By
Chris Pleasance
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Two people have been killed and several others wounded in a shootout in eastern Ukraine ahead of tomorrow’s referendum on Crimea being annexed to Russia.
One pro-Russia protester and a passerby were killed when Ukrainian nationalists opened fire on a group of men trying to storm their headquarters in the city late on Friday, police sources said.
The deaths were likely to further fuel tensions in the region, coming less than a day after Russia warned that it reserved the right to protect compatriots in the whole of Ukraine.
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Two men have been shot dead in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight when pro-Russian demonstrators tried to storm the headquarters of a Ukrainian nationalist organisation
The killings of a protester and passerby bring the total number of deaths in Ukraine to three in two days after another activist was fatally stabbed in Donetsk on Thursday
Thousands of pro-Russia demonstrators have gathered in Donetsk today ahead of a vote tomorrow which is expected to annex Crimea to Russia
Tensions have also spread to Moscow where thousands of demonstrators have gathered to oppose Putin’s plans to take control of Crimea
Pro-Russian supporters have also taken to the streets of Moscow in larger number than in Ukraine
The interim Ukranian prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, has blamed the Kremlin for the deaths, accusing Russia of provoking tensions in the east of the country.
Police said events leading to the deaths on Friday began when a group of nationalists opened fire from inside a car at a pro-Russian protest being held on Kharkiv’s central Freedom Square.
No one was reported seriously hurt in the incident and a group of several dozen pro-Russian protesters chased the car, tracking it to the headquarters of the Ukrainian Patriots nationalist group.
The pro-Russians tried to storm the building and the nationalists opened fire, killing one of them along with a passerby, police said.
The Patrioty Ukrainy group then took several hostages from other offices inside the building as the police arrived, the police sources said.
Meanwhile in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, members of the electoral commission prepare voting booths
A referendum tomorrow is expected to overwhelmingly back passing control of Crimea to Russia
However US Secretary of State John Kerry made it clear yesterday that America and the West will not recognise the outcome of the vote, saying it violates international law
Six people were injured in the ensuing gunfight, including a police offer who suffered serious wounds.
The nationalists eventually agreed to give up their arms and surrender. Police said they made 30 arrests.
It marked the second death in two days in Ukraine’s tinderbox east, where a pro-Kiev supporter was stabbed to death in the city of Donetsk late on Thursday.
Huge protests are also taking place today in another Ukrainian city, Donetsk, o the Russian border where a pro-Russian activist was killed on Thursday.
Thousands have also gathered in Moscow both in support and opposition to President Putin’s attempts to take Crimea under Russian control.
Violence has escalated in Ukraine’s Russia-leaning east in recent days, as pro-Russia demonstrators have seized government buildings and clashed with supporters of the new Kiev government.
Kharkiv, near the Russian border, is a hotbed of pro-Russia sentiment and opposition to the acting Ukrainian government that took power last month after Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in the wake of months of protests.
Former Russian deputy prime minister turned opposition leader Boris Nemtsov (centre) has joined pro-Ukrainian demonstrators in Moscow
Tens of thousands of activists gathered inside Russia both supporting and opposing Putin’s actions in Crimea
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said yesterday that Putin will not make a decision over Ukraine until after tomorrow’s vote
Russia has denounced Right Sector and similar groups as ‘fascists’ who allegedly want to oppress ethnic Russians in Ukraine.
Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry’s human rights pointman, today urged Kiev to outlaw ultranationalist groups it blames for the fighting.
However, a spokesman for Right Sector in eastern Ukraine, Igor Moseichuk, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying the shooting was a ‘planned provocation by pro-Russian forces.’
The Ukrainian region of Crimea, where ethnic Russians are a majority, is effectively under Russian control after troops entered following Yanukovych’s departure.
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Ukraine tensions spiral ahead of vote on future rule of Crimea
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