Slavyansk locals facing food, medicine shortage

People in Ukraine’s eastern city of Slavyansk are facing a shortage of food and medicine as violence rages on in the restive region, Press TV reports.

The Ukrainian army is continuing its offensive against pro-Russia forces in Slavyansk as part of its ongoing military operation in the country’s southeast.

Alexander Boroday, the prime minister of Donetsk People’s Republic, has warned that locals have difficulty meeting their basic needs.

“As you know, there is a war going on here. This war is turning into genocide. There is severe fighting around Slavyansk. Heavy artilleries are being used. We are running out of medicine. We already don’t have enough food. We have a lot of sick, old and retired people. There are sick children,” he said.

The fighting, which broke out on Tuesday, has forced many civilians to seek refuge in makeshift underground shelters in Slavyansk.

The Kiev government says over 300 pro-Russian forces have been killed over the past 24 hours in the offensive centered in and around Slavyansk.

A pro-independence protester said, “The Kiev government has received an order from the United States. They want to bring NATO here. The US wants to fight Russia. This is why they provoke us. They call us terrorists and separatists because we do not want to live with them. We don’t need Europe.”

On May 12, the Donetsk and Lugansk regions declared independence following local referendums in which the provinces’ residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kiev.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army for weeks now.

Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko has ruled out negotiating with the pro-Russians, vowing to continue the military operations in the country’s southeastern provinces.