Border post on the frontier abandoned by Ukrainian soldiers, taken over by pro-Russian militia

(4 Jun 2014) Pro-Russian rebels on Wednesday forced Ukrainian border guards out of their base in the eastern town of Sverdlovsk on the Russian border. The guards there were granted a safe exit and left with their weapons, rebels said. A rebel fighter from the Cossacks 100 unit, who gave only his first name, Andrei, said they want to create a "humanitarian corridor" that would allow civilians to flee to Russia to escape the fighting. "We want to be with Russia and we have taken the first step," Andrei added. Pro-Russia fighters dislodged government troops from two other bases in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday. Earlier on Wednesday at a base near the eastern city of Luhansk, the National Guard forces ran out of ammunition while fighting the rebels and had to leave the base. Six militants were killed and three Ukrainian servicemen were injured in the fighting. Also Wednesday, rebels seized another border guard base on Luhansk's outskirts following a nearly two-day-long siege. The setbacks highlighted the ineffectiveness of Ukraine's badly trained and cash-starved armed forces, who also have been plagued by bad communication and poor supply lines. Ukraine's provisional authorities have blamed the recent military failures on pro-Russia former President Viktor Yanukovych, claiming that his corrupt government starved soldiers of resources and training. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...