- Title: UKRAINE: Slaviansk separatist leader denies his arrest by Ukraine rebels
- Date: 22nd May 2014
- Summary: SLAVIANSK, UKRAINE (MAY 22, 2014) (REUTERS) PEOPLE OUTSIDE SLAVIANSK ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SAYING: "There are some comments in the media that I was allegedly detained or arrested for my links with the criminal world. I will deny this lie produced by our ideological enemies one more time, this is all wrong. I am a law-abiding person and always was throughout my entire life." JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SAYING: "Ukrainian military detain innocent journalists who correctly cover the events happening here, but I also want to say that we have something to offer to exchange those journalists. So if the junta hears me - think it over, let's start the exchange process, the journalists must be freed." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SAYING: "If Kiev's junta will not move out the troops out of here we will slowly finish them, well it will take some time. A month more or a month less the result will be the same they will lose anyway." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SAYING: "I doubt that those elections will be recognised as legitimate, because ballots would be thrown in, there will be falsifications. For 20 years of the existence of Ukraine, they (Ukrainians authorities) know how to do that. I have no doubts that there will be falsifications and all the observers would prefer not to notice this, in order to call those elections legal and legitimate." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SLAVIANSK SEPARATIST LEADER, VYACHESLAV PONOMARYOV, SAYING: "He (businessman Akhmetov) tries to save what he has so far, as he understands very well that if there will be real people's power, he will not have anything and everything will be nationalised. They will remember him everything." VARIOUS OF PRO-RUSSIAN SEPARATISTS MANNING CHECKPOINT SLAVIANSK IN DUSK WITH ARTILLERY FIRING
- Embargoed: 6th June 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Ukraine
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Conflict,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADSNY82I5QCVASQOEIY73DORRB
- Story Text: A separatist leader in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk denies he was arrested by other rebel units; says the region needs Russian troops to ensure stability and safety.
The rebel mayor of the pro-Russian separatist Ukrainian city of Slaviansk denied on Thursday (May 22) that he was arrested by fellow separatist leader units.
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov told a news conference he was arrested by his fellow separatists for his connections with criminal groups, as reported is some media outlets.
"There are some comments in the media that I was allegedly detained or arrested for my links with the criminal world. I will deny this lie produced by our ideological enemies one more time, this is all wrong. I am a law-abiding person and always was throughout my entire life," Ponomaryov said.
Pro-Russian separatists continue their confrontation with Ukrainian troops in the eat of the country.
In Slaviansk, which has turned into a separatists' stronghold, Ponomaryov said the militants were ready to fight.
"If Kiev's junta does not move out the troops out of here we will slowly finish them, well it will take some time. A month more or a month less, the result will be the same. They will lose anyway," he said.
Ukraine said more than a dozen servicemen were killed on Thursday in an early morning clash with pro-Russian separatists, stoking security concerns ahead of a presidential election on Sunday.
Kiev's pro-Western government said its forces had also rebuffed an attempt by the separatists to enter its territory from Russia and it called for an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss Moscow's role in the violence.
The election is meant to stabilise Ukraine after mass street protests toppled Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovich in February.
Ponomaryov said that the latest call by Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov for protests against armed separatists who plan to disrupt the election is his attempt to avoid the nationalisation of his plants. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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