Nine cities in Donetsk, and one in Luhansk Oblast are currently occupied by Kremlin-backed forces.
Via The Kyiv Post:
FOX News reported:
Ukraine’s acting president said Tuesday that a military operation to quash a pro-Russian insurgency has started in eastern Ukraine after more than a week of seizures of government building in the latest standoff to grip the country.
Oleksandr Turchynov said the “anti-terrorist” operation began in the early morning hours in the northern Donetsk region, where the majority of the pro-Russian forces are located, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Overnight, an anti-terrorist operation began in the north of Donetsk. But it will be phased, responsible and balanced. The purpose of the actions, I stress once again, is to protect the citizens of Ukraine,” Turchynov told Ukraine’s parliament, according to Interfax.
“The plans of the Russian Federation were and remain brutal. They want not only for Donbass (Donetsk region), but for the whole south and east of Ukraine to be engulfed by fire,” Turchynov continued. The aim of the operation is to “defend the citizens of Ukraine, to stop terror, stop crime and stop attempts to tear our country into pieces,” he said.
The Interior Ministry in the Donetsk region said the police station in Kramatorsk that had been seized by pro-Russian gunmen was “liberated” Tuesday, but a nearby small airport was still controlled by the militia.
Ukraine's military vehicles outside Slovyansk last night
http://t.co/PAIYKmVFyl
via @NatVasilyevaAP pic.twitter.com/qH0cb8c05X
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) April 15, 2014