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| Ukraine launches operation against Russian 'plan to divide country' | Ukraine launches operation against Russian 'plan to divide country' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ukraine has launched an "anti-terrorist" operation against pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in many of its eastern cities | Ukraine has launched an "anti-terrorist" operation against pro-Russian separatists occupying government buildings in many of its eastern cities |
| Police arrested 70 pro-Russian demonstrators in Kharkiv on Tuesday, as protesters in two other cities held similar standoffs. Ukrainian authorities gave few details of the "operation that cleared the building in Kharkiv but said two police had been wounded by a grenade. | |
| Ukrainian special forces in combat gear, helmets and balaclavas and carrying machine guns stood guard outside the building early on Tuesday. A partly destroyed sign near the main door read: "Avakov – to jail", a reference to the Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov. | |
| Avakov made mention of the operation to clear the buildings on his Facebook page: "An anti-terrorist operation has been launched. The city centre is blocked along with metro stations. Do not worry. Once we finish, we will open them again." | Avakov made mention of the operation to clear the buildings on his Facebook page: "An anti-terrorist operation has been launched. The city centre is blocked along with metro stations. Do not worry. Once we finish, we will open them again." |
| The Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the interior ministry saying those detained were suspected of "illegal activity related to separatism, the organisation of mass disorder, damage to human health" and breaking other laws. | The Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the interior ministry saying those detained were suspected of "illegal activity related to separatism, the organisation of mass disorder, damage to human health" and breaking other laws. |
| Ukraine's acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, made a televised address to the nation in which he accused Moscow of orchestrating the protests in an attempt to repeat "the Crimea scenario". | Ukraine's acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, made a televised address to the nation in which he accused Moscow of orchestrating the protests in an attempt to repeat "the Crimea scenario". |
| Russia has denied Ukrainian charges of involvement but warned Kiev against any use of force against Russian-speakers. On Tuesday, Russia's foreign ministry called on Kiev to stop massing military forces it said were tasked with suppressing anti-government protests in the south-east of the country. | |
| "We call for an immediate halt to military preparations which could lead to an outbreak of civil war," the ministry said in a statement. | "We call for an immediate halt to military preparations which could lead to an outbreak of civil war," the ministry said in a statement. |
| The pro-Russian protesters still barricaded inside official buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk demanded that referendums be held on whether to join Russia, similar to the one that preceded Moscow's annexation of Crimea. | |
| "An anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation … under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize the territory of the country," the prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, said in public remarks to his cabinet. "We will not allow this." | |
| Ukrainian authorities have made no mention of plans to extend their operation so far. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Vitaly Yarema, as saying there would be no storming of Donetsk's regional authority building, which has also been occupied by protesters. | Ukrainian authorities have made no mention of plans to extend their operation so far. Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Vitaly Yarema, as saying there would be no storming of Donetsk's regional authority building, which has also been occupied by protesters. |
| He said the decision was made after talks in Donetsk with the protesters involving influential and wealthy businessman Rinat Akhmetov, who is from the city. | He said the decision was made after talks in Donetsk with the protesters involving influential and wealthy businessman Rinat Akhmetov, who is from the city. |
| The US secretary of state, John Kerry, is reported to have told the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call that Washington was watching events in eastern Ukraine with great concern and any further moves by Moscow to destabilise Ukraine would "incur further costs for Russia". | The US secretary of state, John Kerry, is reported to have told the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, in a phone call that Washington was watching events in eastern Ukraine with great concern and any further moves by Moscow to destabilise Ukraine would "incur further costs for Russia". |
| Kerry "called on Russia to publicly disavow the activities of separatists, saboteurs and provocateurs" in Ukraine, the US state department said. The two discussed convening direct talks in the next 10 days between Ukraine, Russia, the US and the European Union to defuse tensions. | Kerry "called on Russia to publicly disavow the activities of separatists, saboteurs and provocateurs" in Ukraine, the US state department said. The two discussed convening direct talks in the next 10 days between Ukraine, Russia, the US and the European Union to defuse tensions. |
| In an article in the Guardian, Lavrov denied Russia was destabilising Ukraine and accused the west of "groundless whipping-up of tension". Separately, he warned authorities in Kiev against any use of force against pro-Russian demonstrators. |