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 Prompted in part by the discovery of the body of a Ukrainian
politician who appeared to have been tortured, officials in Kiev
decided to renew what they call an "anti-terrorist operation"
against separatist militias who have seized control of about a dozen
public buildings in eastern Ukraine.
But it was unclear what steps, in reality, Kiev could take to
restore its authority in the mainly Russian-speaking east, without
wrecking an international deal, signed last week in Geneva, designed
to defuse the stand-off.
The crisis over Ukraine, now in its fourth month, has dragged
Russia's relations with the West to their lowest level since the
Cold War. A further escalation could lead to damaging economic
sanctions, and raises the risk of a disruption to the Russian gas
supplies on which Europe depends.
"The security forces are working on the liquidation of illegal armed
groups," in the east of Ukraine, First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly
Yarema told reporters.
"The corresponding activities will be carried out in the near
future, and you will see the results."
The Kiev government, which took power after Moscow-backed President
Viktor Yanukovich fled the capital in a row over whether to
strengthen ties with Europe, appeared to have been emboldened by
Tuesday's visit of U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden.
He brought a package of aid and urged Russia to curb the separatist
militias in the east.
"We have obtained the support of the United States, that they will
not leave us alone with an aggressor. We hope that in the event of
Russian aggression, this help will be more substantive," Yarema
said.
The United States and NATO have made clear they will not intervene
militarily in Ukraine. But the Pentagon said it was sending about
600 soldiers to Poland and the three Baltic states for infantry
exercises, to reassure NATO allies.
The Kiev government and its Western supporters accuse Moscow of
using covert agents to foment unrest in eastern Ukraine. Moscow
denies that, and says people in the east rose up spontaneously
against a government in Kiev which, it says, is illegitimate and
aligned with far-right nationalists.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would respond if
its interests, or the interests of Russian citizens were attacked.
"Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian
Federation," he said according to excerpts of an interview with
Russia Today news channel.
Russia justified its intervention in Crimea earlier this year by
saying it had to defend Russians living there. In eastern Ukraine
some people hold Russian passports.
The European Union said Russia should use its leverage to ensure an
immediate end to the violence in eastern Ukraine.
Lavrov said Moscow has no influence over the pro-Russian militias in
eastern Ukraine. He said he suspected Washington was directing the
Kiev government's response to the crisis.
GAS SUPPLIES
Russian gas giant Gazprom has said it will turn off supplies to
Ukraine next month unless Kiev pays its outstanding debts. That
would have a knock-on effect on deliveries to Europe, because much
of the gas shipped westwards has to pass through Ukrainian
territory.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said Russia had proposed a
ministerial meeting on Thursday with Ukraine and European officials
in Slovakia to talk about gas but the European Commission said
Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger was not expected to attend
any talks.
The crisis in Ukraine began when Yanukovich, under pressure from
Moscow, pulled out of a planned cooperation agreement with the EU.
Pro-Western protesters took to the streets and Yanukovich fled after
bloody clashes.
As a caretaker leadership of pro-Western protest leaders took over
the government in Kiev, the Kremlin sent its forces into Ukraine's
Crimea Peninsula, and shortly after annexed the region. Moscow said
it acted to protect local people who were being persecuted by Kiev's
new rulers, while the West called it an illegal land grab.
In Slaviansk, a flashpoint eastern Ukrainian city controlled by
pro-Russian armed men, the de facto local leaders ordered residents
to brace for an offensive by security forces loyal to Kiev, but
there was so far no sign of any operation on the ground.
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Ukraine's poorly resourced forces had previously shown little sign
of taking on the gunmen who started occupying towns and public
buildings two weeks ago. The offensive may not lead to much more
action but could fuel recriminations between Moscow and Kiev about
who is failing to honor the Geneva deal.
Mediators from the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in
Europe, tasked with helping the sides implement the accord, were in
eastern Ukraine trying to encourage illegal groups to disarm. There
was no sign yet they were backing down. ANGRY MOB
In areas under the separatists' control, there was growing evidence
of arbitrary rule by self-appointed local officials, backed up by
heavily-armed militias, and of violence being meted out against
opponents.
Kiev's decision to resume its security operation in the east was
prompted in part by the discovery of two bodies in a river near
Slaviansk. One resembled Volodymyr Rybak, a member of the same
Batkivshchyna party as Ukraine's acting president.
A video released on a local news site, gorlovka.ua, purported to
show Rybak being confronted by an angry crowd outside the town hall
in Horlivka, where he was a councilor.
In the footage, Rybak can be seen being manhandled by several men,
among them a masked man in camouflage, while other people hurl
abuse.
After several minutes, Rybak appears able to walk away. The Interior
Ministry said he was seen being bundled into a car by masked men in
camouflage later that day. His body, and that of a second man, was
found on Saturday in a river near Slaviansk.
In Slaviansk itself, the militia is holding three journalists,
including one U.S. citizen, Simon Ostrovsky, who works for the
online news site Vice News.
The separatists say they themselves are victims of violence and
persecution by the Ukrainians authorities and illegal armed groups
which, they say, support Kiev.
SANCTIONS
A senior U.S. official said Secretary of State John Kerry told
Russia's Lavrov in a telephone call on Tuesday that Washington would
impose new sanctions on Russia if tensions did not de-escalate in
eastern Ukraine.
This would be in addition to the visa bans and asset freezes already
imposed by Washington and Brussels on a list of Russian and
Ukrainian officials. These measures were imposed after Russia's
annexation of Crimea.
The Russian government has scoffed at the sanctions imposed so far,
and said it would withstand any further measures that are imposed.
But investors in Russia are jittery. Shares in Moscow were down for
a third straight day.
"Most traders are skeptical, as the U.S. government and Russia keep
on blaming each other for failing to de-escalate the crisis in
eastern Ukraine after the Geneva meeting," Alexandr Maksimov, an
analyst at AForex investment house, wrote in a note.
EU diplomats said the bloc was holding off from imposing further
sanctions until it sees whether the Geneva deal works.
The EU has been more cautious than the United States in imposing
sanctions on Russia, with some member states worried about
antagonizing a country supplying a third of Europe's gas.
(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets and Richard Balmforth in
Kiev and Nigel Stephenson in Moscow; writing by Christian Lowe; editing by Anna Willard)
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