Ukraine Crisis: Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes Shot

KHARKIV, Ukraine -- The mayor of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine has been shot in the back and critically wounded amid continuing unrest in the region. Hennadiy Kernes was recovering after a two-hour operation to repair damage to the chest and abdomen, but his life remained in danger, his office said. Monday also saw pro-Russian separatists seize a local government building in Kostyantynivka, a town to the south. The US has meanwhile expanded sanctions to include targets linked to President Vladimir Putin's "inner circle". The list includes seven new individuals and 17 companies. The European Union is also expected to announce new sanctions. Western nations accuse Moscow of supporting separatist gunmen who are occupying official buildings in cities across eastern Ukraine. The separatists continue to hold seven Western military observers who were seized last week in the region. Mr Kernes used to be a supporter of the former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych. He then dropped his support for the ousted president in favour of a united Ukraine. He has been described as a "mini-oligarch" - a successful businessman wealthy enough to launch a career in politics. He has been accused of starting his business career as an organised crime boss, a claim he denied while acknowledging that he was once jailed for fraud - a minor offence "partly fabricated" by his enemies, he insisted. Kharkiv was also the scene of clashes on Sunday when football fans marching for a united Ukraine scuffled with pro-Russia supporters. The authorities in Kharkiv said several people were injured. On Monday morning, gunmen wearing uniforms with no insignias moved into the local administrative building in Kostyantynivka and raised the flag of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk Republic". They were also reported to be in control of the police station in Kostyantynivka, which is located between the town of Sloviansk and the city of Donetsk, both also controlled by separatists. US President Barack Obama confirmed the stepping up of sanctions against Russia, which he said was part of a "calibrated effort" to change Moscow's behaviour in Ukraine, during a visit to the Philippines. He said the measures were in response to Moscow's failure to uphold an international accord aimed at peacefully resolving the Ukraine crisis. A White House statement said the new targets were "seven Russian government officials, including two members of President Putin's inner circle, who will be subject to an asset freeze and a US visa ban, and 17 companies linked to Putin's inner circle, which will be subject to an asset freeze". Mr Obama said the sanctions were not aimed at Russian President Vladimir Putin personally. "The goal is to change his calculus with respect to how the current actions that he's engaging in could have an adverse impact on the Russian economy over the long haul," he said. Meanwhile, ambassadors from the 28 EU member states are meeting in Brussels to agree new sanctions against Russia. The US and EU already have assets freezes and travel bans in place targeting a number of Russian individuals and firms accused of playing a part in the annexation of Crimea last month. Europe correspondent Chris Morris says it is expected that the ambassadors will add another 15 people in positions of power to the list of those to whom sanctions apply. Our correspondent says the White House wants a show of unity from the US and Europe, but there is little consensus within the EU at the moment for implementing broader economic sanctions against Russia. Eight foreign observers - who were operating under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - were led into Sloviansk town hall by masked gunmen and shown to the media on Sunday. German monitor Col Axel Schneider, who spoke for the group, stressed they were not NATO officers - contrary to claims made by the separatists - nor armed fighters, but diplomats in uniform. Later, one of the group - a Swede - was freed for medical reasons. The fate of five Ukrainian military officers accompanying the mission is unknown.

French FM Warns Of 'Incalculable Consequences' In Ukraine

PARIS, France -- France has warned of "incalculable consequences" if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, calling on Russia and on pro-Russian rebels in the former Soviet republic to de-escalate the crisis. "The situation is very worrying," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on French television. "When people are whipped into a frenzy and incidents proliferate, they can always boil over with incalculable consequences," he said on the eve of a meeting at which EU ambassadors will consider new sanctions against Moscow. "It's not a question of going to war with Russia, that makes no sense. We must appeal for a de-escalation, in particular by the Russians and the pro-Russians" in Ukraine, he added. Mr Fabius said: "Obviously we have to say, in particular to the Russians, that each country's sovereignty must be respected. We respect Russian sovereignty the Russians should respect Ukrainian sovereignty." The French minister said that ambassadors from the European Union's 28 member states meeting in Brussels tomorrow will "prepare a new set of sanctions (against Moscow), the Americans are expected to reveal a new set of sanctions, and if things get even worse, there could be a third phase". Meanwhile, pro-Russian separatists seized control of the offices of regional state television in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, a Reuters reporter outside the building said. The reporter said four separatists in masks, with truncheons and shields, were standing at the entrance to the building controlling access, while more separatists in camouflage fatigues could be seen inside. Earlier, just one of eight Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe inspectors held by rebels in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk has been released. Two negotiators and the freed Swedish military inspector boarded a white car with an OSCE logo on it and drove away without any comment to reporters. Earlier in the day the leader of the international observers detained by the pro-Russian separatists said that all the group were in good health. However, he added that they were anxious to be allowed to go home soon. Appearing in public for the first time since they were held three days ago, seven officers from the observer team and their translator were brought into a room of waiting journalists in the separatist-held city administration building. Guards in camouflage fatigues and balaclavas, carrying Kalashnikov rifles, were also in the room as journalists spoke to the observers. Colonel Axel Schneider, who was leading the observer mission, said the group came to Slaviansk without weapons and were there strictly in line with their mandate under OSCE rules, to carry out military verification work. "Since yesterday we've been in a more comfortable room with heating. We have daylight, and an air conditioner." Col Schneider, who had a shaven head, a closely-cropped beard and was wearing a plaid button-down shirt, told reporters he had "not been touched," and that there had been no physical mistreatment of the group. The group sat side by side at a long table in front of the reporters, looking sombre and serious, but otherwise well. "All the European officers are in good health and no one is sick," Col Schneider said. He said the separatist de factor mayor of Slaviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, had guaranteed the group's safety. He said he believed the mayor's promise. Mr Ponomaryov appeared with the detained men at the news conference. "We have no indication when we will be sent home to our countries," Col Schneider said. "We wish from the bottom of our hearts to go back to our nations as soon and as quickly as possible." Elsewhere, two OSCE monitors were held briefly at a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine before Ukrainian police secured their release, a spokeswoman for the pan-European security body said. "Two team members were held for a short time at the administrative building there. Local police units made it possible for the two members of the monitoring mission to leave the building unharmed," the spokeswoman told AFP. The incident happened at the Yenakyeve checkpoint near Donetsk. The two are part of a Special Monitoring Mission run by the OSCE currently comprising 122 civilians based in 10 locations plus local staff. Earlier today, US President Barack Obama said new international sanctions set to come into force against Russia would send a message that it must stop its "provocation" in eastern Ukraine. "It is important for us to take further steps sending a message to Russia that these kinds of destabilising activities taking place in Ukraine has to stop," Mr Obama said at a press conference in Malaysia. He was speaking a day after G7 nations said that they would impose new sanctions on Russia within days, accusing the government in Moscow of doing nothing to honour an agreement forged in Geneva aimed at easing tensions in Ukraine. "So long as Russia continues down a path of provocation rather than trying to resolve this issue peacefully and de-escalate it, there are going to be consequences and those consequences will continue to grow," Mr Obama said. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk claimed Russia had violated his country's airspace seven times overnight Friday with an aim "to provoke" Ukraine into starting a war. US Secretary of State John Kerry told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Washington was concerned about "provocative" troop movements along Russia's border with Ukraine and its support for the separatists, which he said "are undermining stability, security and unity in Ukraine". Mr Yatsenyuk cut short a visit to the Vatican as concern grew that the tens of thousands of Russian troops conducting military drills on the border could soon be ordered to invade. But Russia denied any transgression by its warplanes, with Mr Lavrov calling for "urgent measures" to calm the crisis, which has plunged East-West relations to their lowest point since the Cold War. A Western diplomat warned: "We no longer exclude a Russian military intervention in Ukraine in the coming days." The diplomatic source noted that Russia's UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, "has been recalled urgently to Moscow" for consultations.

Ukraine: Russian Troop Concentration May Be Prelude To Invasion

Ukraine's government says it fears a concentration of Russian troops on the countries' border could be the prelude to an invasion. Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky issued the warning Friday at the United Nations, saying that his country faces a possible Russian invasion "at any moment" and vowing that Ukraine would defend itself. Concerns about Russia's intentions, meanwhile, prompted interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Saturday to shorten his visit to Rome, where he was received by Pope Francis. Russian military activity on its side of the border was slightly less intense on Saturday, Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Koval acknowledged, although he said Russian troops had moved to within 2-3 kilometers (1.2-1.8 miles) of the frontier. "Four IL-76 transport planes flew along our border at midday, but did not cross at any moment" to the Ukrainian side, Koval said at a press conference. He said the troop movement may also be aimed at intimidating the Ukrainian government into halt its "anti-terrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists in the country's southeast. "I should say that the anti-terrorist operation is continuing, albeit not at a rapid pace," Koval added. Ukrainian forces did not undertake actions Saturday against separatist militants entrenched in Slovyansk, a stronghold of a pro-Russian uprising against the government in Kiev. Militants in that city seized seven Western military observers (three Germans, a Pole, a Dane, a Swede and a Czech), five Ukrainian officials and the driver of the bus in which they were riding on Friday. The militants say the group from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was "detained" as suspected NATO spies. Ukrainian acting President Olexandr Turchynov, for his part, did not hesitate to accuse Russia of being behind the "kidnapping" of the Western military observers. "This crime could not have been committed without the direct authorization or order of the Russian government, which coordinates and supports terrorists who occupy buildings, take hostages, torture and kill people," Turchynov was quoted as saying by his press office. Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday in Moscow that it was taking measures to "resolve the situation" of the detained Western military observers. It accused the Ukrainian authorities of responsibility for the detentions, saying they should have previously "arranged issues related to the permanence, activity and safety of the observers in regions where they do not control the situation and where they have launched a military operation against the inhabitants of their own country." The rising tensions on the Russian-Ukrainian border prompted the G7 group of developed nations to impose new sanctions on Russia for allegedly violating a peace deal reached earlier this month in Geneva by continuing to support pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine. The European Union also will hold a meeting Monday to weigh the possibility of new sanctions on Russia. Moscow, for its part, denies provoking unrest in eastern Ukraine but has warned its neighbor not to use force against separatist militants in that region. Long-simmering tensions between pro-European western Ukraine and the country's eastern region, which has close ties with Russia, were exacerbated by the ouster in late February of President Viktor Yanukovych, a Kremlin ally. In the wake of his removal from office, Moscow sent troops to the strategic region of Crimea. It subsequently annexed that peninsula last month - a move the West considers illegitimate - after its mostly Russian-speaking population voted in a referendum to break off from the Ukraine and rejoin Russia. Moscow says Yanukovych was removed from office on Feb. 22 by far-right Ukrainian nationalists and that it moved to protect ethnic Russians and Russian interests in Crimea following that development. The crisis that led to Yanukovych's ouster erupted at the end of November, when the Ukrainian president backed away from plans to ink a pact with the European Union and instead signed a $15 billion financial-aid package with Russia.

Ukraine Separatists Offer To Exchange OSCE Captives For Prisoners

DONETSK, Ukraine -- Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have offered to release eight captive international observers in a prisoner exchange, as Western governments prepared new sanctions against Moscow. The government in Kiev blamed Russia for what it called the kidnapping of the monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The separatists said they suspected the observers of spying; Ukraine said they were being used as human shields. The Group of Seven major economies announced earlier that they had agreed to impose more sanctions on Russia, which they believe is bent on destabilising its former Soviet neighbour and possibly grabbing more territory. Diplomats said the United States and the European Union were expected to unveil new punitive action against Russian individuals from Monday. Russia denies orchestrating a campaign by pro-Moscow militants who have seized control of public buildings across eastern Ukraine. It accuses the Kiev government of whipping up tensions by sending troops to root out the separatists. The OSCE sent more monitors today to seek the release of those detained in Slaviansk, a city under the separatists’ control. Those being held are from Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic. Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, de facto mayor of Slaviansk, told reporters: “They were soldiers on our territory without our permission, of course they are prisoners.” He said the separatists were ready to exchange the captured monitors for fellow rebels now in the custody of the Ukrainian authorities. “Prisoners have always been coins to exchange during times of war. It’s an international practice,” he said. Ukraine’s state security service said the OSCE observers - part of a German-led military verification mission deployed since early March at Kiev’s request - were being held “in inhuman conditions” and that one needed medical help. A spokeswoman for the Vienna-based organisation, of which Russia is a member, said the OSCE had been in contact with “all sides” since late last night but had had no direct contact with the observers. The Russian foreign ministry said it was working to resolve the crisis, but blamed Kiev for failing to ensure the OSCE mission’s safety in “areas where the authorities do not control the situation and where a military operation against residents of their own country has been unleashed”. Russia’s Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper released a video interview with a man it identified as Ivan Strelkov, a militia leader in Slaviansk, accused by Ukraine’s security services of being an employee of Russian intelligence. He suggested the monitors might have been using their diplomatic status “to carry out reconnaissance of the resistance positions, for the benefit of the Ukrainian army”. It is standard practice for serving military officers to be seconded to OSCE missions. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the Ukraine situation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov by telephone today “with an accent on possible steps to de-escalate the situation,” the Russian ministry said. Mr Steinmeier said Mr Lavrov had offered his backing, which he welcomed. In a separate call with US secretary of state John Kerry, the Russian minister said Ukraine must halt military operations in the southeast of the country in order to defuse the crisis. Ukrainian prime minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Russian military aircraft entered Ukrainian airspace seven times overnight. “The only reason is to provoke Ukraine ... and to accuse Ukraine of waging war against Russia,” the prime minister told reporters before cutting short a visit to Rome. Washington deployed 150 paratroopers to Lithuania today. A total of 600 US troops have now arrived in Poland and the former Soviet Baltic states in a bid to reassure nervous NATO allies. “As threats emerged, we see who our real friends are,” Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaite said as she greeted the troops at the Siauliai air base. Without mentioning Russia, she said the presence of US troops would “repel those who encroach on stability in Europe and peace in the region”. “The numbers are not important. If just one of our guests is harmed, this would mean an open confrontation, not with Lithuania but with the United States of America.” US officials said new sanctions targeting “cronies” of president Vladimir Putin could be unveiled as early as Monday unless Russia moved fast to defuse the crisis. In a joint statement, G7 leaders said Russia had not taken any concrete steps to implement an accord, signed earlier this month in Geneva, intended to rein in illegal armed groups. “Instead, it has continued to escalate tensions by increasingly concerning rhetoric and ongoing threatening military manoeuvres on Ukraine’s border,” it said. “We have now agreed that we will move swiftly to impose additional sanctions on Russia.” But it added: “We underscore that the door remains open to a diplomatic resolution of this crisis.” Senior EU diplomats will meet on Monday to discuss the next steps and are expected to add 15 more names to a list of Russians subject to asset freezes and a travel ban.

Militants Resist Calls To Free European Military Observers Held In Eastern Ukraine

SLAVYANSK, Ukraine -- Antigovernment militants in eastern Ukraine on Saturday rebuffed international calls for the release of a group of European military observers, but suggested that they would consider a prisoner exchange. The military observers — a group of officers reportedly from Germany, Poland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Denmark — were detained on Friday at a rebel checkpoint at the edge of this city while traveling with a Ukrainian military delegation, which was also held. The observers, known as a military verification team, had been working under the auspices of a document from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that allows member nations — Ukraine, in this case — to invite other member nations to send observers to examine security conditions. The militants have accused the observers of espionage. Early Sunday morning, a spokesman for the O.S.C.E. in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, said members of its special monitoring mission to Ukraine, a set of monitors distinct from the detained military observers, would travel to Slavyansk from Donetsk to meet with the rebel authorities. “We’re looking forward to access Slavyansk as soon as possible to play a role in the resolution,” said the spokesman, Michael B. Bociurkiw. The detention of the observers and the allegations led to a day of swift-moving diplomatic developments. Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, spoke by telephone with his counterparts in the United States and Germany and with the president of Switzerland, Didier Burkhalter, who is also the chairman of the O.S.C.E. In his phone call with Mr. Lavrov, Secretary of State John Kerry urged Russia to use its influence with the pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to ensure that the detained observers and their Ukrainian guides be released “without preconditions,” a senior State Department official said. Mr. Kerry is opposed to any prisoner exchange, the official said. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Germany’s foreign minister, said he welcomed Mr. Lavrov’s pledge to help free the observers. Andrei Kelin, Russia’s representative to the security and cooperation group, said Russia would take “all possible steps” to help secure the observers’ release. “We think that these people need to be freed as soon as possible,” he said, according to Itar-Tass. The situation has been complicated by rival interpretations of the observers’ role, in part because their organization has taken pains to draw a public distinction between its permanent mission in Ukraine and the detained military observer team, and has said all of its staff members are accounted for. Rebels have seized upon the organization’s statements to characterize the observers as NATO spies who used poor judgment and entered areas outside their host government’s control without invitation or permission. “The officers we currently have do not have any relation to the O.S.C.E.,” Vyachislav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Slavyansk, said in an interview. “The O.S.C.E. disowned them. They were here to carry out their military mission.” Mr. Ponomaryov brushed off questions about his plans for them, hinting only that he might consider exchanging them for prisoners held by Ukraine, perhaps including his deputy, who he said had disappeared while returning from Moscow and might be in Ukrainian government custody. “If we have the chance to swap them, we will do it,” he added. “If not, let them live with us. Maybe they’ll start families in time.” In a public appearance later, Mr. Ponomaryov said he had no direct contact with Russia about the detainees. Asked whether the statement of Mr. Kelin, the Russian diplomat, might influence his thinking, he answered nonchalantly. “I do not know this person,” he said. Mr. Ponomaryov claims to controA Ukrainian journalist working for Telekanal Zik, a Ukrainian Internet TV station, was also detained Friday, after recording a video report near the city’s main square, his colleagues said. The journalist, Yuri Lelyavsky, from Lviv in western Ukraine, was heard speaking Ukrainian on camera before being approached by men in camouflage and head coverings, they said. Mr. Ponomaryov swept aside questions about him as well, saying only that saboteurs sometimes use journalistic cover. On Friday, armed pro-Ukrainian forces in masks reportedly detained and deported two journalists from LifeNews, a Kremlin-aligned Russian television station. The journalists, Yulia Shustraya and Mikhail Pudovkin, were seized from their residence in Donetsk and driven to the Russian border, according to their colleagues. A statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, released after Mr. Lavrov spoke with the other world leaders, emphasized that Ukraine was holding prisoners, and noted that Mr. Lavrov had been told that representatives of the European security organization had managed to see Pavel Gubarev, a pro-Russian leader in eastern Ukraine known as the “people’s governor,” who had been arrested by the Ukrainian authorities. l at least 40 additional prisoners, whom he calls Ukrainian “saboteurs.” The ministry also released a summary of Mr. Lavrov’s phone call with Mr. Kerry, saying that Mr. Lavrov reiterated a previous statement that the interim government in Kiev should be held responsible for not “controlling the situation on the ground” or providing adequate security. Ukrainian security forces appeared to tighten the government’s self-declared blockade around the city on Saturday, by establishing at least one more armed checkpoint on a road to the northwest. The blockade appeared to be limited, and did not restrict the flow of goods. Civilian vehicles were allowed to pass after a brief search and document check. “Our objective is simply to make sure no armed people or weapons pass through,” said Sergey, a commander of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry troops at the checkpoint who declined to give his last name. Later in the day, in a crowded auditorium in Slavyansk, anti-Kiev residents appointed a new people’s council loyal to Mr. Ponomaryov. The residents appeared impatient as speakers described how this new government would be organized. Residents also gathered for the funeral for Aleksandr V. Lubenets, 21, who they said died after being shot near a checkpoint that had been attacked by Ukrainian forces. The attack, one man said, only drove eastern Ukrainian provinces closer to Russia. “Donbass, Kharkov, Russia — it’s us,” said one teary-eyed man, Nikolai Nikushin, referring to two regions of eastern Ukraine.

Pro-Russia Rebels Parade Western Hostages In Ukraine

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine -- Pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine raised the stakes in their conflict with Kiev on Sunday by parading Western military observers as hostages and showing images of three bloodied Ukrainian intelligence officers the militants separately said they had detained. The rise in the number of prisoners being held by the militants—whose power base has emerged in the southeast city of Slovyansk—has given the anti-Kiev uprising the appearance of an armed conflict zone, despite the Kremlin's description of the activists in the east as everyday "citizens driven to desperation." The militants demand a referendum on the southeast Donetsk region's future and denounce as illegitimate the pro-Europe authorities in Kiev that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych, a Donetsk native, in late February. The Kremlin also refuses to recognize the new Kiev authorities and describes them as perpetrators of an armed coup. The U.S. and European Union are preparing to impose a new round of sanctions against Russia this week as punishment for its annexation of Crimea and what Western officials have described as Kremlin support of the unrest in eastern Ukraine. But the sanctions largely have failed to change Russia's stance on Ukraine, a former Soviet republic the Kremlin has long seen as part of its privileged sphere of influence. A failure by Russia to compel the militants to release the hostages could push the U.S. and Europe closer to passing broad economic sanctions against Russia—similar to the crippling measures imposed on Iran— that Western officials have deemed a last resort. On Sunday, the self-appointed, pro-Russia rebel mayor of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, trotted out seven Western military inspectors from Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the Czech Republic and their translator, all seized late Friday at a makeshift checkpoint in nearby Kramatorsk. One of the inspectors was later released. The inspectors are members of their home countries' militaries and part of an inspection team that arrived in Ukraine under an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe pact called the Vienna Document, which sets out guidelines for exchanging military information and hosting inspections. They aren't part of the OSCE special monitoring mission, which is made up of civilians and also operates in southeast Ukraine. The European hostages gave a news conference in Slovyansk under the watch of armed pro-Russia rebels who have accused the inspectors of being spies for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The group numbers 13 in total, including five Ukrainian soldiers who were escorting the mission. The Ukrainians didn't appear at the news conference. "We have no indication when we will be sent home to our countries and to see our families," Axel Schneider, the German colonel leading the mission, told the news conference. "The conditions…are not clear to us. It is not us [who] determine the decisions." Col. Schneider said the European team initially stayed in a basement but was then moved to a place with heat and air conditioning. He said they were traveling on diplomatic passports, adding that he didn't know the whereabouts of the Ukrainians or anything about their welfare. Negotiators for the OSCE arrived in Slovyansk and held talks later Sunday with the pro-Russia militants on the release of the team. The negotiators secured the release of one of the inspectors, a Swedish major, before leaving the city, said a spokesman for the OSCE's special monitoring mission in Ukraine. An OSCE spokeswoman said he was released due to a medical condition. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier called the news conference in Slovyansk "repulsive" and said it is Russia's duty to force the militants to release the hostages. Another top German official, Gernot Erler, warned that Germany could begin discussing imposing economic sanctions on Russia this week. Russia's Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it would take steps to try to solve the situation with the European hostages but appeared to blame the Ukrainian government for inviting the inspectors. The ministry suggested Kiev should have been more careful in deploying inspectors in a place "where the authorities don't control the situation and have launched a military operation against the people of their own country." Both Russia and Ukraine are OSCE members and signatories of the Vienna Document. Ukraine's Interior Ministry on Friday said Kiev officials had contacted the pro-Russia militants about the hostage situation. "They refused to release the hostages, saying they had to agree with the competent authorities of the Russian Federation," the ministry said. Igor Strelkov, the commander in charge of the Slovyansk militants, said in an interview with a Russian tabloid on Saturday that he would negotiate the release only with the authorities of the Russian Federation. The pro-Russia militants began taking hostages this month, including American journalist Simon Ostrovsky, who was later released. They have held other journalists, pro-Kiev activists and people they have accused of being far-right Ukrainian nationalist provocateurs. Many have been held in a Ukrainian security service building in Slovyansk that the militants seized in early April. They are also holding the city's elected mayor. Ukraine's federal security service, known as the SBU, confirmed that three of its officers had been taken hostage late Saturday in the city of Horlivka, southeast of Slovyansk, when they tried to arrest the primary suspect in the murder of local councilman Volodymyr Rybak . The SBU officers had been trailing the local pro-Russia commander in charge of Horlivka's occupied police station, who Ukrainian authorities named as a suspect last week. He hasn't responded to the allegations. Alexei Petrov, a spokesman for the rebel movement there, said the pro-Russia activists realized that the SBU officers were following the local commander and other militants and seized the group in the center of Horlivka. The SBU officers were later taken to Slovyansk, where Mr. Strelkov presented them in their underwear for questioning to Russian news outlets. The three men appeared bloodied with tape and gauze over their eyes and their hands tied behind their backs. In the footage, Mr. Strelkov pointed out that Kiev's attempt to surround Slovyansk and blockade his command hadn't prevented him from transferring the three SBU officers from Horlivka into the city. "We will wait for a proposal from the Ukrainian side on the exchange of these people for our comrades," Mr. Strelkov said. The militants have demanded the release of a number of activists who have been arrested during protests and other actions, including Pavel Gubarev, who helped lead the pro-Russia movement in Donetsk. After declaring himself Donetsk's "people's mayor," Mr. Gubarev was arrested March 6 for a period of two months pending trial on suspicion of threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity and provoking mass disorder. His wife has called the charges inaccurate. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called for Mr. Gubarev's release, pointing out that an agreement struck this month in Geneva by the U.S., Russia, the EU and Ukraine calls for amnesty for such activists. An OSCE representative met with Mr. Gubarev on Saturday and confirmed he is on a hunger strike. Amnesty International, the human-rights organization that advocates for prisoners, has denounced the behavior of the militants. "Taking hostages and using them as bargaining chips for political gain is as abhorrent as it is unlawful," Heather McGill, a Ukraine researcher for Amnesty, said late last week. She called on them to release all who are being held unlawfully.

Why We Have To Win In Ukraine And Putin Has To Lose

WASHINGTON, DC -- In 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Hungary. In 1968, they crushed the Prague Spring and in the 1980’s, under Soviet pressure, Poland instituted martial law in order to subjugate the Solidarity movement. Yet today, all three countries are thriving democracies and NATO allies who contribute to our prosperity and security. As the crisis in Ukraine continues to fester, we must decide where we stand. Do we want to return to the dark days of the Cold War or do we want to build on the integrated global order that has delivered peace and prosperity? Do we believe that people have the right to pursue their dreams or do we bequeath veto power on authoritarian thugs? In Tom Friedman’s latest column, he sums up the dilemma quite nicely in the very first paragraph: Sometimes the simplest question speaks the biggest truth. I was meeting with some Maidan activists here in Kiev last week, and we were talking about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s insistence that Ukraine was part of Russia’s traditional “sphere of influence” and “buffer zone” with the West, and, therefore, America and the European Union need to keep their hands off. At one point, one of the activists, the popular Ukrainian journalist, Vitali Sych, erupted: “Did anyone ask us whether we wanted to be part of his buffer zone?” Friedman’s column is excellent and I urge you to read it, but I think I can add to his points and provide further depth. First, some background. The popular Ukrainian journalist that Friedman refers to is someone I know well. I worked with Vitaly and consider him a close friend. We still keep in touch. Vitaly and I had a very healthy working relationship—he would often ask for my advice, but almost never took it (talent is the ultimate authority). We frequently met at my home for extended discussions over whiskey—a lot of whiskey—that would go on for hours and span the personal, the professional and the political. So I can say that when he posed the question about whether anyone asked Ukrainians if they wanted to be part of Putin’s buffer zone, it was very much in character. Vitaly is one of the most independent thinking and insightful people I have ever met. He is also very open and direct. His public persona is very much like his private one However, I do think Friedman’s column gives less than the full account and three additional points need to be made. First, while Vitaly was always a strong believer in Ukrainian independence, his support for EU integration is something more recent. After the Orange Revolution he, like most Ukrainians, wanted a more Finnish style solution in which Ukraine was neither in the Russian camp nor part of NATO or the EU. Ukrainians just wanted to be left alone. It has been Russia’s constant infringement on Ukrainian sovereignty, its lack of respect for Ukrainian national ambitions and the sheer incompetence and corruption of Putin’s rule that has driven Ukraine away. Ukrainians seek greater integration with NATO and the EU not as a matter of ideology, but practicality. They are choosing a successful model over a failed one. Second, when I was living in Poland in the late 90’s, I found that many people of the former Warsaw Pact felt much like Vitaly did after 2004. They wanted to move away from Russia and to achieve better governance and prosperity, but most of all they valued their independence. Nobody wanted to be a pawn on somebody else’s chessboard. This was an important national discussion in each of the ascension countries. Ultimately, strong majorities voted to join NATO and the EU and undergo the extensive reforms necessary to meet ascension requirements. This took no small amount of sacrifice, but I think it’s pretty clear that it has been more than worth it. Today, a 100 million people in Eastern Europe have attained a standard of living that could hardly have been imagined a generation ago. Further, rather than having to forfeit their identity, the increased freedom of expression and rule of law has resulted in a cultural renaissance in many of the former communist countries. We should be proud of what we helped accomplish in Eastern Europe and we have also benefited handsomely. Countries like Poland are strong allies and valuable trade partners. They not only buy our products, but their highly educated workforce contributes to our science and technology efforts. We have all become better off. Third, we offered Russia many of the same opportunities—and in some ways more—than the NATO and EU expansion countries. We sent technical and financial assistance, invited Russia to join important international structures like the G7 and the OSCE and educated its best and brightest through the FSA/FLEX and Muskie programs. We treated Russia with respect and did our best to address its concerns. The truth is that the Russians simply failed to take advantage of the opportunities they were given. They never embraced reform. When energy prices shot up, the proceeds went to Swiss bank accounts and military hardware rather than to reviving Russia’s dilapidated economy. Yet instead of taking responsibility for their failures, they chose to blame the world, especially the US. When I lived in Russia it became clear why: Russians never accepted that they lost the Cold War. Like Germany in the 20’s and 30’s, Russia today aspires to be an empire that can terrorize and subjugate its neighbors. Yes, it has given up Communism, but that was always a farce. In truth, Russia never truly gave up its Tsarist approach and that remains so even now. Today, Russia has replaced Communism with a fantastical Eurasian ideal in which it seeks to undermine the international order that we have worked so hard to build—the same order that has brought peace and prosperity to Europe and has vastly reduced the spectre of nuclear armageddon. While the world today has its share of problems, we should not forget that it is vastly better than the one that preceded it; safer, richer, healthier and more just. We do not want to go back to a world where the interests of nations override the rights of people. So this time, it is not enough for Russia to retreat. It must surrender and forsake its designs to turn back the clock and upend the international order. Any costs we incur to stop Putin here will pale in comparison to the price we will have to pay later. Success, even perceived success, will only embolden Russian aggression. So take my friend Vitaly’s point to heart. Nobody asked Ukrainians if they wanted to be a “buffer.” But also, ask the next logical question. If Putin can subjugate a peaceful country in the heart of Europe without provocation and face no consequences, where will he stop? Once you do, the answer becomes clear. Ukraine’s fight is our fight.