KIEV, May 7 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian security forces have landed in the country’s southeastern port city of Berdyansk in the Zaporozhe region amid an ongoing “anti-terror” operation, a local news service said Wednesday.
According to pro.berdyansk.biz, a group of Ukrainian armored vehicles rolled into the city on the Azov Sea early in the morning.
Witnesses spoke of gunmen in black uniforms without insignia swarming the pier, who told locals they belonged to a special forces unit of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry taking part in the crackdown.
“They promised to share more details in a few days, but said there was no reason to panic,” the website said.
Berdyansk, a city of around 100,000, lies 200 kilometers from both the region’s capital city Zaporozhe and restive Donetsk.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian commandos surrounded Mariupol, another port city in the Donetsk region, raising roadblocks and posting armored vehicles at all city exits. One activist died and three were injured when the only federalist roadblock in the city was attacked on Tuesday.
Deadly clashes between pro-federalization supporters and Ukrainian security forces have raged across the country’s east and south, killing dozens and injuring hundreds, after Ukrainian authorities announced the launch of special operation to crack down on the protesters with military force.
Russia has repeatedly condemned Kiev’s military operation against the restive regions and urged an immediate withdrawal of Ukrainian troops, as well as the start of comprehensive national dialogue to de-escalate the situation in the crisis-hit country.
