Ukraine continued military operations to dislodge rebels from its eastern industrial heartland as violence that’s spread to the Black Sea gateway of Odessa threatens to loosen Kiev’s control of the regions. Government troops are in heavy fighting in Slovyansk, Interfax reported. Ukraine sent special forces from Kiev to Odessa after dismissing the local police for “possibly criminal” actions related to a deadly fire there, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook account. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in a BBC interview the conflict is a “real war” and that it’s “due to Russian aggression and due to Russian-led protesters.” Fighting in Odessa, where Interfax said two people were injured yesterday, is taking place about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the European Union’s southeastern frontier in Romania. It’s also Ukraine’s most important conduit to the Black Sea after Russia took control of Crimea last month. Four EU and NATO members share a border with Ukraine: Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.