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| Pro-Russian Militants Seize More Offices in Eastern Ukraine | Pro-Russian Militants Seize More Offices in Eastern Ukraine |
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| KIEV, Ukraine — Pro-Russia militants seized more state offices in Ukraine’s troubled east on Tuesday, in apparent defiance of the latest Western sanctions announced against them and their presumed backers in the Kremlin, which also showed no sign of wilting in its worst confrontation with the West in decades. | |
| Speaking to reporters in Belarus, President Vladimir V. Putin said he had vetoed suggestions within the Kremlin that Russia respond in kind to the latest sanctions. “The government has already proposed some steps in response, but I consider that there is no need for this,” Mr. Putin told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency. But if it continues, he said, Moscow will have to think about who works and how they work in key sectors of Russia’s economy, including energy. | Speaking to reporters in Belarus, President Vladimir V. Putin said he had vetoed suggestions within the Kremlin that Russia respond in kind to the latest sanctions. “The government has already proposed some steps in response, but I consider that there is no need for this,” Mr. Putin told reporters, according to the Interfax news agency. But if it continues, he said, Moscow will have to think about who works and how they work in key sectors of Russia’s economy, including energy. |
| Mr. Putin was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to attend the summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council — the economic bloc of former Soviet republics he started in order to try to counterbalance the draw of the European Union. Its viability without Ukraine has been called into question. | Mr. Putin was in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, to attend the summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council — the economic bloc of former Soviet republics he started in order to try to counterbalance the draw of the European Union. Its viability without Ukraine has been called into question. |
| But Mr. Putin said the integration of the Eurasian union would not be affected by Western sanctions. In a similar vein, he also denied that Russians were playing any role in fomenting unrest in Ukraine’s east — echoing similar denials in March over Crimea, where Mr. Putin later admitted Russian forces were involved. | But Mr. Putin said the integration of the Eurasian union would not be affected by Western sanctions. In a similar vein, he also denied that Russians were playing any role in fomenting unrest in Ukraine’s east — echoing similar denials in March over Crimea, where Mr. Putin later admitted Russian forces were involved. |
| Unopposed by the local police, armed militants stormed into the regional government headquarters in the city of Luhansk, capital of the Ukrainian region closest to Russia on the eastern border, a live video stream on the Internet showed. Militants had already taken over the city’s security headquarters on April 6. | Unopposed by the local police, armed militants stormed into the regional government headquarters in the city of Luhansk, capital of the Ukrainian region closest to Russia on the eastern border, a live video stream on the Internet showed. Militants had already taken over the city’s security headquarters on April 6. |
| Hours after the storming of the Luhansk regional government headquarters, militants seized control of the prosecutor’s office in the city, Yelena Bugayets, head of the regional press service, said by telephone. | Hours after the storming of the Luhansk regional government headquarters, militants seized control of the prosecutor’s office in the city, Yelena Bugayets, head of the regional press service, said by telephone. |
| The Luhansk action followed violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Donetsk late on Monday, when masked men, several of them wielding bats and clubs, pounced on marchers carrying the blue and yellow Ukrainian national flag. | The Luhansk action followed violent attacks on peaceful demonstrators in Donetsk late on Monday, when masked men, several of them wielding bats and clubs, pounced on marchers carrying the blue and yellow Ukrainian national flag. |
| The police in Donetsk also proved ineffectual, doing little or nothing to stop what Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Ukraine, said on Tuesday were attacks on women, children and elderly people “who were willing to put it on the line” for Ukraine. | The police in Donetsk also proved ineffectual, doing little or nothing to stop what Geoffrey R. Pyatt, the American ambassador to Ukraine, said on Tuesday were attacks on women, children and elderly people “who were willing to put it on the line” for Ukraine. |
| There was no sign on Tuesday that the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had made any progress in securing the release of a German-led team of six military observers who were seized by militants last Friday in the eastern town of Slovyansk. The observers were brought before television cameras by their captors over the weekend, a sight Mr. Steinmeier described as “revolting.” | There was no sign on Tuesday that the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, had made any progress in securing the release of a German-led team of six military observers who were seized by militants last Friday in the eastern town of Slovyansk. The observers were brought before television cameras by their captors over the weekend, a sight Mr. Steinmeier described as “revolting.” |
| The observers were working under the auspices of the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose negotiators returned to Slovyansk on Tuesday. | The observers were working under the auspices of the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose negotiators returned to Slovyansk on Tuesday. |
| The self-declared mayor of Slovyansk, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, canceled a planned news conference, and the Russian news agency Interfax reported that he had said the observers — four Germans, a Pole, a Czech and a Dane — would be released only if the European Union lifted its sanctions against militants who back Moscow. | The self-declared mayor of Slovyansk, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, canceled a planned news conference, and the Russian news agency Interfax reported that he had said the observers — four Germans, a Pole, a Czech and a Dane — would be released only if the European Union lifted its sanctions against militants who back Moscow. |
| In general, there was a sense on Tuesday that Ukraine’s east was falling further under the sway of the pro-Russia militants, although the situation remained volatile and hard to read. There was no independent confirmation, for instance, of a report by the Russian-owned RIA Novosti news agency that administrative buildings in five smaller cities and towns between Donetsk and Luhansk had replaced Ukrainian flags with separatist flags. | In general, there was a sense on Tuesday that Ukraine’s east was falling further under the sway of the pro-Russia militants, although the situation remained volatile and hard to read. There was no independent confirmation, for instance, of a report by the Russian-owned RIA Novosti news agency that administrative buildings in five smaller cities and towns between Donetsk and Luhansk had replaced Ukrainian flags with separatist flags. |
| Five militants in eastern Ukraine — the two from Luhansk and three from Donetsk — were included among the 15 new names on the European Union’s sanctions list. So were two of Russia’s most senior military commanders — Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Igor Sergun, identified as the head of the G.R.U., the Kremlin’s military intelligence agency. Two prominent Russian politicians, Dmitri N. Kozak, a deputy prime minister, and Lyudmila I. Shevtsova, a senior figure in the lower house of Parliament, were on the list as well. | Five militants in eastern Ukraine — the two from Luhansk and three from Donetsk — were included among the 15 new names on the European Union’s sanctions list. So were two of Russia’s most senior military commanders — Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov, the chief of staff, and Lt. Gen. Igor Sergun, identified as the head of the G.R.U., the Kremlin’s military intelligence agency. Two prominent Russian politicians, Dmitri N. Kozak, a deputy prime minister, and Lyudmila I. Shevtsova, a senior figure in the lower house of Parliament, were on the list as well. |
| Moscow called the latest sanctions “unfriendly” but continued to shrug off the eventual effects of banning such powerful figures as Igor I. Sechin, a close ally of Mr. Putin who heads the state oil giant Rosneft, from dealing with the West. Mr. Sechin was among those targeted by American sanctions announced on Monday. | Moscow called the latest sanctions “unfriendly” but continued to shrug off the eventual effects of banning such powerful figures as Igor I. Sechin, a close ally of Mr. Putin who heads the state oil giant Rosneft, from dealing with the West. Mr. Sechin was among those targeted by American sanctions announced on Monday. |
| The American measures were announced on a day of ominous developments in eastern Ukraine, including the seizure of the city of Konstantinovka by militants and the attempted assassination of Gennady A. Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv. | The American measures were announced on a day of ominous developments in eastern Ukraine, including the seizure of the city of Konstantinovka by militants and the attempted assassination of Gennady A. Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv. |
| The police said that the bullet that struck Mr. Kernes, 54, in the back had been fired from a sniper rifle and had missed his heart by a few millimeters. He was transferred to Elisha Hospital in Israel late on Monday after a two-hour operation to repair damage to his lungs, an aide said. The hospital issued a statement saying that the mayor “underwent diagnostic tests that showed the operations were successful.” | The police said that the bullet that struck Mr. Kernes, 54, in the back had been fired from a sniper rifle and had missed his heart by a few millimeters. He was transferred to Elisha Hospital in Israel late on Monday after a two-hour operation to repair damage to his lungs, an aide said. The hospital issued a statement saying that the mayor “underwent diagnostic tests that showed the operations were successful.” |
| Mr. Kernes’s aide said he underwent a second minor procedure on Tuesday, but declined to elaborate. The hospital said “he is under observation by the best doctors and it appears that there is no need for further surgical intervention.” | Mr. Kernes’s aide said he underwent a second minor procedure on Tuesday, but declined to elaborate. The hospital said “he is under observation by the best doctors and it appears that there is no need for further surgical intervention.” |
| It was not immediately clear why Mr. Kernes, who is Jewish but is not believed to have Israeli citizenship, was transferred to the hospital in Haifa, 1,200 miles from Kharkiv. | It was not immediately clear why Mr. Kernes, who is Jewish but is not believed to have Israeli citizenship, was transferred to the hospital in Haifa, 1,200 miles from Kharkiv. |