Ukraine troops agree to leave Slavyansk: Pro-Russians

Armed pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk Province say they have made agreements with part of the Ukrainian troops to leave the city of Slavyansk.

The pro-Russian protesters said on Wednesday that some 300 Ukrainian forces surrounding Slavyansk have agreed to lay down their arms and leave the city.

Earlier in the day, a number of tanks carrying Russian flags entered the city with Ukrainian forces, who said they had defected and joined pro-Russian protesters.

The defection was confirmed by the pro-Russian activists, who reported that nearly 60 Ukrainian forces had switched sides.

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirmed that the tanks belonged to the country’s army; however, it rejected claims of army defections.

Meanwhile, residents in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kramatorsk have surrounded a convoy of armored vehicles to prevent them from entering the town.

On Tuesday, Kiev launched massive military operations against pro-Russian activists in the country’s eastern cities after protesters defied an April 14 deadline set by the Ukrainian government to lay down arms and leave occupied state buildings.

According to reports, pro-Moscow protesters continue to fortify their positions and occupy government, police and other administrative buildings in over a dozen cities close to the Russian border. Protesters have been demanding local referendums on either independence or integration into Russia.

Pro-Russia rallies gained momentum in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine after the Crimean territory declared independence from the former Soviet state and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation. Crimea held a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining Russia, with a turnout of more than 83 percent.