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| Ukrainian troop defections escalate tensions in eastern Ukraine | Ukrainian troop defections escalate tensions in eastern Ukraine |
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| DONETSK, Ukraine — Tensions escalated in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with pro-Russian gunmen storming City Hall in the sprawling city of Donetsk and a cluster of Ukrainian troops meant to be restoring order in the region apparently defecting to the side of separatists. | DONETSK, Ukraine — Tensions escalated in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with pro-Russian gunmen storming City Hall in the sprawling city of Donetsk and a cluster of Ukrainian troops meant to be restoring order in the region apparently defecting to the side of separatists. |
| The events suggested the challenge ahead for the pro-Western Ukrainian government on the second day of a campaign to quell the restive east, and came as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine was on the verge “of a civil war.” | The events suggested the challenge ahead for the pro-Western Ukrainian government on the second day of a campaign to quell the restive east, and came as Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine was on the verge “of a civil war.” |
| A line of combat vehicles flying Russian flags rolled Wednesday morning into Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 where separatists have set up roadblocks since Saturday. One soldier named Andrei, speaking to the Associated Press, identified the men as part of the 25th Brigade of Ukraine’s airborne forces that had switched to the side of pro-Russian forces. The troops in green camouflage and packing automatic weapons and grenade launchers received a warm welcome from local separatists, AP said. The report could not be immediately verified. | A line of combat vehicles flying Russian flags rolled Wednesday morning into Slovyansk, a city of 120,000 where separatists have set up roadblocks since Saturday. One soldier named Andrei, speaking to the Associated Press, identified the men as part of the 25th Brigade of Ukraine’s airborne forces that had switched to the side of pro-Russian forces. The troops in green camouflage and packing automatic weapons and grenade launchers received a warm welcome from local separatists, AP said. The report could not be immediately verified. |
| Around 10 a.m. local time, a squad of separatists backed by seven masked gunmen in camouflage stormed the seat of Donetsk’s mayor and local council. | Around 10 a.m. local time, a squad of separatists backed by seven masked gunmen in camouflage stormed the seat of Donetsk’s mayor and local council. |
| By Wednesday afternoon, more than 40 men, some masked and heavily armed, were occupying the building but still allowing workers and local officials to go about their business inside City Hall. | By Wednesday afternoon, more than 40 men, some masked and heavily armed, were occupying the building but still allowing workers and local officials to go about their business inside City Hall. |
| The scene was calmer than earlier in the morning, when suited bureaucrats were running back and forth to vehicles in an attempt to save files and computers. City workers were shuffling to and from meetings under the watchful gaze of camouflage-clad militants who loitered in the corridors, many clutching automatic weapons. Offering glaring evidence of the Kiev government’s tenuous grip on the region, a few local police officers casually strolled outside without attempting to intervene. | The scene was calmer than earlier in the morning, when suited bureaucrats were running back and forth to vehicles in an attempt to save files and computers. City workers were shuffling to and from meetings under the watchful gaze of camouflage-clad militants who loitered in the corridors, many clutching automatic weapons. Offering glaring evidence of the Kiev government’s tenuous grip on the region, a few local police officers casually strolled outside without attempting to intervene. |
| The pro-Russian militants who took over City Hall said they were separate from a similar group that occupied the regional headquarters in this city of nearly 1 million 10 days ago, but they issued at least one similar demand. They called for a referendum on May 11 with two questions: whether the populace agreed with the creation of a new “Donetsk People’s Republic” and, if so, whether it should be part of Ukraine or Russia. | The pro-Russian militants who took over City Hall said they were separate from a similar group that occupied the regional headquarters in this city of nearly 1 million 10 days ago, but they issued at least one similar demand. They called for a referendum on May 11 with two questions: whether the populace agreed with the creation of a new “Donetsk People’s Republic” and, if so, whether it should be part of Ukraine or Russia. |
| “Why should we consider Russia a hostile state?” asked Alexander Zakharchenko, a militant commander at City Hall. “They are the closest people to us in the world.” He commands the Donetsk branch of a group called Oplot, a pro-Russian movement that started as a fight club of young men in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, to the north. | “Why should we consider Russia a hostile state?” asked Alexander Zakharchenko, a militant commander at City Hall. “They are the closest people to us in the world.” He commands the Donetsk branch of a group called Oplot, a pro-Russian movement that started as a fight club of young men in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, to the north. |
| Russia said it was still planning to attend four-party talks aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Geneva on Thursday and would use the meeting to press for the launch of constitutional reform in Ukraine. | Russia said it was still planning to attend four-party talks aimed at resolving the Ukrainian crisis in Geneva on Thursday and would use the meeting to press for the launch of constitutional reform in Ukraine. |
| “The meeting is still on the agenda,” Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, told reporters on Wednesday in Hanoi. “Ukraine must be forced to start genuine rather than cosmetic constitutional reform.” | “The meeting is still on the agenda,” Sergei Lavrov, Russian foreign minister, told reporters on Wednesday in Hanoi. “Ukraine must be forced to start genuine rather than cosmetic constitutional reform.” |
| Lavrov is expected to represent Russia at the talks in Geneva that will likely be attended by U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry; Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief; and Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia. | Lavrov is expected to represent Russia at the talks in Geneva that will likely be attended by U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry; Catherine Ashton, the European Union’s foreign policy chief; and Ukraine’s acting foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia. |
| Ahead of the talks, NATO vowed Wednesday to bolster its military presence in Eastern Europe by deploying more forces. | Ahead of the talks, NATO vowed Wednesday to bolster its military presence in Eastern Europe by deploying more forces. |
| “We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s North Atlantic Council. Rasmussen said more sorties would be flown over the Baltic Sea and that allied ships would be deployed there, in the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere. The measures will be implemented immediately, and “more will follow, if needed, in the weeks and months to come,” he said. | “We will have more planes in the air, more ships on the water and more readiness on the land,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said after a meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s North Atlantic Council. Rasmussen said more sorties would be flown over the Baltic Sea and that allied ships would be deployed there, in the eastern Mediterranean and elsewhere. The measures will be implemented immediately, and “more will follow, if needed, in the weeks and months to come,” he said. |
| “Our decisions today are about defense, deterrence and de-escalation,” Rasmussen said. “They are entirely in line with our international commitments.” | “Our decisions today are about defense, deterrence and de-escalation,” Rasmussen said. “They are entirely in line with our international commitments.” |
| The United States and European Union are piling pressure on the Kremlin to help de-escalate the crisis by removing support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. | The United States and European Union are piling pressure on the Kremlin to help de-escalate the crisis by removing support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. |
| However, Lavrov stressed that the only way out of the crisis was to push Kiev to adopt sweeping constitutional reforms that devolved more power to Ukrainian regions. | However, Lavrov stressed that the only way out of the crisis was to push Kiev to adopt sweeping constitutional reforms that devolved more power to Ukrainian regions. |
| “Sincere friends of the Ukrainian people must force the incumbent authorities finally to move from words to deeds and begin a genuine and comprehensive constitutional reform” to guarantee the rights of all regions of the country, he said. | “Sincere friends of the Ukrainian people must force the incumbent authorities finally to move from words to deeds and begin a genuine and comprehensive constitutional reform” to guarantee the rights of all regions of the country, he said. |
| Meanwhile, Russia was bracing for a possible flood of refugees from Ukraine, according to Konstantin Romadanovsky, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service. | Meanwhile, Russia was bracing for a possible flood of refugees from Ukraine, according to Konstantin Romadanovsky, head of the Russian Federal Migration Service. |
| “We have some reserves for reinforcing our personnel operating in [Ukrainian] border areas if that is necessary,” he told the Interfax news agency Wednesday. | “We have some reserves for reinforcing our personnel operating in [Ukrainian] border areas if that is necessary,” he told the Interfax news agency Wednesday. |
| Crimea, the autonomous Ukrainian region annexed by Russia last month, also said it was ready to provide refuge to Ukrainians fleeing political turmoil. “We are ready today to take in all people from southeast Ukraine being persecuted for political motives,” Sergei Aksyonov, the acting governor of Crimea, told Interfax. He blamed right-wing Ukrainian nationalists for the turmoil. | Crimea, the autonomous Ukrainian region annexed by Russia last month, also said it was ready to provide refuge to Ukrainians fleeing political turmoil. “We are ready today to take in all people from southeast Ukraine being persecuted for political motives,” Sergei Aksyonov, the acting governor of Crimea, told Interfax. He blamed right-wing Ukrainian nationalists for the turmoil. |
| But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Moscow of supporting “terrorism” in his country and said “Russian subversives together with local terrorists” have provoked the trouble in the east. | But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Moscow of supporting “terrorism” in his country and said “Russian subversives together with local terrorists” have provoked the trouble in the east. |
| “Our Russian neighbors are constructing a new Berlin Wall, and they want to return to the period of the Cold War,” he said in an address to the nation. | “Our Russian neighbors are constructing a new Berlin Wall, and they want to return to the period of the Cold War,” he said in an address to the nation. |
| The White House stood by Ukraine’s response. | The White House stood by Ukraine’s response. |
| “The Ukrainian government has a responsibility to provide law and order, and these provocations in eastern Ukraine are creating a situation in which the government has to respond,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. | “The Ukrainian government has a responsibility to provide law and order, and these provocations in eastern Ukraine are creating a situation in which the government has to respond,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. |
| Russia complained Wednesday that its side of the story in the Ukrainian crisis was being suppressed by what it described as an unprecedented propaganda campaign in the West. | |
| “Russia’s position on Ukraine is very logical and well argued, but it doesn’t get out because it meets a strong, concrete wall of censorship,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Putin, said on state television. “We have never seen anything like this before.” | |
| Peskov accused European media of ignoring Russian explanations and denying Europeans “the right to the free choice of information.” | |
| He spoke after the European Union urged Russia to cease further efforts to destabilize Ukraine and charged that European unity, freedom and democracy were “being challenged in an extremely serious and dangerous way.” | |
| In Kiev, the government appeared to show a new, if tempered, willingness to back up its pledge in recent days to restore order. On Tuesday, witnesses reported heavy gunfire as a Ukrainian jet tried to land at an airfield in Kramatorsk, a city 10 miles south of Slovyansk, where pro-Russian forces first set up roadblocks Saturday. | |
| Shortly afterward, Ukrainian troops were ferried to the site by helicopter and encountered a hostile reception by protesters. What followed, officials and witnesses said, was a tense standoff in which the troops repeatedly opened fire to push protesters back beyond the perimeter fences. | Shortly afterward, Ukrainian troops were ferried to the site by helicopter and encountered a hostile reception by protesters. What followed, officials and witnesses said, was a tense standoff in which the troops repeatedly opened fire to push protesters back beyond the perimeter fences. |
| It remained unclear whether the area was fully or temporarily secured. But Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, described the move as part of a “counterterrorism operation” against pro-Russian separatists in the northern part of the Donetsk region. | It remained unclear whether the area was fully or temporarily secured. But Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, described the move as part of a “counterterrorism operation” against pro-Russian separatists in the northern part of the Donetsk region. |
| “Soon there will be no terrorists left in Donetsk or any other region,” Turchynov vowed in parliament on Tuesday. “They will sit in prison, their proper place.” | “Soon there will be no terrorists left in Donetsk or any other region,” Turchynov vowed in parliament on Tuesday. “They will sit in prison, their proper place.” |
| Stanislav Rechinsky, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, told reporters in Kiev that there were no fatalities during the operation by Ukrainian special forces at the airfield. Witnesses said crowds of pro-Russian activists roughed up a commander in the area who approached them after the airfield was supposed to be secured and that they remained on the airfield’s edge, hurling abuse at military officials. | Stanislav Rechinsky, Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, told reporters in Kiev that there were no fatalities during the operation by Ukrainian special forces at the airfield. Witnesses said crowds of pro-Russian activists roughed up a commander in the area who approached them after the airfield was supposed to be secured and that they remained on the airfield’s edge, hurling abuse at military officials. |
| “The aim of the operation was to avoid casualties among our people, and it is also desirable to save the lives of the separatists, because some of them are our citizens,” Rechinsky said. | “The aim of the operation was to avoid casualties among our people, and it is also desirable to save the lives of the separatists, because some of them are our citizens,” Rechinsky said. |
| In contrast to Ukraine’s official statements, however, Russian state television reported that four to 11 people had been killed in the operation. Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a pro-Russian militiaman as saying that fighters from Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Right Sector movement and foreign mercenaries were involved in storming the airfield. | In contrast to Ukraine’s official statements, however, Russian state television reported that four to 11 people had been killed in the operation. Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted a pro-Russian militiaman as saying that fighters from Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Right Sector movement and foreign mercenaries were involved in storming the airfield. |
| The divergent accounts illustrated the gap between Kiev and Moscow as the crisis appeared to be deepening. | The divergent accounts illustrated the gap between Kiev and Moscow as the crisis appeared to be deepening. |
| On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials and witnesses reported an ongoing buildup of their forces not far from Izyum, a city near the border of Kharkiv and Donetsk provinces in the east. Izyum is 32 miles northwest of Slovyansk, which Ukrainian forces failed to retake from well-armed pro-Russian activists Sunday in an operation that left two people dead. | On Tuesday, Ukrainian officials and witnesses reported an ongoing buildup of their forces not far from Izyum, a city near the border of Kharkiv and Donetsk provinces in the east. Izyum is 32 miles northwest of Slovyansk, which Ukrainian forces failed to retake from well-armed pro-Russian activists Sunday in an operation that left two people dead. |
| An Izyum official involved in the mobilization, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the city was being used as a fueling and feeding station for Ukrainian troops, who began arriving over the weekend and were taking up positions outside the city limits. | An Izyum official involved in the mobilization, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the city was being used as a fueling and feeding station for Ukrainian troops, who began arriving over the weekend and were taking up positions outside the city limits. |
| Journalists reported seeing columns of armored personnel carriers and buses moving toward Slovyansk. But Rechinsky denied that the Ukrainian military had moved into the city, suggesting that the government remained leery of a full-on confrontation with pro-Russian forces, some of whom are heavily armed with weapons similar or identical to those used by the Russian military. Instead, the government focused on further attempts to defuse the situation in Slovyansk and elsewhere through negotiations. | Journalists reported seeing columns of armored personnel carriers and buses moving toward Slovyansk. But Rechinsky denied that the Ukrainian military had moved into the city, suggesting that the government remained leery of a full-on confrontation with pro-Russian forces, some of whom are heavily armed with weapons similar or identical to those used by the Russian military. Instead, the government focused on further attempts to defuse the situation in Slovyansk and elsewhere through negotiations. |
| “In Slovyansk, there is no equipment, no troops, although there are many panicked reports in the media about the movement of tanks, armored personnel carriers and so on,” Rechinsky said. | “In Slovyansk, there is no equipment, no troops, although there are many panicked reports in the media about the movement of tanks, armored personnel carriers and so on,” Rechinsky said. |
| Isabel Gorst in Moscow and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report. | Isabel Gorst in Moscow and Karla Adam in London contributed to this report. |