There have been casualties in Slovyansk after clashes between separatists and government forces. Local residents talked of heavy gunfire resounding across the city on Monday morning.<br /><br />Ukraine’s Interior Ministry confirmed four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 30 injured. <br /><br />Local media sources say 15 of the rebels have been injured; it’s understood there have been fatalities though that has not been clarified. <br /><br />A barrier was erected near a local hospital where the injured rebels were treated. Some of the victims, it’s reported, came from the local population.<br /><br />The crew of a Ukrainian military helicopter survived after it was shot down and crashed into a river the Interior Ministry said in a statement. It is the third to be downed in the area in the space of four days.<br /><br />It’s estimated that around 800 pro-Russian militants were involved in the clashes. <br /><br />Government forces took control of a TV tower and rebels retreated deeper into the city, according to the Russian agency Interfax.<br /><br />Moscow warned Kyiv on Monday that a humanitarian crisis was looming in blockaded towns in the east, and called on the government to stop using force against its people.<br /><br />It said Kyiv should, “withdraw forces and sit down at the negotiating table to begin a normal dialogue about ways to resolve the political crisis.”
