Thirty pro-Russia insurgents and four government troops have been killed during operations to expunge anti-government forces around a key eastern city, the Ukrainian interior minister reported yesterday.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov gave the death toll on his Facebook page yesterday, adding that 20 government troops were also injured during fighting in Slovyansk, a city of 125,000.
It was not exactly clear when the deaths took place.
Photo: EPA
Gunbattles around the city on Monday were the interim government’s most ambitious effort to date to quell weeks of unrest in the country’s mainly Russian-speaking east.
Avakov said on Monday about 800 pro-Russia forces in and around Slovyansk were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars, and there were injured on both sides.
By yesterday morning, Ukrainian forces had taken hold of a key checkpoint north of the city, dealing a blow to insurgents’ lines of communication. The checkpoint had come under repeated attack since the government offensive began.
In Donetsk, a major city 120km south of Slovyansk, international flights were suspended yesterday. Donetsk airport said the cancellations followed a government order.
Ukraine is facing its worst crisis in decades as the polarized nation of 46 million tries to decide whether to look toward Europe, as its western regions want to do, or improve ties with Russia, which is favored by the country’s many Russian-speakers in the east. Dozens of government offices and police stations in eastern Ukraine have been seized by armed insurgents and anti-government crowds over the past weeks.
Ukraine blames Moscow for fomenting the unrest in the east, saying it is an attempt to derail Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source