Seeing it as an act of aggression by Russia ,Ukrainian forces launched an "anti-terrorist operation" on Sunday after pro-Russian gunmen seized key buildings in the eastern part of the nation.
"Our response will be very severe," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page.
Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov on his facebook account posted: "Anti-terrorist operation has started in Slaviansk. It is managed by Anti-terrorist Center of the Security Service of Ukraine. All the law enforcement agencies of the country are participating. God speed! "
"Tell all civilians to leave the center of town - don't leave your apartment, or go to the window. Separatists opened fire on the special forces without negotiations."
European Union and United States are worried as the situation and the developments in Eastern Ukraine are similar to the previous attacks in Crimea and accuses Kremlin of orchestrating the unrest in order to justify a possible future invasion of eastern Ukraine
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced "strong concerns" about fresh attacks by armed militants in eastern Ukraine, threatening "additional consequences" unless Russia moves to ease tension there.
In a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Kerry said the attacks earlier in the day "were orchestrated and synchronized, similar to previous attack in eastern Ukraine and Crimea," the State Department said in a statement.
Easstern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Protesters in largely Russian-speaking Donetsk have been demanding a referendum on becoming part of Russia.
Eastern Ukraine is most significant to Ukraine’s economy and more vital to its survival than Crimea. Almost a third of the country's population lives within the region, which includes three cities with populations over a million. The major river of eastern Ukraine is Seversky Donets.
Putin is overrunning Ukraine and is possibly eyeing Moldova and Transdniester.
Transnistria split from the former Soviet republic of Moldova following a two-year war (1990-1992) that erupted as the Soviet Union collapsed.Unrecognised by any United Nations member state, Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the Transnistria autonomous territorial unit with special legal status .When Russian troops marched into Ukraine's Crimea region, NATO's top military commander Gen. Philip Breedlove warned Moscow may be eyeing other targets.
Western intelligence has shown tens of thousands more Russian troops massed on Ukraine's eastern border.
Eastern Ukraine demands referendum on autonomy
Protesters in Sloviansk and other eastern cities were demanding a referendum on autonomy and possible annexation by Russia and similar demands were made in Crimea in which voters opted to split off from Ukraine, leading to annexation by Russia
Pro-Russian Armed gunmen seized government buildings(police station and a security services) in Sloviansk, a town about 150 km (90 miles) from the Russian border, and set up barricades on the outskirts of the city. Official buildings in Druzhkovka were reportedly taken over.
This agression by Russia shows the extent of the crisis ahead of peace talks between EU and US diplomats and their Moscow and Kiev counterparts in Geneva on Thursday.
"We are very concerned by the concerted campaign we see underway in eastern Ukraine today by pro-Russian separatists, apparently with support from Russia, who are inciting violence and sabotage and seeking to undermine and destabilize the Ukrainian state," National Security Council spokesperson Laura Lucas Magnuson said in a statement Saturday.
"We call on President Putin and his government to cease all efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and we caution against further military intervention," Magnuson said.
Russia said authorities in Kiev needed to heed the "legitimate demands" of people in the Russian-speaking eastern regions of Ukraine, where there have been calls for independence from the central authorities.
Russia's action in Ukraine got backing from France
Marine Le Pen,the leader of France's far-right National Front voiced her support for the federalisation of Ukraine during a visit to Moscow .
Pen, who is also a European Parliament lawmaker,told the speaker of Russia's lower house Sergei Naryshkin she backed Moscow's call for Ukraine to devolve greater powers to its regions and is against sanctions against Russians including Naryshkin, a member of President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party.
Earlier,Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's eurosceptic UK Independence Party, accused the EU of having "blood on its
hands" for backing protesters who toppled pro-Russian former president Viktor Yanukovych.
The United States and EU have slapped sanctions on Russian officials and leading business figuresin response to Moscow's illegal and illegitimate occupation of Crimea . The Canadian government imposed sanctions on two more individuals and a Crimean oil and gas company.
The US has announced that it will provide a USD 1 billion loan guarantee to the Ukrainian government.
No comments:
Post a Comment