Ukraine Struggles for Control in East, as US Links Moscow to Unrest
by VOA News April 08, 2014
Ukraine's government struggled Tuesday to assert and maintain control of key cities in its pro-Russian east, as pressure mounts to bridge ethnic and political divides that threaten to further split the country.
Authorities say shots were fired and at least 60 pro-Moscow protesters were arrested in Kharkiv, while to the south, pro-Russian demonstrators dug in for a third day at a government facility captured Sunday in the city of Donetsk.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian security officials said protesters in Luhansk, who are also seeking to split Ukraine and join Russia, wired an occupied building with explosives and were holding 60 hostages.
US position
In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accused Russian agents and special forces of stoking separatist unrest in eastern Ukraine.
In testimony Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he called the Russian actions a "contrived pretext" for military intervention.
"What we see from Russia is an illegal and illegitimate effort to destabilize a sovereign state.… No one should be fooled, and believe me, no one is fooled by what could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea," said Kerry.
He said the U.S. and its allies will not hesitate to use 21st century tools to hold Russia accountable for 19th century behavior.
He did not elaborate.
Republican criticism
Taking issue with the Obama administration's approach on Ukraine, Republican Senator John McCain said that not enough was being done to counter Russia's moves.
He said that instead of talking softly and carrying a big stick, the administration was doing the opposite, adding that steps taken in response to what he called the "Russian dismemberment of Ukraine" were insufficient.
"Some individual sanctions, some diplomatic sanctions, suspension, not removal [of Russia] from the G8, and now, more threats to come," said McCain.
Kerry said President Barack Obama is preparing a far tougher set of sanctions on Russia if it continues efforts to destabilize Ukraine
In an effort to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, the U.S., the European Union, Russia and representatives of Ukraine's government are set to meet in Europe within the next ten days. Moscow has insisted that representatives of Ukraine's restive eastern regions also participate in the talks.
NATO response
In Paris, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned that further Russian intervention in Ukraine would be a 'historic mistake' that would further isolate Russia from the world.
He urged Russia to pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border and engage in constructive dialogue with the Kyiv government.
Russia still maintains tens of thousands of troops on its borders with Ukraine as part of what it calls military exercises.
Meanwhile, NATO has announced it will triple its usual number of fighter jets patrolling over the Baltics next month to beef up its eastern European defenses due to tensions with Russia over Ukraine, a NATO military official said on Tuesday.
Four NATO fighters are usually based in the Baltics but the United States, which currently has responsibility for patrolling the skies there, increased that to 10 F-15s to reassure those states following Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Some reporting by Reuters
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