Punitive operation resumes in east Ukraine

KIEV, May 5 (Itar-Tass) - An active stage of Ukrainian law enforcement operation resumed in the east of the country on Monday. “Mostly important is to ensure a perimeter of security around the regions where acts of violence occur,” chief press officer of the Ukrainian Security Service Marina Ostapenko said. Ukrainian special forces engaged in a battle with militiamen near the village of Semenovka on Slavyansk-Donetsk regional highway in east Ukraine, press officer of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic Alexander Maltsev said earlier in the day. Four armoured personnel carriers opened fire at checkpoints. A civilian was killed in the very city of Slavyansk as his car came under gunfire from an armoured personnel carrier on a road leading from the city. A news report came at 2pm Moscow time (10am GMT) from the city of Donetsk that militia failed to stop movement of armoured vehicles from Semenovka and armoured personnel carriers headed on the highway to Donetsk. Militia suffered no losses, several Ukrainian servicemen were wounded, coordinator of Donetsk defence force Vasily Kiselev told Itar-Tass. Two helicopters of airborne troops were noticed between the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. The self-defence forces are concentrated in all main cities and regional centres in east Ukraine, including Donetsk, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Novoselovka, Konstantinovka which are situated about several dozens of kilometres away from each other on the motor road. Military forces, units of paratroopers and helicopter gunships are massed on approaches to these strongholds. Notably, a mortar multiple fire launch system Grad was placed near the city of Kramatorsk and 30 trucks Ural of interior troops are noticed at the city. The Donetsk press service rejected Kiev authorities’ allegations that all plants were suspended in the city of Kramatorsk. “News reports that all plants are idle outside Donetsk are untrue. Novokramatorsky machine-building plant operates in routine mode despite a tense situation. Dimitrovsky experimental mechanical plant also keeps operating. The production also continues in daily mode in the city of Krasnoarmeisk,” Alexander Maltsev said. The city of Donetsk is preparing comprehensively to a referendum on the status of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic on May 11. The main question that will be put for a referendum is as follows, “Do you support an act of independence of the Donetsk state republic?”