Ukraine says insurgents attack border guards

Source: AP-EXCITE

By NEBI QENA and PETER LEONARD

LUHANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of armed insurgents attacked a border guards' camp in eastern Ukraine, and at least five rebels were killed in the clash, a spokesman for the guards said Monday.

Rebels in uniform near the Luhansk base promised safety for the officers if they surrendered and laid down their arms. The pro-Russian insurgents, who have seized government and police buildings across eastern Ukraine, have waged increasingly aggressive attacks on government-held checkpoints and garrisons in an attempt to seize weapons and ammunition from Ukrainian forces.

Serhiy Astakhov, the spokesman for the border guard service, told The Associated Press by telephone that a preliminary assessment indicated that five rebels were killed and eight injured in the attack on the camp in Luhansk, a major city not far from the Russian border. He also said seven servicemen were injured, three seriously.

The initial attack by about 100 insurgents was met by firing from the border guards, and the number of attackers swelled to around 400 a few hours later. Astakhov said the fighting was continuing and that the Ukrainian forces had sent an airplane to the area, but still had been unable to quell the attack.

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Ukrainian army paratroopers move to position in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Monday, June 2, 2014. Hundreds of armed insurgents attacked a border guards{2019} camp in eastern Ukraine Monday, as rebels nearby promised safety for the officers if they surrendered the base and lay down their arms. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)