First Battle of Mariupol

During the unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Mariupol, in Donetsk Oblast, saw skirmishes break out between Ukrainian government forces, local police, and separatist militants affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic. Government forces withdrew from Mariupol on 9 May 2014 after heavy fighting left the city's police headquarters gutted by fire. These forces maintained checkpoints outside the city. Intervention by Metinvest steelworkers on 15 May 2014 led to the removal of barricades from the city centre, and the resumption of patrols by local police. Separatists continued to operate a headquarters in another part of the city until their positions were overrun in a government offensive on 13 June 2014.

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 2014. The first violent incident had occurred during the night on 16 April 2014, when about 300 pro-Russian and anti-government protesters attacked a Ukrainian military unit in Mariupol, throwing petrol bombs. Internal Affairs minister Arsen Avakov said that troops were forced to open fire, resulting in the killing of three of the attackers.

Ukrainian government forces claimed they "liberated" the Mariupol city council on 24 April 2014, 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

A violent clash involving armoured personnel carriers (APC) took place at the Mariupol police headquarters on Victory Day, 9 May 2014. The Ukrainian government said it sent in the APCs in response to an attempt by militant separatists to storm the building. According to the Internal Affairs Ministry, the assault on the station involved 60 separatists armed with automatic weapons. Some local policemen reportedly helped the militants during the takeover and later clashed with Internal Troops who fired on the building with heavy machine guns mounted on the APCs.

The Ukrainian government said its contingent included police, as well as an Omega unit of the National Guard. Pro-Russian protesters attempted to stop the advance, but were unsuccessful.Ukraine: 'Blood bath' in Mariupol
BBC. 9 May 2014. Ukrainian security forces attacked the police headquarters in an attempt to recapture it from militants, and during the assault the building caught fire. According to Internal Affairs minister Arsen Avakov, a separatist sniper fired at Ukrainian soldiers and civilians from the upper floors of a hospital. Avakov said that the counterattack resulted in the deaths of twenty separatists, and the capture of four, while the rest dispersed. He referred to the separatist militants as "terrorists", and warned that "annihilation" would be Ukraine's answer to future acts of terrorism.Ukraine crisis: Bloody assault in Mariupol dashes hopes of avoiding civil war
Independent.co.uk (9 May 2014). Retrieved 10 May 2014.

Avakov's account of what happened was contested by some Mariupol residents, who spoke to reporters from ''The New York Times'', the BBC, and ''The Independent'' shortly after the incident. The residents (many of whom showed their Ukrainian passports to prove they were not from Russia) said that the government had attacked local police who were sympathetic to protesters. One version of events, put forward by a group of residents cited by ''The New York Times'', was that the clash was sparked by Mariupol police rebelling against a new police chief sent by the interim government in Kyiv. The BBC report included a video showing pro-Russian activists trying unsuccessfully to stop armoured vehicles from moving into the city.

After the fighting the Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city, leaving it fully under control of pro-Russian protesters. The military retained control over checkpoints surrounding the city. The Ukrainian government said that its forces withdrew "to avoid further aggravation".(12 May 2014
Military were withdrawn from Mariupol to avoid further aggravation
''Kyiv Post'' The troops moving out of the city shot at unarmed civilians, according to ''The Guardian''. Anna Neistat from Human Rights Watch stated "my preliminary findings suggest that Ukrainian units might indeed have used excessive force near the drama theater, which resulted in deaths and injuries of some unarmed people" and urged a full, thorough investigation.

One armoured personnel carrier was captured by pro-Russian protesters. After the clashes, the protesters built barricades on roads in the city centre. Overnight, the city administration building was set ablaze and three gun shops were looted. The next day, insurgents set alight the captured armoured vehicle, causing the ammunition inside to explode. Individuals also threw petrol bombs at the city prosecutor's office and a military building, setting them on fire. On 11 May 2014, eight polling places were set up in Mariupol for the DPR's referendum on self-rule, with queues hundreds of metres long.

Intervention of Metinvest steelworkers

Metinvest in conjunction with owners Rinat Akhmetov and Vadim Novinsky

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