| ABC News | - |
Russia
began new military exercises near its border with Ukraine, the defense
minister announced Thursday, after Ukrainian forces launched an
operation to drive pro-Russia insurgents out of occupied buildings in
the country's tumultuous east.
Ukraine Moves Against Insurgents in the East
Russia began new military exercises near its border with Ukraine, the
defense minister announced Thursday, after Ukrainian forces launched an
operation to drive pro-Russia insurgents out of occupied buildings in
the country's tumultuous east.
The Ukrainian move, which killed at least two people, brought new
threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who denounced it as a
"punitive operation."
"If the Kiev government is using the army against its own people this is clearly a grave crime," Putin said.
His statement and the announcement of new military exercises involving
ground and air forces sharpened anxiety over the prospect of a Russian
military incursion into Ukraine. Russia's foreign minister warned a day
earlier that any attack on Russian citizens or interests in eastern
Ukraine would bring a strong response.
The crisis "could quickly spin out of control," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday.
Animosity between Moscow and Kiev has been high since the ouster of
Russia-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych in February in the wake of
months of protests. Russia contends the government that took over
consists of nationalists who aim to suppress the large Russian-speaking
population in Ukraine's east.
In March, Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula after its residents voted
to split off from Ukraine. Russian troops backed up local militias that
blocked off Ukrainian military bases in the run-up to the referendum.
Ukraine's acting president accused Russia of backing the separatists in
the east and demanded that Moscow stop its intimidation campaign, and
leave his country alone.
Oleksandr Turchynov said in an address to the nation Thursday that
Russia was "coordinating and openly supporting terrorist killers" in
eastern Ukraine, where government buildings in at least 10 cities have
been seized by pro-Russia gunmen.
Turchynov said Russia must pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border and "stop the constant threats and blackmail."
His foreign minister, on a visit to Prague, also blasted the Russian
decision to start new military maneuvers and said his country would
fight any invading troops.
"We will now fight with Russian troops if ... they invade Ukraine.
Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian army are ready to do this," Andriy
Deshchytisa told The Associated Press.
Russia already has tens of thousands of troops stationed in regions
along its border with Ukraine. The latest Russian military exercises
involve ground troops in the south and the west and the air forces
patrolling the border, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.
Ukraine and Russia reached a deal in Geneva last week to defuse the
crisis, but pro-Russian insurgents in the east — and nationalist
militants in Kiev — have defied calls for all sides to disarm and to
vacate the buildings they are occupying.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow sharply criticized
Russia for making "veiled threats" and said Russia should pull its
troops back to their barracks.
The Ukrainian government and the West worry that Putin would welcome a
pretext for a military intervention in eastern Ukraine. Putin denies
that any Russian agents are operating there, but insists he has the
right to intervene to protect the ethnic Russians who make up a sizeable
minority in the east.
Earlier in Tokyo, President Barack Obama accused Moscow of failing to
live up to "the spirit or the letter" of last week's deal to ease
tensions in Ukraine. If that continues, Obama said, "there will be
further consequences and we will ramp up further sanctions."
With no appetite in the U.S. for a military response, Obama is largely
banking on Putin caving under a cascade of economic sanctions targeting
his closest associates. But the success of that strategy also depends on
European nations with closer financial ties to Moscow taking similar
action, despite their concerns about a boomerang effect on their own
economies.
"I understand that additional sanctions may not change Mr. Putin's
calculus," Obama said. "How well they change his calculus in part
depends on not only us applying sanctions, but also the cooperation of
other countries."
Meanwhile, an American journalist who had been held by insurgents in the eastern city of Slovyansk was freed Thursday.
Simon Ostrovsky of Vice News told the AP in a brief telephone call that
he had been freed and was heading to Donetsk, the largest city in the
region. He did not give details of his seizure or his release.
Ostrovsky went missing early Tuesday in Slovyansk. A spokeswoman for
the insurgents later said he was being held at a local Ukrainian
security service that had been seized earlier.
Slovyansk, located 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of the Russian border, has emerged as the focus of the armed insurgency.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said military and special police forces
killed "up to five terrorists" while destroying three checkpoints north
of Slovyansk on Thursday. One government security service member was
wounded, it said.
Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for the Slovyansk insurgents, said two
pro-Russia fighters were killed at a checkpoint in the village of
Khrestyshche, six miles north of the city. She said checks were being
made at hospitals to see if there were other casualties.
The situation was quiet in Slovyansk itself, but checkpoints inside the
city were abandoned and it was unclear where the pro-Russia insurgents
manning them had gone.
Khorosheva said the pro-Russia militia later regained control over the
checkpoints where the clashes took place. By Thursday afternoon, an AP
reporter confirmed that some of those checkpoints were back in the hands
of insurgents.
Khorosheva declared that the fighters were ready to repel any attack by government troops.
"We will defend ourselves to our last drop of blood. We are ready to
repeat Stalingrad," she told the AP, invoking the memory of the Soviet
army's victory over German forces in 1942-43.
At least 10 Ukrainian government armored vehicles were seen on the road
north of Slovyansk and two helicopters circled over the area. Troops
ordered residents in the area to keep away during the operation.
Near the town of Makatikha, several miles north of Slovyansk, pro-Russia
militia set fire to rows of car tires in an apparent attempt to reduce
the visibility from the air. An AP reporter saw about two dozen
militiamen manning checkpoints along the road earlier in the day.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said his forces had cleared city hall in
Mariupol of the pro-Russia protesters who had been occupying it for more
than a week. He provided no details of the operation in the city, which
sits along the main road between mainland Russia and Crimea.
Yulia Lasazan, a spokeswoman for Mariupol's police department, told the
AP about 30 masked men armed with baseball bats stormed the building
before dawn Thursday and started beating the pro-Russia protesters. Five
people were taken to a hospital, she said.
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