KIEV, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – Catholic priest Pavel Vitek, traveling to see the abbot of the Polish Roman Catholic church Father Nicholai, disappeared on Tuesday afternoon in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk, a regional news website reported Wednesday.
“According to the organizers of the prayer tent on the Constitution Square, in the evening Pavel came to the area hosting daily interfaith prayer for peace in Ukraine, but the contact with him was then lost. Pavel’s whereabouts remain unknown,” the statement read.
Until recently, the special military operation launched by Kiev’s authorities in mid-April to suppress protests in the country’s east was confined to small towns throughout the targeted region, but since the beginning of the week, the regional capital of Donetsk has seen its first clashes.
On Monday, battles broke out at the Donetsk airport, with self-defense forces retreating after having been bombed by Ukrainian aircraft. National Guard units of the Kiev regime began moving towards the center of the city, but federalists blocked their path with vehicles, and shooting broke out. About 50 civilians died when Ukrainian troops opened fire at self-defense forces that were retreating through residential areas.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s heavily armed troops drove federalists deep into the heart of the city, prompting the local population to seek shelter elsewhere. Residents are reportedly stockpiling food and water, fearing the Ukrainian army will storm the city.
