Ukraine Military Helicopter Shot Down; 14 Dead

What's This?

Black smoke rises from a shot down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Sloviansk, Ukraine, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Image: Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press

By Amanda Wills2014-05-29 11:47:30 UTC

Pro-Russian separatists shot down a military helicopter in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk on Thursday. All 14 people on board died, including a general, Ukraine's acting president confirmed.

"I have just received information that terrorists using Russian anti-aircraft missiles shot down our helicopter near Slaviansk. It had been ferrying servicemen for a change of duty," acting President Oleksander Turchinov told parliament.

An Associated Press reporter in Sloviansk witnessed the helicopter go down and said there was gunshots around the crash site as a Ukrainian air force jet flew overhead.

A Ukrainian Army military jet flies over a shot down Ukrainian Army helicopter outside Sloviansk, Ukraine, Thursday, May 29, 2014.

Sloviansk, a city of 120,000 located about 100 miles from the Russian border, has become the epicenter of fighting in eastern Ukraine over the past few months as armed pro-Russian rebels have seized government buildings and strategically stationed themselves around the city and its outskirts.

However, just 70 miles south of Sloviansk, Donetsk is quickly becoming another hotbed of conflict in the country's eastern region.

On Monday, rebels who were armed to the teeth seized the airport and ignited a battle against the military, which unleashed airstrikes against the fighters. Two civilians and at least 30 pro-Russian separatists were killed in what is now the largest military assault since the crisis started.

Topics: Ukraine , US & World, World