Mariupol standoff

During the rising unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast saw clashes break out between Ukrainian government forces and rebels affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic. This resulted in an entrenched standoff that eventually led to the withdrawal of both sides' forces.

Background
Mariupol is the second-largest city in the Donetsk Oblast, and has experienced sporadic unrest since March 2014. Pro-Russian and anti-government groups first occupied the city council building on 18 March. The first violent incident occurred during the night on 16 April, when about 300 pro-Russian and anti-government protesters attacked a Ukrainian military unit in Mariupol, throwing petrol bombs. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that troops were forced to open fire, resulting in the killing of three of the attackers.

Ukrainian government forces claimed to have "liberated" Mariupol city council on 24 April, though this was heavily disputed by anti-government demonstrators, and a BBC report said that there was "no sign" of the army. The building changed hands multiple times thereafter, but was captured by the army on 8 May.

Events
Pro-Russian protesters and militants occupied the city's police headquarters on 9 May. Local policemen reportedly helped the protesters during the takeover and later clashed with Internal Troops who fired on the building with mounted heavy machine guns atop armoured personnel carriers (APCs). According to the Interior Ministry, the assault on the station involved 60 separatists armed with automatic weapons. The Ukrainian contingent was then reinforced by police, as well as an Omega unit of the National Guard; soldiers, tanks, APCs and other military vehicles were seen in the city. Pro-Russian protesters attempted to the stop the advance, but were unsuccessful. Ukrainian security forces attacked the police headquarters in an attempt to recapture it from militants, and during the assault the building caught fire. One armoured personal carrier was captured by pro-Russian protesters and after the clashes they built barricades in the city centre.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov claimed that a separatist sniper fired from the upper floors of a hospital at Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Local residents disputed the Ukrainian government's claims that they were armed and insisted that policemen sympathetic to protesters and residents were killed by government forces. Many showed their Ukrainian passports to a British reporter from The Independent, denying they were from Russia. Ukrainian authorities called those taking part in the fighting as "terrorists".

After the fighting the military withdrew from the city, leaving it fully under control of pro-Russian protesters. According to the The Hindu and the The Guardian it shot at unarmed civilians during their retreat. According to other sources, the soldiers were fired upon from the crowd by a gunman who then used a civilian as a human shield and who ended up as a casualty. They retained control over checkpoints surrounding the city. Over night the city administration building was set ablaze, and three gun shops were looted.

The next day, rebels set alight the captured armoured vehicle, causing the ammunition inside to explode. Individuals also threw Molotov cocktails at the city prosecutor's office and a military building, setting them on fire.

Metinvest in conjunction with owners Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky announced that the company would be forming city-wide militia groups from local steelworkers to work with police. The squads were said to 'protect civilians from looters and criminals operating in the city', Akhmetov urged the Ukrainian government to refrain from sending its forces to the city and start negotiations with the rebels.

Steelworkers and security guards from Metinvest, along with local police, began joint patrols in the city of Mariupol on 15 May. These groups forced the insurgents out of the buildings that they had been occupying. A representative of the Donetsk People's Republic was party to a deal which led to this vacation of buildings by the insurgents, but a local commander of those insurgents who had been occupying the building said that "someone is trying to sow discord among us, someone has signed something, but we will continue our fight", and that "everyone ran away". Steelworkers could be seen removing barricades from the city centre, and also cleaning up the burnt city administration building. By the morning of 16 May, Associated Press journalists could find no trace of the insurgents in Mariupol city centre. In the afternoon, however, reporters from the Washington Post said that about a hundred pro-Russian activists were gathered on the steps of the city administration building, and that the separatist flag continued to fly over it.

Casualties
There are conflicting reports regarding the number and identity of the dead. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov stated that the operation resulted in the death of one policeman and about twenty people described as "terrorists". Four militants were captured and five policemen were wounded. According to The Telegraph locals believe that most of the 5 to 20 people killed were innocent civilians. City traffic police chief Victor Saienko was killed in the fighting against pro-Russian forces, and Chief of Police Valery Andruschuk was kidnapped by pro-Russian forces. He was released on 12 May in serious condition with a brain injury, brain contusion, and broken ribs.

It was confirmed later that two Territorial Defence members were killed as well. One of them was the deputy commander of the Territorial Defence Battalion for Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Sergey Demidenko, who was killed by sniper fire. Citing eyewitnesses, Mariupol news outlet 0629 reported that "terrorists took Demidenko's dead body and cut his ears off and gouged his eyes." Eight soldiers were also wounded in the fighting.

A llarge public funeral was held in Kiev on 12 May for an 'Azov' Battalion member who was killed in the fighting..