Rebels seize 3 government bases in eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russian armed men walk in an entrance to a border guards base, which they seized, on the outskirts of Luhansk, Ukraine, today.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pro-Russian armed men walk in an entrance to a border guards base, which they seized, on the outskirts of Luhansk, Ukraine, today.

LUHANSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian insurgents dislodged government troops from three bases in eastern Ukraine, a new blow to beleaguered armed forces as its president-elect vowed new initiatives to help end the regional mutiny.

Billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko, speaking in Warsaw, rejected the interim authorities’ proposal to introduce a martial law in Ukraine’s restive east. He said he would seek to pacify the regions with an offer of amnesty and a promise of early regional elections.

The move follows nearly two months of fighting in the region, where pro-Russia rebels have seized government buildings, declared two sprawling provinces independent and fought government forces.

Poroshenko’s offer, expected to be detailed in his inaugural address on Saturday, came as the Ukrainian troops suffered a series of humiliating setbacks today.

After hours of fighting in which six militants were killed and three Ukrainian servicemen were injured, the National Guards ran out of ammunition and had to leave their base near the eastern city of Luhansk.

Pro-Russian armed men examine destroyed rifles at a border guards base, which they seized, on the outskirts of Luhansk.

Also today , rebels seized a border guard base on the city’s outskirts following a nearly two-day-long siege and forced guards out of another base in the nearby town of Sverdlovsk on the Russian border. The guards were granted a safe exit and left with their weapons.

A rebel fighter who gave only his first name, Andrei, said they want to create a “humanitarian corridor” that would allow civilians to flee to Russia to escape the fighting.

The setbacks highlighted the ineffectiveness of Ukraine’s badly trained and cash-starved armed forces, which also have been plagued by bad communication and poor supply lines.

Ukraine’s provisional authorities have blamed the recent military failures on pro-Russia former President Viktor Yanukovych, claiming that his corrupt government starved soldiers of resources and training.