Troops, rebels die in fighting at Slaviansk

Pro-Russian Cossacks pause to eat outside the regional administration building in Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine yesterday. Photo / AP

Rebels in Ukraine's eastern town of Slaviansk won a significant victory yesterday, shooting down a helicopter and killing four government troops in an ambush.

During about 90 minutes of fighting, the pro-Russian insurgents who control the town of 120,000 people dealt another blow to the "anti-terrorist" operation launched by Ukraine's new rulers. They lost three of their own men; one civilian was also killed.

The ambush happened on the outskirts of Slaviansk, near the junction between the main roads leading to the regional capitals, Donetsk and Kharkiv. A man who lives nearby said: "A lot of people were shot today. I saw the ambulances going past here. It was the self-defence forces of the town fighting the Government's troops."

The term "self-defence forces" is the accepted euphemism for the pro-Russian rebels who seized control of Slaviansk last month in the name of the "Donetsk People's Republic".

Ukraine's Government responded with a military operation designed to restore control over the Donetsk region. After two false starts, the operation had finally started to gain ground.

Last night AP reported that Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page that 30 pro-Russian insurgents had been killed during security operations in and near Slaviansk.

On Monday, the army established a checkpoint on the main road linking Slaviansk with Donetsk. About 20 soldiers and six armoured personnel carriers were deployed there yesterday. The strongpoint is carefully positioned to separate Slaviansk from the nearby town of Kramatorsk, which is also held by insurgents, and to choke off the flow of supplies.

Ukrainian forces have pressed closer to Slaviansk, apparently with the aim of sealing off the town. They have seized control of the television tower, a prominent landmark on a hill south of the town, overlooking a wide area.

The location of yesterday's battle - inside the perimeter of Slaviansk but still about half a mile away from the rebel headquarters near the central square - suggests that government troops are trying to tighten the noose.

But the ambush appeared to have thwarted their efforts. The Interior Minister promised to press on with the offensive, saying: "My mission is to eliminate the terrorists."

Later, a Ukrainian MI-24 helicopter gunship was shot down by machinegun fire outside the town. The Defence Ministry said the aircraft had been "patrolling near" Slaviansk when it came under attack. The helicopter crashed in a river and all the crew were safe. "The operational team of the counter-terrorist centre evacuated them to base," added the ministry statement. It was the third helicopter that Ukrainian forces have lost near Slaviansk in the past four days. Two were shot down on Saturday.

The authorities believe that about 800 insurgents are inside the town, equipped with armoured personnel carriers they captured from the Ukrainian army during the first phase of the offensive.