The struggle in Ukraine: An exchange of fire broke out this evening in the city of Kramatorsk, in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, after pro-Russian militants attempted to storm a local police building, Ukraine's interior minister said in a statement posted on his Facebook page.
The Interior Minister reported that the city's police station was under siege, and that police forces returned fire at the protesters. According to a report in the Russian news agency 'Itar-Tass', about 50 protesters broke into the building, shots were heard, but eyewitnesses, as well as the city's hospitals, reported no injuries.
Meanwhile, the pro-Russians are strengthening their grip on the eastern region of the country: the police chief of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine has succumbed to pressure and informed the pro-Russian protesters that he is resigning from his position.
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Reuters news agency reported that a Ukrainian flag had been flying above the police headquarters, but it was replaced with the separatist flag – black-blue-red.
Commander Konstantin Pozdeev told the protesters: "In accordance with your demands, I am leaving the post.".
The city of Donetsk is located in eastern Ukraine, 150 kilometers from the Russian border, and on Friday evening, pro-Russian protesters armed with automatic weapons set up checkpoints on roads leading to and from the city. Russian and separatist flags were flying on the makeshift checkpoints.
The events in Donetsk are another manifestation of the weakness of the government in Kiev. The ultimatum that the Ukrainian Prime Minister gave to the protesters expired yesterday, and despite his threats that they would be forcibly removed, no steps were taken by the government.
The protesters are dismissive of the threats from the government in Kiev. Yekaterina Gubareva, the foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Republic, has declared that Yatsenyuk's government is a 'junta.'.
Criticism of the government in Kiev also comes from within: tycoon Petro Poroshenko, the popular candidate for the presidency, sharply criticized the government's 'inaction' in light of the events in the east.
In addition to Donetsk, Slavyansk, located in eastern Russia, also fell into the hands of pro-Russian forces. Gunmen in camouflage uniforms took over the police station and raised separatist flags. In addition, police stations were attacked in the cities of Kramatorsk and Krasny-Lyman, also in the east of the country.
In response to the events, Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said: "The attacks by pro-Russian activists in the east of the country are an expression of Russia's aggression." On his Facebook page, he wrote: "What is the difference between terrorists and protesters? Terrorists have weapons.".
He promised that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry would act against the attackers, and that "the response will be very harsh.".
