SLOVYANSK, Ukraine – Ukrainian forces launched an operation Thursday to drive pro-Russia insurgents out of occupied buildings in the country’s tumultuous east, prompting new threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Within hours of the Ukrainian operation, which killed at least two pro-Russia militants, Russia’s defense minister announced new military exercises for troops massed near Ukraine’s border.
The statements by Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu sharpened anxiety over the prospect of a new Russian military incursion into Ukraine. Russia’s foreign minister warned a day earlier that any attack on Russian citizens or interests in eastern Ukraine would bring a strong response.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s acting president accused Russia of backing the separatists in the east and demanded that Moscow stop its intimidation campaign and leave his country alone.
Oleksandr Turchynov said in an address to the nation Thursday that Russia was “coordinating and openly supporting terrorist killers” in eastern Ukraine, where government buildings in at least 10 cities have been seized by pro-Russia gunmen.