Fears of full-scale Russian invasion as eastern Ukraine cities toppled A series of coordinated attacks by pro-Russia gunmen in eastern Ukraine are eerily reminiscent of the Crimea takeover, writes Roland Oliphant in Slavyansk
Fears of further Russian land-grabs in Ukraine grew on Saturday as pro-Kremlin gunmen mounted a series of co-ordinated assaults on police stations and security buildings.
The operations came as Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Ukraine was “demonstrating its inability to take responsibility for the fate of the country”.
In what many fear could be the prelude to a full invasion by Russian troops, masked men armed with Kalashnikovs and stun grenades seized two police stations and an intelligence headquarters in eastern Ukraine.
Believed to include professional soldiers in their ranks, the gunmen also set up checkpoints along local roads and began barricading the buildings. There were reports of gunfire, but no casualties.
The operations followed a period of relative calm in eastern Ukraine, where the pro-Russian movement that had occupied a number of town hall buildings appeared to have lost momentum.
But the Ukrainian government, which on Saturday evening convened an emergency security meeting, has long maintained that the Kremlin was simply biding its time.
The White House echoed the fears of observers on the ground who said the attacks bore a speed and professionalism reminiscent of the early stages of Russia’s Crimea annexation. It warned Russia against further military action.
“We saw similar so-called protest activities in Crimea before Russia’s purported annexation,” said Laura Lucas Magnuson, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
Vladimir Putin, the country’s president, should “cease all efforts to destabilise Ukraine”, she added.
The gunmen's main focus of attack was Slavyansk, a city of 120,000 people that lies on a river 35 miles from Donetsk, Ukraine's eastern regional capital.
After raising the Russian flag at both the police station and the local security service headquarters, they ransacked the police station armoury of at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons.
"The aim of the takeover was the guns," a Ukrainian police statement said. "They are giving these guns to participants in the protest in Slavyansk."
The men standing guard behind newly erected barricades appeared to include professional soldiers as well as retired veterans and civilian volunteers. Some said they wanted a referendum on becoming part of Russia, as Crimea did last month.
"For three months we have been demanding a referendum and they haven't listened to us," one armed man told The Sunday Telegraph, describing himself as a veteran of Afghanistan.
"Since that war I have not picked up a gun, I became a builder and tried to forget a war. After this, I'll put it away and never need it again," he said, tapping a loaded AK-47.
Asked where the weapons came from, he nodded at the Russian flag now flying from the police station and said: "Look at that flag. You know which country that represents."
Meanwhile, in Donetsk, around 200 pro-Russian protesters armed with clubs and sticks stormed the regional police headquarters without resistance from anyone inside. Witnesses said they wore the uniforms of the Berkut, the feared riot police squad accused of taking part in shootings that killed over 100 people during the anti-government protests that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych.
Later, anti-riot police who arrived at the scene were seen sporting orange and black ribbons, symbolising support for Russian rule
The local police chief also went on national television and said he was resigning.
Arsen Avakov, Ukraine's interior minister, pledged to deal with the unrest, saying: "The response will be very tough because there is a difference between protesters and terrorists".
But it is likely to be a strong test of nerve for the Ukrainian security forces, who know that any serious bloodshed could give Russia a pretext to intervene to "protect" pro-Russian elements.
A 48-hour ultimatum given by the interior ministry to another group of separatists who seized an administrative building in Donetsk expired on Friday with no action taken.
In a further sign of the increasing tensions, Ukraine's state energy company, Naftohaz, has suspended payments to Russia for deliveries of gas until price negotiations between the two countries are concluded.
Earlier this month, Russia increased the gas price for Ukrainian consumers from £160 to £290 per 1,000 cubic metres (tcm), saying Kiev was no longer eligible for previous discounts.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10763008/Fears-of-full-scale-Russian-invasion-as-eastern-Ukraine-cities-toppled.html
