Siege of Sloviansk

{{Further|War in Donbas (2014–2022)}}

File:2014-04-14 Sloviansk city council - 2.jpg rocket launchers.]]

On 12 April, a fifty-strong unit of heavily-armed Russian militants{{Cite book |last=Plokhy |first=Serhii |url=https://www.google.cz/books/edition/The_Russo_Ukrainian_War_The_Return_of_Hi/e3eoEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Girkin,+for+example,+led+a+group+of+Russian+mercenaries+in+seizing+the&pg=PT100&printsec=frontcover |title=The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History |date=2023-05-09 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-1-324-05120-6 |pages=125 |language=en |quote=Girkin, for example, led a group of Russian mercenaries in seizing the key transportation center of Sloviansk in the Donetsk oblast.}} captured Sloviansk's administration building, police station, and Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) building, and set up roadblocks with the help of local armed activists.{{cite news|last=Rachkevych|first=Mark|title=Armed pro-Russian extremists launch coordinated attacks in Donetsk Oblast, seize buildings and set up checkpoints|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/armed-pro-russian-extremists-seize-police-stations-in-donetsks-slavyansk-shaktarysk-fail-to-take-donetsk-prosecutors-office-343195.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=12 April 2014|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-date=12 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412220946/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/armed-pro-russian-extremists-seize-police-stations-in-donetsks-slavyansk-shaktarysk-fail-to-take-donetsk-prosecutors-office-343195.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal |title=Аваков: В Славянске неизвестные захватили здания милиции |journal=Komsomolskaya Pravda |date=12 April 2014 |url=http://www.kp.ru/online/news/1709579/ |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-date=14 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414190645/http://www.kp.ru/online/news/1709579/ |url-status=live }} The unit were Russian Armed Forces 'volunteers' under the command of Russian GRU colonel Igor Girkin ('Strelkov'). They had been sent from Russian-occupied Crimea and wore no insignia. According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, gunmen fired indiscriminately on the administration building.{{cite web |script-title=uk:У М. СЛОВ'ЯНСЬКУ ЗАХОПЛЕНО БУДІВЛЮ СБУ |publisher=Ukrainian Interior Ministry |date=12 April 2014 |url=http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/control/main/uk/publish/article/1024471 |language=uk |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413140351/http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/control/main/uk/publish/article/1024471 |url-status=dead }} Raiding the police armoury, the militants seized at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons. "The aim of the takeover was the guns," a Ukrainian police statement said. "They are giving these guns to participants in the protest in Sloviansk.".{{cite news|last=Oliphant|first=Roland|title=Fears of full-scale Russian invasion as eastern Ukraine cities toppled|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10763008/Fears-of-full-scale-Russian-invasion-as-eastern-Ukraine-cities-toppled.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=12 April 2014|access-date=3 April 2018|archive-date=7 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207063456/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10763008/Fears-of-full-scale-Russian-invasion-as-eastern-Ukraine-cities-toppled.html|url-status=live}} After takeover of the city by militants, Sloviansk mayor Nelya Shtepa briefly appeared at an occupied police station and expressed support for the militants. Others gathered outside the building and similarly voiced their support. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to Kyiv". Nelya Shtepa was later arrested by the insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Girkin said that this action sparked the Donbas War. He said "I'm the one who pulled the trigger of war. If our unit hadn't crossed the border, everything would have fizzled out, like in Kharkiv, like in Odessa". He explained that "nobody there wanted to fight" until his unit seized Sloviansk.{{Cite news |last=Bidder |first=Benjamin |title=Russian Far-Right Idol: The Man Who Started the War in Ukraine |work=Der Spiegel |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-ukraine-war-from-perspective-of-russian-nationalists-a-1023801.html |access-date=27 August 2015 |quote=But his big moment would only come later. In April 2014, Strelkov, joined by armed irregulars from Russia, marched from Crimea to the provincial city of Sloviansk, which is strategically located between the population centers of Donetsk and Kharkiv. "In the beginning, nobody there wanted to fight," Strelkov recalls. He and his men attacked a police station in Sloviansk and created facts on the ground.}}

The following morning the Ukrainian government announced a counter-terrorism operation in the city.{{cite news | url=http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/13/counter-terrorism-operation-announced-in-sloviansk/ | title=Counter-terrorism Operation Announced in Sloviansk | work=Official Public Relations Secretariat for the Headquarters of the National Resistance in Kyiv, Ukraine | date=13 April 2014 | last=Babiak | first=Mat | access-date=16 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422214843/http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/13/counter-terrorism-operation-announced-in-sloviansk/ | archive-date=22 April 2014 | url-status=dead}} An ultimatum was given for the separatists to disarm and surrender to authorities within 48 hours.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Police began the operation by clearing a highway checkpoint controlled by separatists. A group of insurgents exited their vehicle and opened fire on the Ukrainian police, killing two SBU officers and injuring several Ukrainian military personnel. One separatist was also killed in the shootout, while the remainder fled into the woods. The car the gunmen were in had a Poltava Oblast license plate, which was traced to the private security firm Yavir. In an unrelated shootout in the city itself, two people were shot dead by an assailant in plainclothes, and another was wounded.{{cite news|title=Counter-Terror Operation in Donetsk|url=http://ukrainianpolicy.com/counter-terror-operation-in-donetsk/|access-date=14 April 2014|newspaper=Ukrainian Policy|date=14 April 2014|archive-date=15 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415042954/http://ukrainianpolicy.com/counter-terror-operation-in-donetsk/|url-status=live}}

By the next day Sloviansk was reported to be under pro-Russian control, with more important government buildings and other areas taken by the militants. The Ukrainian army ground forces were deployed on the same day, after the separatists declined the ultimatum to lay down their arms. Two civilians were shot and killed at point blank range by pro-Russian militants in a car in Sloviansk; another one was wounded.{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/two-reportedly-killed-in-point-blank-attack-on-car-in-sloviansk-343354.html |title=Two reportedly killed in point-blank attack on car in Sloviansk |work=Kyiv Post |date=14 April 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-date=25 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425025303/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/two-reportedly-killed-in-point-blank-attack-on-car-in-sloviansk-343354.html |url-status=live }}

File:Sloviansk standoff - 18-20 April 2014 - 01.jpg

Ukrainian forces launched their first military offensive to regain control of the Kramatorsk regional air base, using transport helicopters and armoured vehicles. Militants attempted to regain control of the airport, resulting in heavy fighting, but were not successful. Russian media estimated that this clash resulted in between four and eleven deaths.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} The leader of the government military operation, General Vasyl Krutov, was attacked by pro-Russian sympathizers after addressing a crowd demonstrating in front of the air base. Ukrainian armoured units were reported to be encircling Sloviansk to blockade all approach routes.{{cite news|url=http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/15/3388728/ukraine-leader-announces-anti.html|title=Ukraine bares teeth against eastern uprising|date=15 April 2014|work=The State|agency=Associated Press|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416225027/http://www.thestate.com/2014/04/15/3388728/ukraine-leader-announces-anti.html|archive-date=16 April 2014|url-status=dead}}

File:2014-04-14 Sloviansk city council - 3.jpg

First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema claimed that elements of the 45th Russian airborne division were seen in the Sloviansk area on 16 April.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-15/ukraine-deploys-military-as-russia-evokes-civil-war-risk|title=Ukraine Deploys Military as Russia Evokes Specter of Civil War|website=Bloomberg News|first1=Jake|last1=Rudnitsky|first2=James|last2=Neuger|first3=Kateryna|last3=Choursina|date=15 April 2014|access-date=8 April 2021|url-access=subscription|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111195452/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-15/ukraine-deploys-military-as-russia-evokes-civil-war-risk|url-status=live}} Six Ukrainian armoured vehicles drove through Sloviansk bearing Russian flags, after their crews had apparently defected to the separatist cause.{{Cite journal |title=Turchynov orders traitor airborne division disbanded (LIVE UPDATES) |journal=Kyiv Post |date=17 April 2014 |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/turchynov-orders-traitor-airborne-division-disbanded-live-updates-343912.html |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419223544/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/turchynov-orders-traitor-airborne-division-disbanded-live-updates-343912.html |url-status=live }} The 25th Airborne Brigade that had been blockading Sloviansk was then disbanded on orders of Ukraine's president. The government announced that the soldiers responsible would be court martialled.{{Cite news |title=Ukraine disbands army unit after fiasco push into east |agency=Agence France-Presse |newspaper=Yahoo News |date=17 April 2014 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-disbands-army-unit-fiasco-push-east-144943083.html |access-date=15 January 2017 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421051633/http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-disbands-army-unit-fiasco-push-east-144943083.html |url-status=live }}

On 18 April, Sloviansk "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev announced a "hunt" for Ukrainian speakers in the Donetsk region, commanding the militants to report suspicious activity, especially if they heard that the Ukrainian language was used.{{cite news |url=http://www.unian.net/politics/909679-separatistyi-v-slavyanske-obyyavili-ohotu-na-ukrainoyazyichnyih-smi.html |title=Сепаратисты в Славянске объявили "охоту" на украиноязычных – СМИ : Новости УНИАН |agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |date=18 April 2014 |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421015338/http://www.unian.net/politics/909679-separatistyi-v-slavyanske-obyyavili-ohotu-na-ukrainoyazyichnyih-smi.html |url-status=live }}

Ukrainian media claimed that the Zhytomyr Armoured Brigade recaptured two of the six armoured vehicles near Kramatorsk late on 18 April. No fatalities were recorded while one separatist was wounded.{{cite web |author=Mark Rachkevych |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukraine-recaptures-two-airborne-combat-vehicles-on-eve-of-truce-344274.html |title=Ukraine recaptures two airborne combat vehicles on eve of truce |work=Kyiv Post |date=19 April 2014 |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=19 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419221428/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukraine-recaptures-two-airborne-combat-vehicles-on-eve-of-truce-344274.html |url-status=live }} Following negotiations, a compromise was reached to return the remaining four BMDs to the Ukrainian military,{{cite web |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/19/7023058/ |title=Українські військові переконали екстремістів повернути ще 4 БМД | Українська правда |work=Ukrayinska Pravda |access-date=19 April 2014 |archive-date=22 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422074526/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/19/7023058/ |url-status=live }} but an official from the Ministry of Defence announced that the vehicles were still in the hands of the rebels as of 23 April.[http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/23/7023374/ Міноборони: У сепаратистів залишилися 4 БМД] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426120323/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/23/7023374/ |date=26 April 2014 }}. Ukrayinska Pravda, 23 April 2014

In a later interview, Igor Strelkov, the commander of the pro-Russian forces at Sloviansk, claimed that they had six armoured vehicles, including a BMD-1, BMD-2, and a mortar carrier.[http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/stre_lkov_opolchentsi_vbivatimut_ukraiinskih_viyskovih_yakshcho_ti_nadali_vikonuvatimut_svoii_obovyazki_1933132 Стрєлков: "Ополченці" вбиватимуть українських військових, якщо ті надалі виконуватимуть свої обов'язки] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428104044/http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/stre_lkov_opolchentsi_vbivatimut_ukraiinskih_viyskovih_yakshcho_ti_nadali_vikonuvatimut_svoii_obovyazki_1933132 |date=28 April 2014 }}. Ukrinform, 26 April 2014

File:Sloviansk standoff - 18-20 April 2014 - 04.jpg

A truce for Easter was called by the Ukrainian government, which promised to temporarily halt military action in eastern Ukraine on 19 April.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Pro-Russian members of the Donbass People's Militia began a pogrom targeting the Romani population of the town. According to the International Renaissance Foundation, a Ukrainian NGO, separatist militiamen entered houses inhabited by Romanis, beat the residents, including women and children, and stole their property.{{cite web |url=http://www.romea.cz/en/news/world/international-renaissance-foundation-stop-ethnic-violance-in-slovyansk |title=International Renaissance Foundation: Stop Ethnic {{as written|Viol|ance [sic]}} in Slovyansk! – |date=19 April 2014 |publisher=Romea.cz |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421051228/http://www.romea.cz/en/news/world/international-renaissance-foundation-stop-ethnic-violance-in-slovyansk |url-status=live }} The militants claimed they were acting on orders from "people's mayor" and militant leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev.{{cite news|title=Pro-Russian Separatists Loot, Assault Romani in Sloviansk|url=http://ukrainianpolicy.com/pro-russian-separatists-loot-assault-romani-in-sloviansk/|newspaper=Ukrainian Policy|date=19 April 2014|access-date=20 April 2014|archive-date=22 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422030418/http://ukrainianpolicy.com/pro-russian-separatists-loot-assault-romani-in-sloviansk/|url-status=live}} Reports of the attacks were confirmed by Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, as well as a heightened level of xenophobic rhetoric at separatist rallies.{{cite news |url=http://www.unian.net/politics/909791-yatsenyuk-poruchil-privlekat-k-otvetstvennosti-za-rasprostranenie-antisemitizma-i-ksenofobii.html |title=Яценюк поручил привлекать к ответственности за распространение антисемитизма и ксенофобии : Новости УНИАН |agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |date=19 April 2014 |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=20 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420022602/http://www.unian.net/politics/909791-yatsenyuk-poruchil-privlekat-k-otvetstvennosti-za-rasprostranenie-antisemitizma-i-ksenofobii.html |url-status=live }} Prime Minister Yatsenyuk said that the government will not tolerate incitement of ethnic hatred and instructed law enforcement agencies to identify those involved in the attacks on Romani. According to Ponomarev, he held talks with Romani who he alleged were involved in drug trafficking, and "removed them from the city." Ponomarev said the incidents were not attacks on Romani, but rather "cleaning drugs out of the city."{{cite web |url=http://novosti.dn.ua/details/223263/ |title=Новости Донбасса :: Сепаратисты объяснили погромы ромов в Славянске |publisher=Novosti.dn.ua |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421050956/http://novosti.dn.ua/details/223263/ |url-status=live }}

Separatists kidnapped Euromaidan activist and journalist Irma Krat who had arrived in the city to cover the conflict. They later paraded her blindfolded in front of the press.{{cite web |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/20/7023129/ |title=У Слов'янську сепаратисти викрали активістку жіночої сотні Майдану | Українська правда |work=Ukrayinska Pravda |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=25 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425143206/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/20/7023129/ |url-status=live }}

On 20 April, 20 Right Sector members led by Dmytro Yarosh were covertly sent by acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov to destroy the transformer of the Slavyansk television station on Karachun mountain. When their four-car convoy attempted to pass an insurgent-controlled checkpoint, a gunfight broke out, leading to the first combat fatalities of the conflict. Subsequently, the insurgents' claimed that they were attacked by Right Sector,{{cite news|last=Lister|first=Tim|title=Mysterious fatal shooting in eastern Ukraine|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/world/europe/ukraine-shooting/index.html?eref=mobiles_republic|publisher=CNN|date=20 April 2014|access-date=20 April 2014|archive-date=21 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421052038/http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/20/world/europe/ukraine-shooting/index.html?eref=mobiles_republic|url-status=live}} but this was denied by the Kyiv government until two years later, when Dmytro Yarosh admitted that it was true. The two accounts continue to differ on which side shot first.

File:Sloviansk - Crowd Chanting by Barricades.webm

The pro-Russian separatists in Sloviansk claimed to have confiscated firearms including a German World War II-era MG-42 machine gun, a night vision device, aerial photos of Sloviansk, military uniforms, camping tools, US cash, and an alleged Right Sector business card of presidential candidate Dmytro Yarosh.{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/rebels-ukraine-town-call-russian-peacekeepers-gun-battle-131650289.html |title=US stands with Ukraine in face of 'humiliating threats': Biden – Yahoo News |publisher=Yahoo! News |date=22 April 2014 |access-date=15 January 2017 |archive-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140514165231/http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-ukraine-town-call-russian-peacekeepers-gun-battle-131650289.html |url-status=live }} Right Sector symbols including a medallion were also claimed to have been found. Right Sector spokesman Artem Skoropadsky denied the group's involvement in the attack, and blamed Russian special forces for it.{{cite news|title=Ukraine forces accuse Russia of staging shooting|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-slaviansk-security-idUSBREA3J0BR20140420|work=Reuters|date=20 April 2014|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=15 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215081729/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-slaviansk-security-idUSBREA3J0BR20140420|url-status=live}} "We don't have ID cards with numbers. We only have ID cards with letters, where we mention the department where the person works," said Boryslav Bereza, head of the information department for Right Sector. CNN called the phone number on the calling card and reached a woman who expressed surprise at the situation. She said that she was in Kyiv and had no relation to anyone in Right Sector. Viktoriya Siumar, deputy head of Ukraine's National Security Council, said the shooting was being investigated, but that there were indications that it was "an argument between local criminal groups".{{cite web |author=James Reynolds |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27093347 |title=Ukraine unrest: Russian outrage at fatal Sloviansk shooting |publisher=BBC |date=20 April 2014 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621235328/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27093347 |url-status=live }}

Sky News correspondent Katie Stallard said there were inconsistencies in the separatists' accounts and there was no coherent evidence to back up their claims.{{cite news|title=Ukraine: 'Five Killed at Separatist Checkpoint'|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1245880/ukraine-five-killed-at-separatist-checkpoint|publisher=Sky News|date=20 April 2014|access-date=20 April 2014|archive-date=20 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140420105958/http://news.sky.com/story/1245880/ukraine-five-killed-at-separatist-checkpoint|url-status=live}} Daniel Sandford of the BBC described the evidence presented as "dubious".

File:Sloviansk standoff - 18-20 April 2014 - 08.jpg The video released by Russian TV which claimed to show the identifying badges of the Right Sector turned out to have been filmed ten hours before the actual attack took place, as evidenced by the time stamp, which the Russian camera crew forgot to remove.{{cite journal | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/04/20/putin-propagandists-caught-red-handed-again-pro-russian-self-defense-forces-capture-snipers-diapers/ | title=Putin Propagandists Caught Red-Handed Again: Pro-Russian Self-Defense Forces Capture Snipers' Diapers | author=Gregory, Paul Roderick | journal=Forbes | date=April 2014 | access-date=11 September 2017 | archive-date=30 August 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830214134/https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2014/04/20/putin-propagandists-caught-red-handed-again-pro-russian-self-defense-forces-capture-snipers-diapers/ | url-status=live }}

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said at least three separatists were killed and three wounded in what it suspected might have been an incident set up by Russian agents. "Armed lawbreakers and saboteurs who are terrorizing the local population around Slaviansk ... have turned to cynical provocation," the SBU security service said in a statement, describing the incident as a "staged attack". No group was present "other than the saboteurs and crime figures, supported and armed by officers of Russia's GRU" military intelligence, the SBU added. They also noted "One cannot but suspect the speed with which camera crews from Russian TV stations appeared at the scene of the shooting, and the obviously staged subject matter of news reports in the Russian media." The alleged Dmytro Yarosh business card was widely mocked on Ukrainian and Russian social media.{{cite web |url=http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/20/hashtag-yaroshs-business-card-blows-the-internet-away/ |title=Hashtag 'Yarosh's business card' blows the internet away |publisher=Euromaidan PR |date=20 April 2014 |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421100418/http://euromaidanpr.com/2014/04/20/hashtag-yaroshs-business-card-blows-the-internet-away/ |url-status=live }} In 2016, on the second anniversary of the attack, Dmytro Yarosh talked to Censor.net, corroborating that he did in fact lead the attack (though the actual combat leader was an unnamed Afghan national), and gave a detailed account of it.

Following the incident, "people's mayor" Ponomarev appealed to Russia to intervene militarily.{{cite web |url=http://www.unian.ua/politics/909926-samoprogolosheniy-narodniy-mer-slovyanska-poprosiv-putina-vvesti-u-region-viyska-zmi.html |title=Самопроголошений "народний мер" Слов'янська попросив Путіна ввести у регіон війська – ЗМІ : Новини УНІАН |publisher=Unian.ua |date=20 April 2014 |access-date=20 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421064005/http://www.unian.ua/politics/909926-samoprogolosheniy-narodniy-mer-slovyanska-poprosiv-putina-vvesti-u-region-viyska-zmi.html |url-status=live }} Ponomarev then instituted a curfew in the city.{{cite news |url=http://www.unian.net/politics/909979-samoprovozglashennyiy-mer-slavyanska-vvel-komendantskiy-chas.html |title=Самопровозглашенный мэр Славянска ввел комендантский час : Новости УНИАН |agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |date=21 April 2014 |access-date=21 April 2014 |archive-date=21 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421083554/http://www.unian.net/politics/909979-samoprovozglashennyiy-mer-slavyanska-vvel-komendantskiy-chas.html |url-status=live }}

It was later reported that the man killed at the checkpoint was Pavel Pavelko, a resident of the surrounding area.{{cite web|url=http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/04/21/sloviansk-shooting-victim-identified-april-20-2014/|title=Sloviansk Shooting Victim Identified - April 20, 2014 -|first=About the Source Euromaidan Press|last=Staff|date=21 April 2014|publisher=Euromaidan Press|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=13 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813193359/http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/04/21/sloviansk-shooting-victim-identified-april-20-2014/|url-status=live}}

File:Civilians block ukrainian military near Slavyansk.jpg

File:Sloviansk standoff - 18-20 April 2014 - 09.jpg (OSCE) markings]]

OSCE monitors were barred from the city by the separatists on 21 April. An OSCE team "has been in Donetsk but has not yet made progress," one diplomat said. "They are trying to get back into Slovyansk, but pro-Russian demonstrators have been blocking the way." An OSCE assessment released Monday described the situation as "very tense" in Donetsk and as "deteriorating" in Sloviansk, where "the entire town is under the control of armed groups."{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pro-russian-separatists-block-monitors-from-buildings-in-east-ukraine-diplomats-say/2014/04/21/6276ae4a-c966-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html |title=Pro-Russian separatists block monitors from buildings in east Ukraine, diplomats say |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=20 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320160319/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pro-russian-separatists-block-monitors-from-buildings-in-east-ukraine-diplomats-say/2014/04/21/6276ae4a-c966-11e3-93eb-6c0037dde2ad_story.html |url-status=live }}

Ukrainian officials distributed photos to the U.N and U.S councils allegedly showing that pro-Russian militants were undercover Russian special forces. Other photos showed militants equipped and dressed the same as Russian soldiers in Crimea.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/world/europe/photos-link-masked-men-in-east-ukraine-to-russia.html |title=Photos Link Masked Men in East Ukraine to Russia |newspaper=The New York Times |date=21 April 2014 |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213132420/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/world/europe/photos-link-masked-men-in-east-ukraine-to-russia.html |url-status=live |last1=Higgins |first1=Andrew }}

A Ukrainian military surveillance plane was damaged by small arms fire as it was on a reconnaissance flight over Sloviansk on 21 April, but safely made an emergency landing. None of the crew members were hurt.{{cite web|url=http://www.news-republic.com/Web/ArticleWeb.aspx?regionid=4&articleid=21998319 |title=News Republic |publisher=News Republic |date=22 April 2014}} American journalist Simon Ostrovsky from Vice News was held captive by militants in the city.{{cite web |author=Matthew Keys |url=https://broadcast.app.net/43751/news-alert/3391501/ |title=Matthew Keys: [ALERT] Vice News journalist being held in Ukraine – App.net Broadcasts |publisher=Broadcast.app.net |access-date=22 April 2014 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305173715/https://broadcast.app.net/43751/news-alert/3391501/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author=Brian Ries2 :36 UTC |url=http://mashable.com/2014/04/22/vice-journalist-captured-ukraine/ |title=American Journalist With Vice News Captured in Eastern Ukraine |publisher=Mashable.com |date=22 April 2014 |access-date=22 April 2014 |archive-date=27 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427054134/http://mashable.com/2014/04/22/vice-journalist-captured-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}

On 23 April Ukraine's Interior Ministry said it had cleared separatist forces out of the nearby city of Sviatohirsk and that no one was injured. "During the anti-terrorism operation by special forces, the city was freed," the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. "Currently Sviatohirsk and its surroundings are being patrolled by police."{{cite news |author=Canada |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/kiev-ends-easter-truce-resumes-offensive-in-eastern-ukraine/article18121491/ |title=Ukraine has 'freed' eastern city, Kiev says as crackdown resumes |work=The Globe and Mail |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=25 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425220502/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/kiev-ends-easter-truce-resumes-offensive-in-eastern-ukraine/article18121491/ |url-status=live }}

Ponomarev promised to prevent presidential elections in Ukraine at any cost. He said, "We will take all necessary measures so that elections in the southeast do not take place". Asked how he would accomplish this, he responded, "We'll take somebody as hostage and hang him by the balls." He also promised to destroy dissent, calling it "a harsh truth of life."{{cite news |url=http://www.unian.net/politics/911001-separatistyi-slavyanska-obeschayut-pyitat-zalojnikov-chtobyi-sorvat-vyiboryi.html |script-title=ru:Сепаратисты Славянска обещают пытать заложников, чтобы сорвать выборы : Новости УНИАН |agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |language=ru |archive-date=26 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426214643/http://www.unian.net/politics/911001-separatistyi-slavyanska-obeschayut-pyitat-zalojnikov-chtobyi-sorvat-vyiboryi.html |url-status=live }}

On 24 April, Ukrainian troops took control of three checkpoints surrounding the city, and according to the Interior Ministry, five separatists were killed and one police officer wounded in the attacks. The checkpoints were burned. Ukrainian forces distributed leaflets to residents of Sloviansk encouraging them to remain peaceful, and the Ministry reported that Ponomarev had announced that anyone seen with the leaflet would be "shot on the spot."{{cite news|title=Senior security official: Anti-terror operation suspended as Russian troops amass on border|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/5-dead-one-wounded-as-anti-terror-operation-continues-in-sloviansk-live-updates-344902.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=24 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424133143/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/5-dead-one-wounded-as-anti-terror-operation-continues-in-sloviansk-live-updates-344902.html|url-status=live}}

The leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic told Interfax-Ukraine that "a combined arms operation has been launched in Sloviansk. This means only one thing: a civil war." Ukrainian officials said that the counter-insurgency operation intended to retake all of Sloviansk the same day, but an increased threat of a Russian invasion halted the operation – Russian forces moved to within {{convert|10|km|mi}} of the Ukrainian border. The government confirmed seven were killed during the operation.

Ukrainian Forces surrounded Sloviansk supported by multiple armoured columns, and warned civilians to stay indoors ahead of a planned offensive on 25 April. The pro-Russian militant commander Ponomarev threatened to turn Sloviansk into a "Stalingrad" if Ukrainian troops were to enter the town. He also reported that only one checkpoint to the east of Sloviansk remained under separatist control, while the rest had been captured the previous day.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

Ukrainian authorities said that the second phase of the military operation in Sloviansk would include blockading the city to prevent any reinforcements from entering.{{cite news|title=Власть решила полностью заблокировать Славянск в рамках второго этапа АТО|url=http://www.unian.net/politics/911829-sbu-zaderjala-topaza-i-deportirovala-iz-ukrainyi-jurnalistov-rossiyskogo-kanala.html|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|date=25 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|archive-date=26 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201122/http://www.unian.net/politics/911829-sbu-zaderjala-topaza-i-deportirovala-iz-ukrainyi-jurnalistov-rossiyskogo-kanala.html|url-status=live}}

In the city, it was reported that pro-Russian militants had beaten children whom they caught photographing a separatist checkpoint. The news caused a backlash in residents' opinions of the militants.{{cite web |url=http://www.ostro.org/general/criminal/news/443421/ |title=Местные жители озлобились на сепаратистов: под Славянском избиты дети – ОстроВ |publisher=Ostro.org |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428121145/http://www.ostro.org/general/criminal/news/443421/ |url-status=live }} BBC journalist Natalia Antelava was threatened at gunpoint by members of the Donbass People's Militia while attempting to interview locals.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27173473 |title=Ukraine crisis: Sloviansk resident tells of 'oppression' |work=BBC News |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429103028/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27173473 |url-status=live }}

Russian media, citing Russian Ministry of Defense analysis, reported that Ukrainian forces planned to wipe out the entire population of the city;{{cite news |url=http://ria.ru/world/20140426/1005594998.html |title=РИА Новости публикует снимки, запечатлевшие войска Украины у Славянска | РИА Новости |agency=RIA Novosti |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=4 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504001555/http://ria.ru/world/20140426/1005594998.html |url-status=live }} this was denounced as propaganda in the Ukrainian press.{{cite web |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/26/7023744/ |title=Російська пропаганда заявила про плани України стерти Слов'янськ з землі | Українська правда |work=Ukrayinska Pravda |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=1 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501225143/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/26/7023744/ |url-status=live }} On 26 April, the Ukrainian troops blockading the city began erecting checkpoints on roads leading to Sloviansk.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}

On 28 April, self-proclaimed "deputy mayor" of Sloviansk, Igor Perepechayenko, was arrested by SBU officers. Officials claimed Perepechayenko had been establishing contact with the General staff of the Russian Armed Forces and the GRU, and was arrested at the Donetsk airport while returning from a flight from Moscow.{{cite web |url=http://tsn.ua/politika/pravu-ruku-vatazhka-teroristiv-slov-yanska-zatrimali-z-groshima-kremlya-v-aeroportu-347370.html |title="Праву руку" ватажка терористів Слов'янська затримали з грошима Кремля в аеропорту – Політика – ТСН.ua |date=28 April 2014 |publisher=Tsn.ua |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=1 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501051000/http://tsn.ua/politika/pravu-ruku-vatazhka-teroristiv-slov-yanska-zatrimali-z-groshima-kremlya-v-aeroportu-347370.html |url-status=live }}

Residents reported that gunmen from the Donbas militia began extorting shop owners in the local market for "rent" and had begun stealing expensive cars.{{cite web |url=http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/separatisti-v-slov-yansku-zahopili-rinok-zapravki-i-kradut-dorogi-avto-ochevidci-347720.html |title=Сепаратисти в Слов'янську захопили ринок, заправки і крадуть дорогі авто – очевидці – Новини України на 1+1 – ТСН.ua |date=30 April 2014 |publisher=Tsn.ua |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503060258/http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/separatisti-v-slov-yansku-zahopili-rinok-zapravki-i-kradut-dorogi-avto-ochevidci-347720.html |url-status=live }}

File:Slavyansk sign after fighting.png

During the early morning on 2 May, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale operation to retake the city.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27250026 | title=Government forces 'move on Sloviansk' | publisher=BBC News | date=2 May 2014 | access-date=2 May 2014 | archive-date=2 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502075851/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27250026 | url-status=live }} There were reports of gunfire, explosions, and a military helicopter opening fire. Separatists said one helicopter had been shot down,{{cite web |url=http://www.trust.org/item/20140502034153-9eh7a |title=Pro-Russian rebels in Slaviansk say Ukraine tries to retake town, gunfire heard |publisher=Trust.org |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502091642/http://www.trust.org/item/20140502034153-9eh7a |url-status=dead }} and one of the pilots captured.[http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/2/7024139/ Сепаратисти "взяли" українського льотчика] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505071726/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/2/7024139/ |date=5 May 2014 }}. Ukrayinska Pravda, 2 May 2014 A commander at a separatist checkpoint told the Russian News & Information Agency that government forces took control of another of the roadblocks on the outskirts of Sloviansk, as well as the city's television broadcasting centre. A police station was reportedly re-captured, while the city centre remained quiet. Several armoured vehicles were seen outside the city.{{cite news | url=http://en.itar-tass.com/world/730202 | title=Militia spokesman says sweep operation underway against civilians in Slavyansk | work=Information Telegraph Agency of Russia | date=2 May 2014 | access-date=2 May 2014 | archive-date=2 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502151041/http://en.itar-tass.com/world/730202 | url-status=live }}{{unreliable source?|date=May 2022}} Separatist authorities claim that three militants and two civilians were killed in the clashes. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that up to nine checkpoints around Sloviansk had been seized. They also acknowledged the shooting down of two Mi-24 helicopters and the death of two airmen. Seven servicemen were wounded.[http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1162845 Турчинов: спецоперация в Славянске разворачивается медленнее, чем хотелось бы] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503002550/http://itar-tass.com/mezhdunarodnaya-panorama/1162845 |date=3 May 2014 }}. ITAR-TASS, 2 May 2014{{unreliable source?|date=May 2022}} The pilot of one of the Mi-24s, badly wounded, was captured by pro-Russian forces.

The fighting died down by afternoon,[http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-anti-separatist-ukraine-20140502,0,2211030.story?track=rss Ukraine forces move against separatists; copters shot down, killing 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826170904/https://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-anti-separatist-ukraine-20140502-story.html |date=26 August 2021 }}. Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2014 but by the evening separatists launched a counteroffensive that killed two Ukrainian paratroopers at Andriivka, southwest of Sloviansk.[http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3357488-separatysty-kontratakuuit-v-slavianske-pohybly-esche-dvoe-ukraynskykh-voennykh В Славянске погибли еще двое украинских военных] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503030420/http://korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3357488-separatysty-kontratakuuit-v-slavianske-pohybly-esche-dvoe-ukraynskykh-voennykh |date=3 May 2014 }}. Korrespondent.net, 2 May 2014 Ukrainian National Guard Commander Stepan Poltorak said that the town had been practically cleared of terrorists.{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sloviansk-practically-cleared-of-terrorists-national-guard-commander-345991.html |title=National Guard commander tells Sloviansk practically cleared of terrorists |work=Kyiv Post |date=2 May 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503230231/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sloviansk-practically-cleared-of-terrorists-national-guard-commander-345991.html |url-status=live }}

After the helicopters were shot down, Ukrainian authorities stated that this had been done with Russian man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS).{{cite news|url=http://ua.korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3357402-vertoloty-pid-slovianskom-zbyti-z-pzrk-rosiiskoho-vyrobnytstva-zastupnyk-ministra-oborony|script-title=uk:Вертольоти під Слов'янськом збиті з ПЗРК російського виробництва – заступник міністра оборони|date=2 May 2014|publisher=Корреспондент.net|language=uk|access-date=2 May 2014|archive-date=2 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502181323/http://ua.korrespondent.net/ukraine/politics/3357402-vertoloty-pid-slovianskom-zbyti-z-pzrk-rosiiskoho-vyrobnytstva-zastupnyk-ministra-oborony|url-status=live}} Jane's Information Group editor and military analyst Nicholas de Larrinaga says that the use of "MANPADS outside of formal armed forces has historically been very rare" and that the type used was an Igla model, either the earlier 9K310 Igla-1 (SA-16 'Gimlet'), or the later 9K38 Igla (SA-18 'Grouse'), which are in service with both the Ukrainian and Russian armed forces.{{cite news|last=de Larrinaga|first=Nicholas|title=Two Ukrainian Mi-24s shot down by MANPADS|url=http://www.janes.com/article/37330/two-ukrainian-mi-24s-shot-down-by-manpads|newspaper=IHS Jane's Defence Weekly|date=3 May 2014|access-date=3 May 2014|archive-date=13 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113174150/http://www.janes.com/article/37330/two-ukrainian-mi-24s-shot-down-by-manpads|url-status=live}} An independent Russian military journalist, Pavel Felgenhauer, said that the effective usage of MANPADS in Ukraine proved not only that the people who used it were specially trained, but that the weaponry was supplied by Russia. According to Felgenhauer, Soviet MANPADS would not be functioning right away, as they were equipped with a short-lived battery. On the other hand, MANPADS of the Ukrainian army (type Igla) would not hit a Ukrainian helicopter, because such systems have a friend-or-foe identification ability.{{cite news|url=http://tvrain.ru/articles/zhurnalist_pavel_felgengauer_ispolzovanie_pzrk_dokazyvaet_chto_boevoe_jadro_v_slavjanske_eto_rossijskij_spetsnaz-367872/|script-title=ru:Журналист Павел Фельгенгауэр: использование ПЗРК доказывает, что боевое ядро в Славянске – это российский спецназ|date=2 April 2014|publisher=TV Rain|language=ru|access-date=2 May 2014|archive-date=2 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502165159/http://tvrain.ru/articles/zhurnalist_pavel_felgengauer_ispolzovanie_pzrk_dokazyvaet_chto_boevoe_jadro_v_slavjanske_eto_rossijskij_spetsnaz-367872/|url-status=live}}

During the fighting, about one hundred civilians gathered outside the city hall to appeal for Russian intervention.{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140502 | title=Dozens die in Odessa, rebels down Ukraine helicopters | work=Reuters | date=2 May 2014 | access-date=2 May 2014 | archive-date=5 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305125548/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSBREA400LI20140502 | url-status=live }}

On 5 May, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that Ukrainian soldiers were killed in fighting with pro-Russian separatists on the outskirts of the city, and said the separatists, numbering as many as 800, fired "large-caliber weapons," and "used mortars and other equipment." Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and twenty more were wounded in the fighting. He claimed 30 "terrorists" were killed, and dozens wounded. Strelkov, a Donbas Militia leader, told the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti that "We lost around 10, including peaceful residents, and 20–25 were wounded."{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} According to a statement on the Interior Ministry's website, separatists used unarmed civilians as human shields as they attacked Ukrainian troops and set fire to nearby buildings, and fired at a minibus carrying wounded people from the battlefield, killing an officer in a special police unit who was escorting it. Pro-Russian insurgents also shot down a Ukrainian M-24 helicopter in Sloviansk using a heavy machine gun.{{cite web |author=Kyiv Post |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/anti-terrorist-operation-continues-in-donetsk-oblast-live-updates-346313.html |title=Interior Ministry: Four Ukrainian soldiers killed, 30 wounded in anti-terrorist operation in Sloviansk (LIVE UPDATES) |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=5 May 2014 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826170903/https://www.kyivpost.com/article/content/war-against-ukraine/anti-terrorist-operation-continues-in-donetsk-oblast-live-updates-346313.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/6/7024484/ |title=За оцінками МВС, убито понад 30 терористів | Українська правда |publisher=Pravda.com.ua |date=6 May 2014 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=11 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140511122124/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/6/7024484/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28180907 |title=Ukraine President Poroshenko hails 'turning point' |publisher=BBC News Online |date=5 July 2014 |website=www.bbc.com |access-date=6 July 2014 |archive-date=6 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706004740/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28180907 |url-status=live }}

{{Main|2014 Donbas status referendums}}

Following the referendum on the status of Donetsk Oblast, on 12 May, Donbass People's Militia leader Igor Girkin declared himself "Supreme Commander" of the Donetsk People's Republic. In his decree, he demanded all military stationed in the region swear an oath of allegiance to him within 48 hours, and said that war would be waged upon those who did not.{{cite news|title=Donetsk's Own Coup d'Etat|url=http://ukrainianpolicy.com/donetsk-republic-coup-strelkov-girkin-now-supreme-commander/|newspaper=Ukrainian Policy|date=12 May 2014|access-date=12 May 2014|archive-date=13 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513023930/http://ukrainianpolicy.com/donetsk-republic-coup-strelkov-girkin-now-supreme-commander/|url-status=live}} This was followed on 15 May by a deputy of Strelkov issuing a second ultimatum at a press conference, giving Ukraine 24 hours to withdraw its troops from Donetsk.{{cite web |url=http://obozrevatel.com/politics/36574-zamestitel-strelka-vyidvinul-ultimatum-ukrainskoj-armii-24-chasa-na-vyivod-vojsk--videofakt.htm |title=Заместитель "Стрелка" выдвинул ультиматум украинской армии – 24 часа на вывод войск. Видеофакт | Обозреватель |date=15 May 2014 |publisher=Obozrevatel.com |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122037/http://obozrevatel.com/politics/36574-zamestitel-strelka-vyidvinul-ultimatum-ukrainskoj-armii-24-chasa-na-vyivod-vojsk--videofakt.htm |url-status=live }} On the 23rd, he urged all residents of the city to evacuate, saying that artillery would be used.{{cite web |url=http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/stryelok-poradiv-meshkancyam-slov-yanska-tikati-z-mista-351196.html |title="Стрєлок" порадив мешканцям Слов'янська тікати з міста - Новини України на 1+1 - ТСН.ua |date=23 May 2014 |publisher=Tsn.ua |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=25 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140525005410/http://tsn.ua/ukrayina/stryelok-poradiv-meshkancyam-slov-yanska-tikati-z-mista-351196.html |url-status=live }}

Throughout this time, attacks by both sides continued. These included a separatist attack on a Ukrainian convoy near Kramatorsk on 13 May which killed seven Ukrainian paratroopers{{cite web |author=Christopher J. Miller |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/defense-ministry-armed-separatist-rebels-ambush-ukrainian-troops-in-kramatorsk-killing-six-347651.html |title=Rebel ambush near Kramatorsk kills seven Ukrainian paratroopers; one rebel dead (UPDATED) |date=13 May 2014 |publisher=Kyivpost.com |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513232745/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/defense-ministry-armed-separatist-rebels-ambush-ukrainian-troops-in-kramatorsk-killing-six-347651.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author=Допис by Dmitry Tymchuk. |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/13/7025246/ |title=Під Краматорськом силовики потрапили в засідку. Є загиблі | Українська правда |publisher=Pravda.com.ua |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=21 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321074257/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/05/13/7025246/ |url-status=live }} and a disputed number of separatists,{{cite web |author=ЛIГАБiзнесIнформИнформационное агентство |url=http://news.liga.net/news/incident/1721165-v_natsgvardii_soobshchili_ob_unichtozhenii_50_terroristov_v_slavyanske.htm |title=В Нацгвардии сообщили об уничтожении 54-х террористов в Славянске |date=13 May 2014 |publisher=News.liga.net |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=13 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513232414/http://news.liga.net/news/incident/1721165-v_natsgvardii_soobshchili_ob_unichtozhenii_50_terroristov_v_slavyanske.htm |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://radio24.ua/news/showSingleNews.do?objectId=16921 |script-title=uk:Міноборони розповіло про втрати терористів під Краматорськом |language=uk |publisher=Radio24.ua |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=15 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515004527/http://radio24.ua/news/showSingleNews.do?objectId=16921 |url-status=live |date=14 May 2014 }} and mortar attacks on Ukrainian positions at Mount Karachun, near Sloviansk, on 19 and 20 May leaving one Ukrainian soldier dead and seven wounded.[http://zn.ua/UKRAINE/odin-ukrainskiy-boec-pogib-esche-troe-raneny-v-rezultate-minometnogo-obstrela-pod-slavyanskom-145293_.html Один украинский боец погиб, еще трое ранены в результате минометного обстрела под Славянском] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623071428/http://zn.ua/UKRAINE/odin-ukrainskiy-boec-pogib-esche-troe-raneny-v-rezultate-minometnogo-obstrela-pod-slavyanskom-145293_.html |date=23 June 2014 }}. ZN, 19 May 2014[http://news.liga.net/news/politics/1810234-v_rezultate_obstrela_pod_slavyanskom_raneny_4_silovika_tymchuk.htm В результате обстрела под Славянском ранены 4 силовика – Тымчук] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522232732/http://news.liga.net/news/politics/1810234-v_rezultate_obstrela_pod_slavyanskom_raneny_4_silovika_tymchuk.htm |date=22 May 2014 }}. Liga, 20 May 2014

Ukrainian forces used artillery fire against Sloviansk and surrounding villages; pro-Russian sources said that three villages including Semenivka were damaged by Ukrainian artillery fire on 19 May,[http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/977836/ Украинская артиллерия разрушила жилые дома в Славянске] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826170900/https://www.ntv.ru/novosti/977836/ |date=26 August 2021 }}. NTV, 20 May 2014 and it was also reported that two civilians were killed by artillery fire in Sloviansk itself on 26 May, and three on 7 June.{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/donetsk-separatists-say-three-civilians-killed-in-ukrainian-government-shelling-of-sloviansk-351057.html|title=Donetsk separatists say three civilians killed in Ukrainian government shelling of Sloviansk|date=7 June 2014|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=29 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029074525/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/donetsk-separatists-say-three-civilians-killed-in-ukrainian-government-shelling-of-sloviansk-351057.html|url-status=live}} The following day, 120 children were evacuated from the city.{{cite web |url=http://www.segodnya.ua/regions/donetsk/iz-slavyanska-evakuirovali-bolee-100-detey-527186.html |title=Из Славянска эвакуировали более 100 детей - Новости Донбасса - Около 120 детей покинули Славянск, спасаясь от боевых действий | СЕГОДНЯ |publisher=Segodnya.ua |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=8 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608194911/http://www.segodnya.ua/regions/donetsk/iz-slavyanska-evakuirovali-bolee-100-detey-527186.html |url-status=live }}

The Ukrainian military also used both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft over Sloviansk throughout May and June which suffered a number of losses, the most serious being the shooting down of an Mi-8 helicopter on 29 May, killing 12 including the helicopter's crew, six representatives of the Berkut special task force, and Ukrainian National Guard general Serhiy Kulchytskiy.{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/national-guard-says-12-ukrainian-security-officers-killed-in-helicopter-shot-down-near-sloviansk-349937.html |title=National Guard says 12 Ukrainian security officers killed in helicopter shot down near Sloviansk |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=2014-05-29 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=29 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529163057/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/national-guard-says-12-ukrainian-security-officers-killed-in-helicopter-shot-down-near-sloviansk-349937.html |url-status=live }} Two helicopters were downed on 3 June,{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-03/east-ukraine-clashes-persist-as-russia-gas-talks-progress |title=Ukraine Fortifies Russian Border as Death Toll Climbs |author1=Volodymyr Verbyany |author2=Julianna Goldman |author3=Daria Marchak |date=3 June 2014 |website=bloomberg.com |publisher=bloomberg.com |access-date=13 August 2016 |archive-date=5 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305145002/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-03/east-ukraine-clashes-persist-as-russia-gas-talks-progress |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-04/putin-offers-to-meet-obama-as-east-ukraine-battles-rage|title=Putin Offers to Meet Obama as East Ukraine Battles Rage|first1=Henry|last1=Meyer|first2=Volodymyr|last2=Verbyany|first3=Daria|last3=Marchak|website=Bloomberg News|date=4 June 2014|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419092704/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-04/putin-offers-to-meet-obama-as-east-ukraine-battles-rage|url-status=live}} an An-30 surveillance aircraft was shot down on 6 June,{{cite news|url=http://www.unian.net/politics/926684-v-shtabe-ato-utochnyayut-chto-6-iyunya-boeviki-sbili-an-30b-kotoryiy-sovershal-nablyudatelnyiy-polet.html|title=В штабе АТО уточняют, что 6 июня боевики сбили АН-30Б, который совершал наблюдательный полет|agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|date=8 June 2014|access-date=10 June 2014|archive-date=11 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611234753/http://www.unian.net/politics/926684-v-shtabe-ato-utochnyayut-chto-6-iyunya-boeviki-sbili-an-30b-kotoryiy-sovershal-nablyudatelnyiy-polet.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://theaviationist.com/2014/06/06/an-30-shot-down-by-manpads/|title=Videos show Ukrainian surveillance plane shot down by MANPADS (and crew jump from it)|date=6 June 2014|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=2 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602072050/https://theaviationist.com/2014/06/06/an-30-shot-down-by-manpads/|url-status=live}} and another helicopter on 24 June, a day after the agreement to a week-long ceasefire, killing all nine on board.{{cite news |author=David Stern |title=Ukraine army helicopter shot down despite ceasefire |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28002993 |newspaper=BBC |date=24 June 2014 |access-date=21 June 2018 |archive-date=16 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216155551/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28002993 |url-status=live }}

Separatists made repeated attacks on the checkpoints that the Ukrainian forces had set up on roads leading out of Sloviansk, inflicting and suffering casualties without taking the positions. On 24 May, an attack with mortars, RPGs and small arms killed two Ukrainian soldiers,[http://podrobnosti.ua/accidents/2014/05/24/977492.html Террористы в Славянске пошли в наступление: Двое военных Украины убиты] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527042741/http://podrobnosti.ua/accidents/2014/05/24/977492.html |date=27 May 2014 }}. Podrobnosti, 24 May 2014  while a mortar attack on 7 June left one dead.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27735180|title=Ukraine crisis: Moscow and Kiev seek 'end to bloodshed' - BBC News|work=BBC News|date=6 June 2014|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=16 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016072843/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27735180|url-status=live}} An attack with mortars and automatic grenade launchers and mortars on 28 June killed three Ukrainian servicemen.{{cite web |url=http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/06/29/ukrainian-national-security-and-defense-council-report-june-29/ |title=Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council report: June 29 | EUROMAIDAN PRESS | News and Opinion from Across Ukraine |publisher=Euromaidan Press |date=2014-06-29 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=1 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701214638/http://euromaidanpress.com/2014/06/29/ukrainian-national-security-and-defense-council-report-june-29/ |url-status=live }}

On 3 June, the Ukrainian military launched a new offensive against Sloviansk and the nearby village of Semenivka. The fighting left at least ten separatists and two Ukrainian soldiers dead, and 42 Ukrainian soldiers and 12 separatists were wounded,{{cite web|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/heavy-fighting-in-eastern-ukraine-as-government-restarts-active-phase-of-anti-terror-operation-350453.html|title=Two Ukrainian troops killed in battles with insurgents on June 3; OSCE says Luhansk blast on June 2 likely caused by airstrike (UPDATES, VIDEO)|date=3 June 2014|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=21 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621111623/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/heavy-fighting-in-eastern-ukraine-as-government-restarts-active-phase-of-anti-terror-operation-350453.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html|title=Conflicting accounts in heightened eastern Ukraine fighting|author1=Michael Pearson|author2=Azad Safarov|author3=Victoria Butenko|date=4 June 2014|publisher=CNN|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306051500/http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/04/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html|url-status=live}} while one Ukrainian armoured personnel carrier was damaged. A Ukrainian military convoy was attacked while moving south toward Sloviansk from Izyum.

Divisions emerged within the separatist forces. On 27 May Girkin said that some of his men had engaged in looting of the city, and that in response he had had company commander Dmitry Slavov and platoon commander Nikolai Lukyanov executed.{{cite web |url=http://www.62.ua/article/543066 |title=Стрелков признал, что его командиры в Славянске занимаются мародерством и похищением людей и он их за это расстреливает | 62.ua - Новости Донецка |publisher=62.ua |date=2009-03-25 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=28 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528005626/http://www.62.ua/article/543066 |url-status=live }} Ponomarev was dismissed from his post and arrested by Strelkov on 10 June. "The so-called people's mayor Ponomarev has been dismissed for engaging in activities incompatible with the goals and tasks of the civil administration. I cannot provide further details for now," Strelkov said in his statement.{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/strelkov-sloviansk-peoples-mayor-ponomarev-dismissed-351367.html |title=Strelkov: Sloviansk 'people's mayor' Ponomarev dismissed |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=2014-06-10 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=10 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140610233043/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/strelkov-sloviansk-peoples-mayor-ponomarev-dismissed-351367.html |url-status=live }}

On 21 June, a suspected agent allegedly recruited by the FSB was captured by the State Security Service near Sloviansk.{{Cite news|url = http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/captured-russian-mercenary-near-sloviansk-condemns-putin-asks-for-forgiveness-video-352834.html|title = Captured Russian mercenary near Sloviansk condemns Putin, asks for forgiveness|date = 21 June 2014|work = Kyiv Post|access-date = 21 June 2014|archive-date = 21 June 2014|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140621124558/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/captured-russian-mercenary-near-sloviansk-condemns-putin-asks-for-forgiveness-video-352834.html|url-status = live}}

President Poroshenko declared an end to the ceasefire at the end of June, after at least 27 Ukrainian servicemen were killed during it. A renewed government offensive followed, once again using heavy artillery and airstrikes. A TV tower on Mount Karachun was destroyed by shelling.{{cite news |title=Fighting Intensifies in Ukraine After Cease-Fire Is Ended |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/europe/ukraine.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=1 July 2014 |access-date=28 February 2017 |archive-date=21 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321073913/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/02/world/europe/ukraine.html |url-status=live }}{{efn|According to Interfax-Ukraine this destruction did not influence (TV channels) broadcasting as the tower was already out of service.[http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/354672.html Poroshenko to visit Karachun Mountain in Donbas where new TV tower being built] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706161925/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/354672.html |date=6 July 2016 }}, Interfax-Ukraine (6 July 2016)}}

File:Liberation Kramatorsk agglomeration.svg

DPR militants retreated from Sloviansk on 5 July. According to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, he personally gave the order for the Ukrainian flag to be raised over the town. Separatists and Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov both said that a portion of the rebels, including Girkin, military commander of the DPR, were retreating from Sloviansk. Avakov claimed that the separatists were "suffering losses and surrendering", and had lost one tank and four armoured vehicles in the retreat. Associated Press quoted Andrei Purgin, a spokesman for the separatists' self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, as saying the rebels were evacuating. A rebel commander said that they were falling back to Kramatorsk. Captured hostages claimed to have freed themselves from Sloviansk's main police station, and confirmed the rebel retreat. According to Girkin, 80-90 percent of his men had escaped from Sloviansk.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSKBN0FC11520140707 |title=Ukraine tycoon pleads for city's safety after rebels vow to make stand |last1=Balmforth |first1=Richard |date=7 July 2014 |website=www.reuters.com |access-date=7 July 2014 |archive-date=4 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204033121/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUSKBN0FC11520140707 |url-status=live }} On 11 July spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Lysenko claimed Ukrainian security forces had not destroyed the retreating military column because they had received information that the separatists were using human shields.{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/11/7031658 Terrorists have to get out of Slavic, were covered by peaceful people - the National Security Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711234501/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/11/7031658/ |date=11 July 2014 }}, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 July 2014)

On 5 July, the Ukrainian flag was hoisted over the city council building.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28174104 |title=Ukraine crisis: Rebels 'abandon Sloviansk stronghold' |date=5 July 2014 |website=www.bbc.com |publisher=BBC World News |access-date=5 July 2014 |archive-date=5 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705102950/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28174104 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://sprotyv.info/ru/news/1951-nad-slavyanskom-podnyat-ukrainskiy-flag-foto/ |script-title=ru:Над Славянском поднят украинский флаг. Фото |publisher=Information Resistance |date=5 July 2014 |website=sprotyv.info |language=ru |access-date=5 July 2014 |archive-date=19 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019114640/http://sprotyv.info/ru/news/1951-nad-slavyanskom-podnyat-ukrainskiy-flag-foto |url-status=dead }}[http://sprotyv.info/ru/news/1971-slavyansk-osvobozhdennyy-gorsovet-iznutri-video Славянск. Освобожденный горсовет изнутри. VIDEO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019114808/http://sprotyv.info/ru/news/1971-slavyansk-osvobozhdennyy-gorsovet-iznutri-video |date=19 October 2017 }} Information Resistance, 6 July 2014, retrieved 2014-17-06. Several hostages, including Mayor Nelia Shtepa, were freed.{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/7/7031243/ Shtepa released from captivity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708033847/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/7/7031243/ |date=8 July 2014 }}, Ukrayinska Pravda (7 July 2014)

{{main|Timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine#5 July}}

Following the liberation of Sloviansk, in the same weekend (5–6 July), government forces took control of several other towns in northern Donetsk Oblast: Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28182404 |title=BBC News - Ukraine says forces retake two more rebel-held cities |publisher=Bbc.com |date=1970-01-01 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=26 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226000837/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28182404 |url-status=live }} and Bakhmut.{{cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/06/ukraine-forces-seize-slavyansk|title = Ukrainian president hails breakthrough as Slavyansk seized from separatists|date = 6 July 2014|work = The Guardian|access-date = 16 December 2016|archive-date = 5 March 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170305040601/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/06/ukraine-forces-seize-slavyansk|url-status = live}}

On 11 July, Sloviansk's Mayor Nelya Shtepa was arrested for an "attack on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine".{{in lang|uk}} [http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/11/7031667 Shtepa detained and escort convoys in Kharkiv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140713201006/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/07/11/7031667/ |date=13 July 2014 }}, Ukrayinska Pravda (11 July 2014)

On 24 July, Human Rights Watch reported that Ukrainian authorities found and exhumed a mass grave in the city.{{cite web |author=Yulia Gorbunova |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/24/dispatches-mass-grave-found-eastern-ukraine |title=Dispatches: Mass Grave Found in Eastern Ukraine | Human Rights Watch |publisher=Hrw.org |date=2014-07-24 |access-date=2014-08-21 |archive-date=10 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310004354/https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/07/24/dispatches-mass-grave-found-eastern-ukraine |url-status=live }}

A number of people have been abducted during the conflict, some as hostages.

Thirteen military international observers were referred to by insurgent leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev as "prisoners of war".{{cite web |url=http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/wie-geht-es-weiter-mit-den-deutschen-kriegsgefangenen-35710714.bild.html |title=Was passiert mit den "Kriegsgefangenen"? |publisher=Bild |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-date=24 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624111801/http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/wie-geht-es-weiter-mit-den-deutschen-kriegsgefangenen-35710714.bild.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/alle-infos-zur-lage-in-der-ukraine-35693310.bild.html |title=Rebellenchef nennt OSZE-Beobachter Kriegsgefangene |publisher=Bild |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=29 July 2014 |archive-date=12 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612125445/http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/alle-infos-zur-lage-in-der-ukraine-35693310.bild.html |url-status=live }} Ponomarev warned hostages would be killed if he came under attack.{{cite web|url=http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79996632/|title=LA Times|access-date=12 August 2016|archive-date=6 October 2012|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20121006015957/http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79996632/|url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/alle-infos-zur-lage-in-der-ukraine-35677254.bild.html |title=Ukraine im Live-Ticker: Wie nahe steht die Ukraine am Krieg? - USA werfen Russland "Verdrehung der Tatsachen" vor - Politik Ausland |language=de |publisher=Bild.de |date=2014-04-24 |access-date=2014-08-21 |archive-date=20 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140620040453/http://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/ukraine/alle-infos-zur-lage-in-der-ukraine-35677254.bild.html |url-status=live }} As of 2 May, the Kyiv Post reported that 31 people remained missing or were hostages in Donetsk Oblast.

• Serhiy Shapoval – Journalist for the Volyn Post{{cite web |url=http://www.telekritika.ua/pravo/2014-04-26/93056 |title=У Слов'янську зник зв'язок із журналістом Сергієм Шаповалом |publisher=Telekritika.ua |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235537/http://www.telekritika.ua/pravo/2014-04-26/93056 |url-status=live }} (released){{cite web |author=Olga Whiting |url=http://inforesist.org/separatists-are-demoralized-they-can-be-finished-off/?lang=en |title=Separatists are demoralized. They can be finished off |publisher=Info Resist |date=2014-05-20 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140520014326/http://inforesist.org/separatists-are-demoralized-they-can-be-finished-off/?lang=en |archive-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=dead}}
• Yuri Lelyavsky – Journalist for ZIK channel news, held on suspicion of being a "provocateur"{{cite web |url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/teroristi_u_slovyansku_zahopili_lvivskogo_gurnalista_1933049 |title=Терористи у Слов янську захопили львівського журналіста | УКРІНФОРМ |publisher=Ukrinform.ua |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=5 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505193621/http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/teroristi_u_slovyansku_zahopili_lvivskogo_gurnalista_1933049 |url-status=live }} (released){{cite web |url=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3155461/posts |title=Ukrainian Journalist Yuri Lelyavsky Freed (Slovyansk-RiaNovosti Journo) |publisher=The Interpreter |date=13 May 2014 |access-date=10 July 2014 |archive-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714124828/http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3155461/posts |url-status=live }}
• Irma Krat – Leader of Maidan's "Women Hundred", Editor-in-chief of Hidden Truth TV, held for "war crimes" and "suspicion of torturing and killing a Berkut riot police officer." Residents of Sloviansk freed Krat after her captors left the city.{{cite news |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/07/06/ukraine-le-recit-de-la-chute-de-sloviansk-tournant-de-la-guerre-entre-l-armee-et-les-separatistes_4451825_3214.html |title=Ukraine : le récit de la chute de Sloviansk, tournant de la guerre entre l'armée et les séparatistes |language=fr |work=Le Monde |date=6 July 2014 |first=Benoît |last=Vitkine |access-date=6 July 2014 |archive-date=6 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706120007/http://www.lemonde.fr/europe/article/2014/07/06/ukraine-le-recit-de-la-chute-de-sloviansk-tournant-de-la-guerre-entre-l-armee-et-les-separatistes_4451825_3214.html |url-status=live }}
• Serhiy Lefter – Journalist, held on suspicion of "espionage and co-operation with Right Sector" (released){{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/interview-freed-hostage-ukraine-lefter-slovyansk-journalist/25381969.html |title=Interview: Three Weeks A Hostage in Slovyansk |publisher=Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty |date=12 May 2014 |access-date=10 July 2014 |archive-date=10 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140710020757/http://www.rferl.org/content/interview-freed-hostage-ukraine-lefter-slovyansk-journalist/25381969.html |url-status=live }}
• Yevhen Hapych – Journalist from the Ivano Frankivsk Oblast town of Kolomyia (released){{cite web |url=http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/drugina_gapicha_genyu_gamseliv_berkut_pitali_pro_maydan_1932906 |title=Дружина Гапича: Женю гамселив "Беркут", питали про Майдан | УКРІНФОРМ |publisher=Ukrinform.ua |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=5 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505163417/http://www.ukrinform.ua/ukr/news/drugina_gapicha_genyu_gamseliv_berkut_pitali_pro_maydan_1932906 |url-status=live }}
• Clarissa Ward – Journalist for CBS News (detained and released){{cite web |url=http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2547 |title=Press | Published by Interpreter_Mag |publisher=Pressimus |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502210631/http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2547 |url-status=live }}
• Mike Giglio – Journalist for Buzzfeed (kidnapped and released){{cite web |author=Brian Ries:46 UTC |url=http://mashable.com/2014/05/02/mike-giglio-ukraine-kidnapped/ |title=BuzzFeed Reporter Kidnapped in Ukraine: 'I Was Pretty Freaked Out' |publisher=Mashable.com |date=29 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=4 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504051704/http://mashable.com/2014/05/02/mike-giglio-ukraine-kidnapped/ |url-status=live }}
• Simon Ostrovsky – Russian-born American journalist for Vice News, held on suspicion of being a Right Sector informant (released)
• Paul Gogo – French journalist (released)
• Cosimo Attanasio – Italian journalist (released)
• Dmitry Galko – Belarusian journalist (released)

• Volodymyr Rybak – Horlivka city councilman (found murdered)
• Vadym Sukhono – Sloviansk City Councilman
• Nelya Shtepa – Sloviansk mayor
• Yakymov – Head of the Sloviansk medical forensics service (released)

• Yuri Popravko – A 19-year-old student from Kyiv, murdered along with Rybak. His body was found in the river.{{cite news |author=Kim Sengupta |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-death-toll-rises-in-a-nation-fearful-of-more-bloodshed-9292544.html |title=Ukraine crisis: Death toll rises in a nation fearful of more bloodshed – Europe – World |work=The Independent |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=10 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191110154615/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-death-toll-rises-in-a-nation-fearful-of-more-bloodshed-9292544.html |url-status=live }} Popravko's friends later admitted that Yuri was a member of the Right Sector and arrived in Slavyansk together with other Right Sector members. They brought with them arms, shot at a car that had been driving them and attacked a checkpoint with a grenade.{{cite web|title=Исповедь выжившего в Славянске пленника|url=https://vesti-ukr.com/kiev/54619-ispoved-vyzhivshego-v-slavjanske-plennika|website=VESTI UKRAINE|date=2 June 2014|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108120401/https://vesti-ukr.com/kiev/54619-ispoved-vyzhivshego-v-slavjanske-plennika|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Парень из Правого сектора: "Мы ездили в Славянск на разведку"|url=https://vesti-ukr.com/donbass/49674-paren-iz-pravogo-sektora-my-ezdili-v-slavjansk-na-razvedku|website=VESTI UKRAINE|date=29 April 2014|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108174834/https://vesti-ukr.com/donbass/49674-paren-iz-pravogo-sektora-my-ezdili-v-slavjansk-na-razvedku|url-status=live}}
• Valeriy Salo – Head of the Prosvita in Krasny Lyman, captured by Donetsk Republic members. His body was found in Luhansk region along with a torched car.{{cite web |author=T17:03+02:00 17:03 8 May 2014 |url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/204089.html |title=Dead body of Prosvita's leader in Donetsk region captured by 'Donetsk People's Republic' found in Luhansk region |publisher=En.interfax.com.ua |date=20 October 2012 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=8 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140508224026/http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/204089.html |url-status=live }}
• Artem Deyneha – A Sloviansk resident, he was kidnapped after he was observed setting up a webcam from the balcony of his family's apartment overlooking the occupied SBU building.
• Vitaliy Kovalchuk. He attempted to capture guns from militants in Sloviansk. Initial statements that he was a member of Right Sector were contradicted by later reports.[http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/22/7023215/ Russian channels for its propaganda used sportsman from Kyiv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427233739/http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/04/22/7023215/ |date=27 April 2014 }}. Ukrayinska Pravda. 22 April 2014[http://ukr.segodnya.ua/regions/donetsk/aktivist-pravogo-sektora-v-slavyanske-okazalsya-fitnes-trenerom-iz-kieva--514802.html The Right Sector activist in Sloviansk appeared to be a fitness coach Kiev] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502032116/http://ukr.segodnya.ua/regions/donetsk/aktivist-pravogo-sektora-v-slavyanske-okazalsya-fitnes-trenerom-iz-kieva--514802.html |date=2 May 2014 }}. Segodnya. 22 April 2014
• Denis Grishchuk – A volunteer at the "Mystetskyi Arsenal" art center, abducted by Sloviansk separatists on 25 April.{{cite news|title=These People Are Still Being Held by Armed Separatists in Ukraine|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/these-people-are-still-being-held-by-armed-separatists-in-ukraine/|newspaper=VICE News|date=3 May 2014|access-date=4 May 2014|archive-date=5 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505002434/https://news.vice.com/article/these-people-are-still-being-held-by-armed-separatists-in-ukraine|url-status=live}} Released during insurgent withdrawal.{{cite web |url=http://top.rbc.ru/incidents/07/07/2014/935017.shtml |title=Украинские силовики освободили заложников в Славянске :: Происшествия |publisher=Top.rbc.ru |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=9 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150709011503/http://top.rbc.ru/incidents/07/07/2014/935017.shtml |url-status=live }}
• Pavel Yurov – A theatre director, abducted by Sloviansk separatists on 25 April. Released during insurgent withdrawal.
• Vasily Nesterenko, a man abducted on 6 May 2014 while bringing food to the Ukrainian army.

• German interpreter (released)
• Axel Schneider – German Colonel (released)
• German soldier (released)
• German soldier (released)
• Josef Přerovský – Czech Lieutenant colonel (released){{cite news|url=http://www.novinky.cz/zahranicni/evropa/335254-ceskemu-pozorovateli-ve-slavjansku-slo-o-zivot-pohrozili-mu-ze-poslouzi-jako-zivy-stit.html|title=Českému pozorovateli ve Slavjansku šlo o život, pohrozili mu, že poslouží jako živý štít|language=cs|access-date=5 May 2014|archive-date=5 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505020046/http://www.novinky.cz/zahranicni/evropa/335254-ceskemu-pozorovateli-ve-slavjansku-slo-o-zivot-pohrozili-mu-ze-poslouzi-jako-zivy-stit.html|url-status=live}}
• Krzysztof Kobielski – Polish soldier (released)
• John Gerhard Østergaard Christensen – Danish Warrant Officer (released)
• Yngve Thomas Johansson – Swedish soldier (released for medical reasons){{cite news|script-title=ru:Командующий самообороной Славянска Игорь Стрелков: Задержанные наблюдатели — кадровые разведчики|url=http://www.kp.ru/daily/26225.7/3107725/|access-date=26 August 2014|newspaper=Комсомольская правда|date=26 April 2014|language=ru|archive-date=15 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915180216/http://www.kp.ru/daily/26225.7/3107725/|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Peter |url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pro-russia-militia-displays-captured-ukrainians |title=Observers held in Ukraine speak under armed guard |agency=Associated Press |date=27 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=30 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430161547/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pro-russia-militia-displays-captured-ukrainians |url-status=live }}

• Five representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces were also detained along with the OSCE mission (released){{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27265927 |title=Ukraine unrest: Abducted OSCE observers freed |work=BBC News |date=3 May 2014 |access-date=17 February 2020 |archive-date=30 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230043417/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27265927 |url-status=live }}
• Ponomarev and Russian media claim that separatists have captured 40 additional Ukrainian soldiers.{{cite web |url=http://lifenews.ru/news/132053 |title=Ополченцы задержали 40 украинских диверсантов в Славянске |publisher=Lifenews.ru |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429030759/http://lifenews.ru/news/132053 |url-status=live }}
• Pro-Russian militants in Horlivka captured three SBU officers (LTC Rostyslav Kiyashko, MAJ Serhiy Potemsky, CPT Yevhen Verinsky), who were held in the SBU building in Sloviansk and publicly interrogated at a press conference, with a video of the interrogation being posted on YouTube. They were later released on 7 May in exchange for separatist leader Pavel Gubarev (released){{cite web |url=http://www.theinsider.ua/politics/535c239eeec5c/ |title=Сепаратисти Горлівки кажуть, що захопили трьох "альфівців" |publisher=Theinsider.ua |date=27 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=29 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429012129/http://www.theinsider.ua/politics/535c239eeec5c/ |url-status=live }}[http://ua.euronews.com/2014/04/27/ukraine-pro-russian-rebels-parade-latest-captives-for-the-press/ Donetsk separatists took three Alpha agents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140430231519/http://ua.euronews.com/2014/04/27/ukraine-pro-russian-rebels-parade-latest-captives-for-the-press |date=30 April 2014 }}. Euronews. 27 April 2014
• Yuriy Zahrebelny – Prosecutor of Sloviansk (Zahrebelny was released following interrogation)
• Vitaliy Kolupai – Kramatorsk chief of police. Pro-Russian militants demanded weapons and arms in exchange for the police colonel's release
• Lieutenant-Colonel Oleg Prokhorov – Sloviansk chief of police (whereabouts unknown)

Ukraine's acting president relaunched military operations against pro-Russian militants in the east after two men, one a local politician, were found tortured to death. The politician, Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak, from the Batkivshchyna party, was found near Sloviansk.{{cite news|title=Ukraine alert as politician killed|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27118875|publisher=BBC|date=22 April 2014|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=8 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181208115051/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27118875|url-status=live}} Both men had the same cause of death: "combined injuries due to torture and death by drowning while unconscious." Rybak was kidnapped by four pro-Russian militants in camouflage after he took part in a "For a United Ukraine" demonstration near the Horlivka city council building – he was found in the river with a backpack filled with sand around his back and gutted.{{cite web |author=Mark Rachkevych |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/police-body-of-pro-ukrainian-slovyansk-city-councilman-found-dead-in-river-344668.html |title=Police: Body of Pro-Ukrainian Horlivka City Councilman found dead in river |work=Kyiv Post |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |archive-date=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423112237/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/police-body-of-pro-ukrainian-slovyansk-city-councilman-found-dead-in-river-344668.html |url-status=live }} A statement by Ukraine's SBU state security service implicated Igor Bezler and Igor Strelkov – whom it describes as senior officers in Russia's GRU military intelligence services which is leading the pro-Russian separatist movement in eastern Ukraine – in Rybak's murder.{{cite web |last=Olearchyk |first=Roman |url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/62ea8558-cade-11e3-9c6a-00144feabdc0.html?siteedition=intl |title=Kiev implicates Russia in politician's murder |work=Financial Times |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220030442/https://www.ft.com/content/62ea8558-cade-11e3-9c6a-00144feabdc0?siteedition=intl |url-status=live }}

Rybak's wife, Elena, claimed at a news conference that the checkpoints into the city of Horlivka were manned by Chechen militants, and they would not allow her to enter the city to identify his body.{{cite news |url=http://www.unian.net/politics/911028-na-blok-postah-vozle-slavyanskaya-stoyat-voorujennyie-chechentsyi-ochevidets.html |title=На блок-постах возле Славянска стоят вооруженные чеченцы – очевидец : Новости УНИАН |agency=Ukrainian Independent Information Agency |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130344/http://www.unian.net/politics/911028-na-blok-postah-vozle-slavyanskaya-stoyat-voorujennyie-chechentsyi-ochevidets.html |url-status=live }}

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) released a YouTube video implicating Bezler with an alleged audio recording. In it, he allegedly orders a subordinate to abduct Rybak, tie his hands and blindfold him, and then drive him to a remote place so that he could rendezvous with the captors. In the second part of the recording, Russian Military Intelligence Colonel Strelkov calls Ponomarev to take care of (Rybak's) body because it "is lying here and beginning to smell." In response, Ponomarev complies, and says he will come to take the body and "organize the burial of this rooster."{{cite web |author=Paul Roderick Gregory |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/paul-roderick-gregory-putins-ukrainian-executioners-worse-than-stalins-345887.html |title=Paul Roderick Gregory: Putin's Ukrainian executioners worse than Stalin's |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=1 May 2014 |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-date=12 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512051712/http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/paul-roderick-gregory-putins-ukrainian-executioners-worse-than-stalins-345887.html |url-status=live }}

On 22 April, Simon Ostrovsky of Vice News was detained by pro-Russian separatists.{{cite news|title=Tally of persons kidnapped by Russian-backed insurgents in Ukraine's east grows to 16|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/tally-of-persons-kidnapped-by-russian-backed-insurgents-in-ukraines-east-grows-to-16-update-344798.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=23 April 2014|access-date=23 April 2014|archive-date=23 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423231347/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/tally-of-persons-kidnapped-by-russian-backed-insurgents-in-ukraines-east-grows-to-16-update-344798.html|url-status=live}} "We had been looking into whether there were actual Russians involved in what's going on here – for the two days prior to me being captured," Ostrovsky said. "I had been phoning them and requesting interviews with them on that subject so maybe that's why they decided it was time to stop me." Recounting the experience, he claimed, "They beat me up as an introduction to the whole situation, blindfolded me, tied my hands behind my back," Ostrovsky said. "Then they eventually untied them and I was just hanging out in the room with the other prisoners."{{cite news |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/simon-ostrovsky-u-s-journalist-held-in-ukraine-now-free-1.2620681 |title=Simon Ostrovsky, U.S. journalist held in Ukraine, now free – World – CBC News |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=28 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428171203/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/simon-ostrovsky-u-s-journalist-held-in-ukraine-now-free-1.2620681 |url-status=live }} Ostrovsky says his captors accused him of working for the CIA and FBI, and that during his stay "a dozen other nameless detainees were ferried in and out of the cellar of the Ukraine state security (SBU) building by the pro-Russia militants" and that many had been there for up to two weeks.{{cite news|last=Ostrovsky|first=Simon|title='I Had It Pretty Easy, Because I Was Let Go': Simon Ostrovsky on His Detention in Sloviansk|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-had-it-pretty-easy-because-i-was-let-go-simon-ostrovsky-on-his-detention-in-sloviansk/?trk_source=homepage-lede/|newspaper=VICE NEWS|date=25 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|archive-date=26 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426010010/https://news.vice.com/articles/i-had-it-pretty-easy-because-i-was-let-go-simon-ostrovsky-on-his-detention-in-sloviansk?trk_source=homepage-lede|url-status=live}}

{{quotation|When I refused to give the password to my laptop, I was smacked in the arm with a truncheon. When I was asleep on the floor, masked men came to wake me up and tell me how no one would miss me if I died, and then kicked me in the ribs as they left.}}

When asked of his whereabouts during a press conference, self-appointed "people's mayor" Ponomarev said "nobody abducted him, nobody is holding him hostage, he's with us now in at the SBU, preparing material and working."

Stella Khoraeva, a spokeswoman for pro-Russian insurgents, told the Associated Press that Ostrovsky was "fine" and "suspected of bad activities," but refused to explain. She added that the pro-Russian group was conducting an investigation into Ostrovsky's activities. Khoraeva then said Ostrovsky was initially captured for spying on behalf of Ukrainian ultra-nationalists. Ponomarev reciprocated this claim, saying "According to our information, he is an informer of the Right Sector."{{cite news|title=Журналист с двойным гражданством оказался информатором "Правого сектора"|url=http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/923739/|publisher=NTV|date=23 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424063614/http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/923739/|url-status=live}} Later, she said that the insurgents had planned to take Ostrovsky, which was prompted from his "incorrect way" of reporting. "We knew where he was going and the men manning the checkpoint were told to look out for him," she said.{{cite news|last=Mintz|first=Zoe|title=Full List of Journalists Captured in Ukraine: Simon Ostrovsky Among 7 Reporters Kidnapped|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/full-list-journalists-captured-ukraine-simon-ostrovsky-among-7-reporters-kidnapped-1575406?ft=61pb1|newspaper=IB Times|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424065136/http://www.ibtimes.com/full-list-journalists-captured-ukraine-simon-ostrovsky-among-7-reporters-kidnapped-1575406?ft=61pb1|url-status=live}}

Ponomarev has said his arrest was "so he wouldn't put out a lot of provocative commentary, so he wouldn't conduct hostile activity on our territory. In the final analysis, he is an undesirable element in our area." When asked when he would be released, he said he would be released "when we consider it necessary for him to get out." He also reiterated that he is not a hostage, but that they were 'defining his place of stay, so to speak.'{{cite news|title=American Journalist Under Investigation By Armed Gunmen in Slavyansk|url=http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2419|newspaper=The Interpreter|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424064254/http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2419|url-status=live}} The self-styled mayor then said that Ostrovsky could be released in a trade: "We need captives. We need a bargaining chip. Many of our comrades are imprisoned. Those guys [Ukrainians] are grabbing them, then taking them to Kyiv and torturing them. So then, we're doing the very same thing. That is, in the sense that we're taking captives," said Ponomarev.{{cite news|title="Народный мэр" Славянска не собирается отпускать американского журналиста|url=http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/04/23/n_6104649.shtml|newspaper=Gazeta|date=23 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424062213/http://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2014/04/23/n_6104649.shtml|url-status=live}}

Jen Psaki, the US State Department spokeswoman, said US authorities are "deeply concerned" about the situation and are working to resolve it. "We condemn any such actions, and all recent hostage-takings in eastern Ukraine".

On 24 April, Ostrovsky was released.{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/simon-ostrovsky-has-been-released/ |title=Simon Ostrovsky Has Been Released |work=VICE News |publisher=News.vice.com |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502140838/https://news.vice.com/articles/simon-ostrovsky-has-been-released |url-status=live }}

On 25 April near Sloviansk, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry lost contact with military inspectors from OSCE{{cite web | url=http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/118044 | title=Latest from the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine – based on information received up until 25 April 2014 | work=Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | date=26 April 2014 | access-date=26 April 2014 | archive-date=27 April 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427084628/http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/118044 | url-status=live }} participating states. The group, on an inspection mission under the Vienna Document on military transparency, was made up of three German soldiers, a German translator, and military observers from Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden and Denmark, a ministry spokesman said.{{cite news|title=German defence ministry-unable to contact observer mission in east Ukraine|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINB4N0M002Q20140425|work=Reuters|date=25 April 2014|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=23 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123021227/https://in.reuters.com/article/idINB4N0M002Q20140425|url-status=dead}} "In Donetsk region communication has been lost with members of the OSCE military verification mission ... According to preliminary reports, they could be captured by terrorists," the director of the ministry's information policy department, Yevhen Perebyinis, said at a briefing.{{cite news|last=Interfax-Ukraine|title=Kyiv official: Contact lost with OSCE mission members in Donetsk region, they could be abducted by terrorists|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/contact-lost-with-osce-mission-members-in-donetsk-region-they-could-be-abducted-by-terrorists-345145.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=25 April 2014|access-date=25 April 2014|archive-date=25 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425182312/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/contact-lost-with-osce-mission-members-in-donetsk-region-they-could-be-abducted-by-terrorists-345145.html|url-status=live}} The Interior Ministry later confirmed that 13 people (seven members from OSCE countries, five Ukrainian military representatives, and the driver) had been taken hostage by pro-Russian militants and held in the SBU building.{{cite web |url=http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/article/1036294?annId=1036295 |title=Терористи захопили у Слов'янську автобус із представниками ОБСЄ |access-date=2014-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426233515/http://mvs.gov.ua/mvs/article/1036294?annId=1036295 |archive-date=26 April 2014}}. Mvs.gov.ua. Retrieved 4 May 2014 Ponomarev says he believes the detained military observers have a Kyiv "spy" in their group. "People who come here as observers for the European community bringing with them a real spy – that is inappropriate," Ponomarev told reporters.{{cite web |url=http://www.trust.org/item/20140425160256-nrmje |title=Separatist leader in Ukraine city says Kiev "spy" is in detained group |publisher=Trust.org |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=2 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502072848/http://www.trust.org/item/20140425160256-nrmje/ |url-status=live }} He also claimed the detention was due to the bus having "banned ammunition on board,"{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sloviansk-peoples-mayor-confirms-detention-of-bus-with-servicemen-civilians-345193.html |title=Sloviansk "people's mayor" confirms detention of bus with servicemen, civilians |work=Kyiv Post |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=4 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504052628/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sloviansk-peoples-mayor-confirms-detention-of-bus-with-servicemen-civilians-345193.html |url-status=live }} and he along with Russian media accused the observers of being "NATO officers."{{cite web |url=http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2475 |title=Press | Published by Interpreter_Mag |publisher=Pressimus |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=26 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426201835/http://pressimus.com/Interpreter_Mag/press/2475 |url-status=live }} The separatists have said they refuse to release the hostages until they meet with "competent authorities in Russia".{{cite web |last=Alpert |first=Lukas I. |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579523154203200512?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304518704579523154203200512.html |title=Military Observers Taken Hostage, Ukraine Says |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=25 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220030447/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579523154203200512 |url-status=live }} Igor Strelkov, commander of the separatist militia, accused the monitors of being "NATO spies," and that they would only be exchanged for pro-Russian "activists" held in custody in Kyiv.{{cite news|last=Rachkevych|first=Mark|title=Alleged Russian Colonel Strelkov makes public appearance as self-proclaimed chief of 'Donbass People's Militia'|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/alleged-russian-colonel-strelkov-makes-public-appearance-as-chief-of-donbass-peoples-militia-345272.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=26 April 2014|access-date=26 April 2014|archive-date=26 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426135827/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/alleged-russian-colonel-strelkov-makes-public-appearance-as-chief-of-donbass-peoples-militia-345272.html|url-status=live}} On 3 May, following the second offensive on Sloviansk, the observers along with five Ukrainian observers were released. The SBU then released what they described as a tapped phone call implicating Russia in the abduction, naming specifically Vladimir Lukin and Igor Girkin.{{cite web |work=Kyiv Post |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sbu-russia-behind-kidnapping-of-osce-military-observers-updates-videos-346066.html |title=Police say pro-Russians accidentally set fatal Odessa fire with Molotov cocktails (LIVE UPDATES, VIDEO) |date=17 April 2014 |access-date=4 May 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503232042/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/sbu-russia-behind-kidnapping-of-osce-military-observers-updates-videos-346066.html |url-status=live }}

On 29 May, Ponomarev admitted that he and his men were holding four OSCE observers, promising that they would be freed soon, according to Russia's Interfax news agency. He said they were detained for being "most-zealous." The OSCE said it had lost contact with one of its four-person monitoring teams in Donetsk on Monday evening. His men had previously kidnapped OSCE monitors in eastern Ukraine.{{cite web |author=Associated Press in Donetsk |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/29/east-ukraine-rebel-leader-osce-observers-slovyansk-donetsk |title=East Ukraine rebel leader claims to have missing OSCE observers |work=The Guardian |date=29 May 2014 |access-date=2014-07-08 |archive-date=5 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305040423/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/29/east-ukraine-rebel-leader-osce-observers-slovyansk-donetsk |url-status=live }}

• Alexander Mozhaev ("Babay" or "Bogeyman", {{langx|ru|Александр Иванович Можаев}}), a Russian military veteran from Belorechensk. Mozhaev with his distinctive beard has appeared in many circulated pictures as a member of the Donbass People's Militia in Sloviansk, and allegedly led the assault on a weapons depot in Artemivsk (today Bakhmut).{{cite news|last=Shuster|first=Simon|title=Exclusive: Meet the Pro-Russian Separatists of Eastern Ukraine|url=https://time.com/74405/exclusive-pro-russian-separatists-eastern-ukraine/|newspaper=Time|date=24 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=3 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503235343/http://time.com/74405/exclusive-pro-russian-separatists-eastern-ukraine/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Eastern cities Artemivsk, Mariupol latest targets in Ukraine anti-terror operation|url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukrainian-armed-forces-repel-attack-by-gunmen-on-military-compound-in-artemivsk-344883.html|newspaper=Kyiv Post|date=24 April 2014|access-date=24 April 2014|archive-date=24 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424133534/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukrainian-armed-forces-repel-attack-by-gunmen-on-military-compound-in-artemivsk-344883.html|url-status=live}}

• Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
• Timeline of the war in Donbas

{{Reflist|group=nb}}

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|War in Donbas (Sloviansk)}}

• The Independent – [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-kidnappings-abound-as-the-donbass-falls-further-into-anarchy-9371591.html Ukraine crisis: Kidnappings abound as the Donbass falls further into anarchy]
• The Guardian – [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/04/freed-osce-observers-ordeal-capture-ukraine Freed OSCE observers tell of ordeal during capture in Ukraine]
• Polskie Radio [http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/169941,Captive-Polish-OSCE-observer-in-Ukraine-speaks-of-real-danger Captive Polish OSCE observer in Ukraine speaks of 'real danger']
• 6 July 2014, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140708055557/http://inforesist.org/en/road-of-death-destroyed-armored-group-of-terrorists-photo/ Road of death. Destroyed armored group of terrorists], inforesist.org

{{2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine}}

{{coord|48.8700|N|37.6250|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siege of Sloviansk}}

Category:Sloviansk

Category:2014 in Ukraine

Category:Sieges of the Russo-Ukrainian War

Category:Donetsk Oblast in the Russo-Ukrainian War

Category:Battles of the war in Donbas

Sloviansk

Category:Battles in 2014

Category:Torture in the Russo-Ukrainian War