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| Ukraine says it is launching counteroffensive; Russia’s PM says nation on brink of civil war | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| DONETSK, Ukraine— The Ukrainian government announced the start of a staged counteroffensive Tuesday to reclaim control of the eastern part of the country, as Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Ukraine was descending into civil war. | |
| Facing mounting pressure to act following the takeover of official buildings by pro-Russian separatists in at least nine cities in the restive east, acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov said that a counterterrorism operation had begun in the northern Donetsk region early Tuesday. | |
| Eyewitnesses and officials reported a buildup of Ukrainian forces not far from Izyum, a city located near the border of Kharkiv and Donetsk provinces in the east. The area sits a few dozen miles north of Slavyansk, which was seized by well-armed pro-Russian activists Saturday and was the site of a failed operation by Ukraine to reclaim the city on Sunday. | |
| An Izyum official involved in the mobilization and who asked not to be named said the city was being used as a fueling and feeding station for Ukrainian troops, who had begun arriving over the weekend and were taking up positions outside the city’s limits. | |
| But as of Tuesday afternoon, Ukrainian forces had not yet engaged armed pro-Russian separatists, and the government in Kiev remained in a tight spot. | |
| Ultimatums issued by the government to pro-Russian activists to surrender have come and gone with no significant response, and the limited operation in the seized town of Slavyansk ended after a Ukrainian security officer was killed. | |
| There is deep uncertainty over the technical ability of Ukraine's underfunded and demoralized military to respond to pro-Russian forces, some of whom are heavily armed. At the same time, the government was balancing calls for action against the possibility that too strong a response could prompt Russian troops stationed just across the border to intervene more directly. | |
| “A counterterrorism operation was launched in the north of Donetsk region,” Turchynov told parliament on Tuesday. “But it will go on gradually, responsibly and prudently. Once again I emphasize that these actions are meant for the protection of Ukrainian citizens, stopping terror, criminality and attempts to break our country into pieces.” | |
| In Donetsk, Mayor Alexander Lukyanchenko pleaded with pro-Russian activists not to make good on a threat to storm the city council offices Tuesday. “If the city authorities are paralyzed, it would be to the detriment of all inhabitants of the city,” he told a news conference. | |
| Underscoring the pressure from Russia, Medvedev on Tuesday slammed the interim government in Kiev, saying it has fallen into a trap of its own making. | |
| “The country is on the brink of a civil war. It’s very sad,” Medvedev said on his Facebook page. He blamed the unrest on the new authorities in Kiev, who he charged had seized power “illegally” in a revolution in February and unleashed a wave of violence that they were now unable to control. | |
| “The illegal rulers are trying to restore the order they cynically trampled on when they participated in an armed uprising,” he wrote. “They are falling into their own trap.” | “The illegal rulers are trying to restore the order they cynically trampled on when they participated in an armed uprising,” he wrote. “They are falling into their own trap.” |
| Defiant pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine pushed the country to the brink of war or dissolution Monday, expanding their hold while the acting president failed to make headway in trying to end the crisis. | Defiant pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine pushed the country to the brink of war or dissolution Monday, expanding their hold while the acting president failed to make headway in trying to end the crisis. |
| In a nation of 44 million, it became clear that a few hundred men, operating on the eastern fringes of the country with guns and unmarked uniforms, have brought Ukraine to a deeply dangerous juncture. | In a nation of 44 million, it became clear that a few hundred men, operating on the eastern fringes of the country with guns and unmarked uniforms, have brought Ukraine to a deeply dangerous juncture. |
| After an ultimatum to the militants was ignored, Turchynov first vowed to rout them by force, then held out the offer of a referendum to decide Ukraine’s fate, then proposed a peacekeeping intervention by the United Nations. | After an ultimatum to the militants was ignored, Turchynov first vowed to rout them by force, then held out the offer of a referendum to decide Ukraine’s fate, then proposed a peacekeeping intervention by the United Nations. |
| Nothing Turchynov said moved the pro-Russian forces, who seized another police station in another small town, Horlivka. | Nothing Turchynov said moved the pro-Russian forces, who seized another police station in another small town, Horlivka. |
| Medvedev said he was sorry for the people of Ukraine who had become “hostages of untalented politicians whom they did not elect and irresponsible radicals who had replaced the police and army.” | Medvedev said he was sorry for the people of Ukraine who had become “hostages of untalented politicians whom they did not elect and irresponsible radicals who had replaced the police and army.” |
| Claiming that “every cloud has a silver lining,” Medvedev said that many Ukrainians had lost faith in the interim government and realized that the only way to create a “fair society” was with a legal mandate where people were able to decide their own future. | Claiming that “every cloud has a silver lining,” Medvedev said that many Ukrainians had lost faith in the interim government and realized that the only way to create a “fair society” was with a legal mandate where people were able to decide their own future. |
| That goal should be achieved “without imposters, nationalists or bandits and without tanks, APCs or secret visits by the director of the CIA,” he said. | |
| Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Kiev against launching an offensive in southeastern Ukraine, an action it said would derail four-party international talks in Geneva aimed at resolving the crisis. | |
| Officials from the United States, European Union, Russia and Ukraine are expected to meet in Geneva on Thursday to seek a diplomatic resolution of the crisis. | |
| “If force is used in southeastern Ukraine, the chances of holding the Geneva meeting would be undermined,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday. | |
| The mood was tense in Donetsk, a city of nearly 1 million, where many residents were staying inside after dark. Pro-Russian activists took over the regional administrative offices last week, and bands of masked men, including several carrying steel pipes, were patrolling the barricaded entrances to the monolithic structure in the center of town. | The mood was tense in Donetsk, a city of nearly 1 million, where many residents were staying inside after dark. Pro-Russian activists took over the regional administrative offices last week, and bands of masked men, including several carrying steel pipes, were patrolling the barricaded entrances to the monolithic structure in the center of town. |
| Turchynov and other Ukrainian officials are sure that Russia is guiding the militants, who have taken over one government building after another. The officials have vocal support on that score from Washington and London. Russia adamantly denies it, and Lavrov said Monday it is the West’s responsibility to rein in the government in Kiev so that there are no violent attacks on the militants. | |
| The crisis, which began to the south, in Crimea, is now focused on militants who say they represent the “People’s Republic of Donetsk.” It has brought relations between Russia and the West to their lowest point at least since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. | The crisis, which began to the south, in Crimea, is now focused on militants who say they represent the “People’s Republic of Donetsk.” It has brought relations between Russia and the West to their lowest point at least since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. |
| “There can't really be any real doubt that this is something that has been planned and brought about by Russia,” the British foreign secretary, William Hague, said as he arrived in Luxembourg to meet with his European counterparts. | |
| “I don’t think denials of Russian involvement have a shred of credibility,” Hague said. | |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin has been watching the crisis with “great concern” and has received “many appeals, addressed personally to Putin, asking to help in this or that way and asking to intervene in this or that way,” a presidential spokesman said. | |
| Officials at the Pentagon on Monday protested what they described as a provocative flyover by a Russian attack aircraft that flew at close range for 90 minutes over a U.S. Navy ship that had been sent into the Black Sea. | Officials at the Pentagon on Monday protested what they described as a provocative flyover by a Russian attack aircraft that flew at close range for 90 minutes over a U.S. Navy ship that had been sent into the Black Sea. |
| The anonymous appeal for help has been a favorite tactic of Russian interventionists for the better part of a century. It was rolled out before the invasions of Hungary in 1956 and of Czechoslovakia in 1968, two operations in which one of Putin’s heroes, Yuri Andropov, a KGB official who later became Soviet leader, played a key role. | |
| It was also a feature of Russia’s involvement in Crimea in late February and March before Moscow annexed the autonomous Ukrainian region. | |
| In eastern Ukraine, opponents of the separatists set up checkpoints on highways leading from the Donetsk region to the Kharkiv region, and — with the help of traffic police — were inspecting cars with the aim of preventing separatists from traveling to Kharkiv, Ukrainian news agencies reported Monday. | |
| But as the evening wore on there was still no sign of Turchynov’s promised attack on separatist positions by forces loyal to Kiev. Turchynov and other officials had said that if no resolution was reached by 8 a.m. Monday, an “anti-terrorist” operation would begin. | But as the evening wore on there was still no sign of Turchynov’s promised attack on separatist positions by forces loyal to Kiev. Turchynov and other officials had said that if no resolution was reached by 8 a.m. Monday, an “anti-terrorist” operation would begin. |
| In the heart of Donetsk, a group of pro-Russians occupying the city's Lenin Square said they were convinced that the Kiev government would not carry out its threat to deploy the Ukrainian army in the region. Unlike some activists, they said they did not want the Russian military to roll into the region. They were holding out for a referendum on the region's future. | In the heart of Donetsk, a group of pro-Russians occupying the city's Lenin Square said they were convinced that the Kiev government would not carry out its threat to deploy the Ukrainian army in the region. Unlike some activists, they said they did not want the Russian military to roll into the region. They were holding out for a referendum on the region's future. |
| "We are not afraid," said Oles Kulik, a retired coal miner occupying a tent in the square and where banners declaring the People’s Republic were plastered on lampposts. “Kiev needs to hear our voice and understand that we are now something different from them.” | "We are not afraid," said Oles Kulik, a retired coal miner occupying a tent in the square and where banners declaring the People’s Republic were plastered on lampposts. “Kiev needs to hear our voice and understand that we are now something different from them.” |
| Elsewhere in the region, the several hundred pro-Russian militants have established themselves in towns on strategic crossroads, but wouldn’t be able to withstand an armored assault — unless such an attack draws assistance from Russian military forces right across the border, which is exactly what Kiev and its friends abroad fear. | Elsewhere in the region, the several hundred pro-Russian militants have established themselves in towns on strategic crossroads, but wouldn’t be able to withstand an armored assault — unless such an attack draws assistance from Russian military forces right across the border, which is exactly what Kiev and its friends abroad fear. |
| This being Ukraine, though, some people — including Oleksandr Yaroshenko, a veteran political strategist in Donetsk — worry that Turchynov and his ally, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, are gaming the crisis for personal benefit and may not intend to resist Russia to the fullest. | |
| One factor at play is the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for May 25 but looking increasingly unlikely. On Monday, Turchynov unexpectedly held out the offer of a referendum to determine the amount of power-sharing between Kiev and the regions, to be held the same day. The separatists have been saying that a referendum is their principal goal, but many were quick to dismiss Turchynov’s proposal as insincere — as did the Russian Foreign Ministry. | |
| Turchynov also talked with U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and later suggested that a U.N. peacekeeping force could enter eastern Ukraine. But the almost-certain opposition of Moscow, standing up for the men with guns, makes that problematic. | Turchynov also talked with U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon and later suggested that a U.N. peacekeeping force could enter eastern Ukraine. But the almost-certain opposition of Moscow, standing up for the men with guns, makes that problematic. |
| Those loyal to Kiev in Donetsk appeared to be running out of patience. | Those loyal to Kiev in Donetsk appeared to be running out of patience. |
| “From the government’s actions so far, we are reading that the pro-Ukrainian citizens of Donetsk are being left behind,” said Diana, a 34-year-old graphic designer who would not give her last name out of fear for her safety. “The situation here is critical, and what we need from Kiev is action.” | “From the government’s actions so far, we are reading that the pro-Ukrainian citizens of Donetsk are being left behind,” said Diana, a 34-year-old graphic designer who would not give her last name out of fear for her safety. “The situation here is critical, and what we need from Kiev is action.” |
| Secretary of State John F. Kerry and European leaders are promising more sanctions, on top of those imposed on Russia over its role in Crimea. The State Department circulated a document assailing what it called “Russian Fiction: The Sequel. Ten More False Claims about Ukraine.” | Secretary of State John F. Kerry and European leaders are promising more sanctions, on top of those imposed on Russia over its role in Crimea. The State Department circulated a document assailing what it called “Russian Fiction: The Sequel. Ten More False Claims about Ukraine.” |
| In seeking to contradict assertions from Moscow, the American document says, among other things, that Russian agents are active in eastern Ukraine; that separatists there do not enjoy broad popular support; that Russian-speakers are not under threat; and the new government in Kiev is not led by right-wing nationalists and fascists. | In seeking to contradict assertions from Moscow, the American document says, among other things, that Russian agents are active in eastern Ukraine; that separatists there do not enjoy broad popular support; that Russian-speakers are not under threat; and the new government in Kiev is not led by right-wing nationalists and fascists. |
| Englund and Gorst reported from Moscow. Karla Adam in London contributed to this report. | |