Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-08
k|Ey IS CAPTURED
BYPOL|SH FORCES,
BOLSHEV|KS ADMIT
Ukrainians Assist in Selling
Their Capitalized
Troops in Danger.
Bx the lssociated Press.

LONDON. May s.-Polish and
Ukrainian troops captured Kiev on
Thursday night, according to an Off
cial statement issued at Moscow yes
terday and received here by wireless.
The text Of the statement says:
I'm the Kiev region during the night
Of May 81 our toops engaged superior
enemy forces northwest and southwest
Of Kiev. Toward evening the enemy
broke into the outskirts Of the town,
| but were held up by our counter
alta attacks; Later our troops, in accord
in order to the left bank of the
Dnieper river
I'm the direction Of Pytaloff our
troops repulsed an enemy advance
| twenty-eight miles south Of Krasny.
| In the direction Of lgumen, east Of
the Beresina river near Beresina viii
lage. but was driven back across the
river"
BlaIatseFkiev IL Taken.
WARSAW. May 8 (by the Associated
Press) s).-Pushing northeasterly towards
the Dnieper the Poles and UkrAinians
today crossed the Ras river and cap
tured Bialatserliex. forty, miles south of
Kiev and Rokitna. The drive began in
the Skvira region, continuing eastward
and then northeasterfy. as part Of tho
encircling movement about Kiev.
Bialatserlkiev was the Polish gateway
during the Tartar invasions. There
stands the Polish defending castle built
In 1915, which the bolsheviki used
against the Poles. The castle was taken
IN hand-to-hand fighting, the bolshevild
finally Withdrawing northward towards
Kiev. :,
Tha oaw~nonar~ - w,-.- - -
has been ascertained that half Of the $50
Ukrainian officers who surrendered to
the Poles were Germans These were
part of the $4,000 previously fighting
with Gen. Denikine, who surrendered
soon after the Polish offensive began.
Retreat May BE Cut on.
BERN. May THE bolshevik re-
treat eastward in the vicinity Of Kiev
! may soon be cut of through the oc-
cupation Of the railway by the Ukrain-
| Ian irregu1ars near Fastov. southwest
Of Kiev. according to q message re-
ceived hero today by the Ukrainian
mission.
The message adds that major opera
tions against the bolsheviki are fr
progress in western Ukrainfa and that
Polish. Ukrainian and Galician troops
have Joined for the purpose of pur-
| suing the bolsheviki.
All Doubt IL Removed.
Reports that Kiev had fallen were
current in Warsaw on Monday Of thif
week. but subsequent development.
showed these reports to have been er.
roneous. Today's advices from the
soviet side. however. seem to leave nc
room for doubt that the Polish cam.
| paign for possession Of the city ha.
been at least temporarily successful
| The latest advices from Warsaw on
| the Kiev campaign are two days old.
having been filed in the Polish capt.
tai at $3.50 pm. on Thursday The re-
ports available in Warsaw at that
time indicated that the fight for tho
approaches to the city was still in
progress during the day. Thursday.
| Capital OF Ukraine.
Kiev, a city of 250.000 or more popu-
lation before the war. is the capital
OF the Ukraine. The town has
changed hands several times during
/ the fighting between contending
groups in the Ukrainian territory and
the conflict between the Denikine
forces and the bolsheviki. The latter
have been in possession OF 1t since
last December. taking the city during
| the collapse of the Denikine army in
southern Russia
Kiev, in addition to its importance
| to Ukraine as its chief city. has also
been looked upon from the entente
side as a valuable outpost at strate-
gic point against tho advance Of boil
shevism in central Europe along the
extended line stretching from the
Baltic to the Black sea.