A picture shows a burning house in the aftermath of combats between anti-government and Ukrainian forces in Slavyansk, southeastern Ukraine, on June 8, 2014. (AFP Photo)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on fighters to lay down their arms as the crisis deepens, with dozens dead, hundreds wounded and tens of thousands of refugees. In the last few days, 20,000 people have crossed the border into Russia.
Wednesday, June 11
23:40 GMT:
The outskirts of Slavyansk were fired at with incendiary bombs, local self-defense forces told RIA Novosti. Eyewitnesses said the bombs exploded in the air, not far from the ground, then broke off into smaller pieces and caused several fires.
21:36 GMT:
The self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Lugansk sent a letter to 15 countries, as well as Russian constituencies, asking to be recognized as an independent state, RIA Novosti quoted the republic’s spokesperson as saying. Some of the recipients included Russia, Abkhazia, Belorussia, South Ossetia, Russia's Republic of Chechnya, Armenia, Syria, Serbia, Cuba, and China, the spokesperson added.
21:12 GMT:
A Crimean inter-agency task force on refugees has called on the Crimean government to impose a state of emergency in several districts hit by an influx of refugees from Ukraine, Interfax reports.
According to the task force’s head, Irina Kluyeva, such a move would allow the republic's reserves to be spent on aid and assistance to refugees.
Some 100 Ukrainian refugees are crossing into Crimea daily. About 1,300 refugees, mostly women and children, are already registered in the centralized aid program. Some 5,000 to 7,000 refugees have entered the Russian republic to stay with relatives and friends.
20:00 GMT:
The Ukrainian government must stop its military operation and agree to a ceasefire with eastern Ukrainians fighting against Kiev forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry over the phone.
According to a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov stressed the importance of direct talks between Kiev and the self-proclaimed authorities of eastern Ukrainian regions, and called for a “real national dialogue on Ukraine’s future structure.”
The minister said that Kiev should also be looking for a solution to pressing humanitarian issues in eastern Ukraine.
Both Kerry and Lavrov spoke in support of the efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on the de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
19:45 GMT:
The situation in Donetsk Region’s cities is “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe” and imposing martial law “would only make the situation worse,” said the mayor of the city of Donetsk, Aleksandr Lukyanchenko, as quoted by UNIAN news agency.
According to the news agency, some 40 percent of Slavyansk residents have already left the city, which has been turned into a battleground in clashes between Ukrainian forces and self-defense fighters. Half of the buildings in Slavyansk have reportedly been destroyed or damaged in the relentless army shelling.
Some 15,000 people have also left the city of Donetsk during Kiev’s military operation. However, it has been deemed impossible to evacuate the entire city, which has a population of almost one million.
19:18 GMT:
The Ukrainian army should close off the country’s border with Russia and “fire from tanks and APCs at anyone attempting to cross the border,” the Ukrainian interior minister’s advisor, Anton Gerashchenko, told local Channel 5. A state of martial law should also be imposed in eastern Ukrainian regions, the official believes. According to Gerashchenko, this would “physically prevent” male adults from Russia – who are said to be volunteering to fight against the Kiev forces – from crossing the border and joining with Donetsk and Lugansk self-defense troops.
17:33 GMT:
Since the beginning of April, 270 people have died and 713 others have been injured in Kiev's military crackdown in eastern Ukraine, according to health officials.
“225 people have died in Donetsk region, 576 people have asked for treatment for wounds in hospital, currently 150 people are hospitalized. Since the beginning of the standoff 45 people have died in Lugansk region, in all 137 people were injured,” the statement on Ukraine’s Ministry of Health website reads.
These new figures have been revised, according to the ministry.
15:39 GMT:
Russian journalists reporting for Channel 1 came under fire from tanks in the village of Semyonovka near Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, said a statement on the channel’s website.
"Today, a Channel 1crew currently working in the village Semyonovka came under fire in the Donetsk Region. This, as they say, is the vanguard edge of Slavyansk defense."
The statement reads that the buildings in Semyonovka were shelled from armored vehicles. The journalists were taking an interview with the self-defense troops “from the front lines” when the “new shelling” began. The number of injured is unclear.
10:11 GMT:
The Public Health Ministry of Ukraine has released the latest data on victims of the“counter-terrorist operation” in eastern regions of the country, reported RIA Novosti, quoting the Ukraine National News agency.
Official statistics claim that 210 people, among them 19 children, died in the special operation by the Ukrainian government against the federalist insurgents in the Lugansk and Donetsk Regions.
“Over 50 people died yesterday in both the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions,” stated Health Minister Oleg Musiy. The minister particularly stressed that his data is based solely on statistics from hospitals and morgues.
The minister also did not mention whether the stats include both civilian and military losses.
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