militants plan a May 11 referendum in areas under their control on the region's future.

The Obama administration and its European allies have said in recent days that they could move to impose broad economic sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin is seen as undermining Ukrainian presidential elections scheduled for May 25.

The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions chief, David Cohen, will visit Europe this week to continue consultations with allied governments on sanctions.

Mr. Cohen is scheduled to visit Germany, France and the U.K. as well as Israel, according to senior U.S. officials.

Germany is proposing a new round of talks between Ukraine, the EU, the U.S. and Russia in Geneva to send a "strong political signal" that previous agreements will be implemented

Mr. Steinmeier, the German minister, emphasized that it is crucial to hold the presidential election and that all parties to the conflict must negotiate a reform of the country's constitution.

"It might help to realize that Russia and Ukraine will doubtlessly lose most if it is still not possible to change tack at the moment," he wrote in a piece to be published in Tuesday's editions of Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Steffen Seibert, spokesman for the chancellor, said she backed Mr. Steinmeier's proposal and that such a meeting should strengthen the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in its mediating role.

"Geneva was an important intermediate step but doubtlessly not sufficient," Mr. Steinmeier said on ZDF television.

—Jay Solomon contributed to this article.

Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com and Andrea Thomas at andrea.thomas@wsj.com