Gunfire and blasts around city held by pro-Russian insurgents

(2 May 2014) Gunfire and blasts were heard early on Friday around an eastern city in Ukraine that has become the focus of an armed pro-Russian insurgency. The self-appointed leaders of Slovyansk claimed that government troops had launched a military assault in an attempt to retake control. The official spokesman for the military wing of the pro-Russian forces said fighting had broken out at several points around the city. He said government armoured vehicles were seen on roads leading into Slovyansk and claimed that Ukrainian troops had made incursions into the city itself. Details of these claims could not be independently confirmed. The insurgency-appointed mayor of Slovyansk said self-defence forces had shot down two helicopters, killing one pilot and capturing the other. The Ukrainian interior minister confirmed on his official Facebook page that one pilot was killed and another wounded, but did not say how. The minister said troops had met fierce resistance from armed pro-Russia forces, but had managed to take control of nine checkpoints on roads around Slovyansk. It appeared to be the first major assault against the insurgents, who have seized police stations and government buildings in about a dozen cities in the south-east. The armed element of the insurgency is focused on Slovyansk, a city 160 kilometres (100 miles) west of Russia, in which seven European military observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe remain held by pro-Russia gunmen. 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...