Putin warns of consequences of Ukrainian use of army

ST PETERSBURG (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that if Kiev authorities have used the army against pro-Russian activists in east Ukraine there will be consequences.

"If these people have advanced to the so called 'acute phase' (of confrontation with protesters), this is not an acute phase, it is just a punitive operation and it will of course incur consequences for the people making these decisions, including (an effect) on our interstate relations," Putin said in a televised meeting with regional media. http://news.yahoo.com/putin-warns-consequences-ukrainian-army-10435...

Ukraine forces kill several separatists in Slaviansk operation

SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces clashed with pro-Russian militants as they closed in on the separatist-held city of Slaviansk on Thursday, seizing rebel checkpoints and setting up roadblocks as helicopters circled overhead.

Reuters journalists saw a Ukrainian military detachment with five armored personnel carriers take over a checkpoint on a road north of the city in late morning after it was abandoned by separatists who set tires alight to cover their retreat.

No shots were heard during that takeover but the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that its forces and troops from the Defence Ministry had killed "up to five terrorists" while destroying three militant checkpoints northeast of the center.

A separatist spokeswoman in Slaviansk said early in the morning that two fighters were killed in clash in the same area, near a road leading to the town of Sviatogorsk. http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-forces-kill-several-separatists-slavi...

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