The Pro-Russian separatists in Slaviansk asked Russia to provide them with weapons and threatened to kill Interior Minister of Ukraine , who had announced that he will visit the area.

“We are asking for help from the Vladimir Vlantimirovits ( Putin ) government ( … ). If you cannot send peacekeeping forces, send us weapons,” said the self-proclaimed mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomarev.

“We need weapons, we do not have enough” as “those ( the Ukrainian army ) have fighters and armour” explained Ponomarev, who confirmed that he has “no direct contact” with Moscow.

When asked by AFP on the visit of Ukrainian Interior Minister to eastern Ukraine he replied: “If he comes ( in Slaviansk ), I’ll shoot him by myself ( … ) I will not shake his hand.”

Confusion about the exact number of dead

According to the Russian TV channel, five people died during an armed attack at a checkpoint near Slaviansk. Local officials said that Ukrainians killed four people – three pro-Russian separatists and one attacker , while the Ukrainian Interior Ministry has announced that there is one dead and three wounded . Finally , according to the news channel Rossiya 24, six people were killed in Slaviansk during gun fire exchanges.