Russia Accused of Instigating Eastern Ukraine Unrest
Published at
berean/Thinkstock(KIEV, Ukraine) — Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Moscow on Monday of spurring the takeover of government buildings in eastern Ukraine in an effort to take over the region as it did Crimea last month.
Over the past few days, pro-Russian separatists managed to seize buildings in the cities of Luhansk and Donetsk with very little resistance from local police.
This situation is similar to Crimea where eventually Russian soldiers in masks helped the separatists there to lead a movement resulting in the former Ukrainian province joining the Russia federation.
Yatsenyuk said at a Cabinet meeting, “Russia’s scenario is division and destruction of Ukraine. The plan for foreign troops to cross the border and attack the country. We won’t let it happen.”
There are tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed near the border of eastern Ukraine and despite Moscow’s assurances that no invasion is forthcoming, no pullback of soldiers has been observed by the Ukrainian government.
It appears now that the U.S. and the European Union are in a race against time as talks with Russia to reduce tensions in the region are set to begin within the next 10 days.
The State Department said on Monday that Secretary of State John Kerry called his counterpart in Moscow to warn of “further costs for Russia” if it makes any attempt to invade eastern Ukraine.
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio