DONETSK, May 07. /ITAR-TASS/. The Regional Council of the eastern Donetsk region urged the Kiev authorities to stop the punitive operation in the east of the country and pull back the troops to their bases.

“The operation started in the north of the Donetsk region by a decision of the leaders of the country has already resulted in numerous deaths among civilians,” the Council said in a statement on Wednesday, May 7.

Its members are convinced that the situation in Slavyansk, another city in eastern Ukraine where people are protesting against Kiev’s rule, is on the brink of humanitarian catastrophe. “The city of Slavyansk has turned into an area of bloody fighting and basically into hell for its residents who cannot flee it because of the blockade,” the statement said.

The Council members urged the Kiev authorities “to resume the talks and find a peaceful political solution to the crisis.”

They also condemned the banishment of Communist Party deputies from parliament, which they believe “shows that the parliamentary majority is set to clear the political field of its opponents”.

Deputies of the Donetsk City Council sent a similar message to the Kiev authorities earlier in the day.