Pro-Russia
gunmen on armored personal carriers passing by barricades on a road
leading into Slavyansk. (Photograph: Darko Vojinovic/AP)
Interim
president Oleksandr Turchynov on Monday was the latest to indicate that
the spiraling violence in an increasingly divided Ukraine looks more
and more like civil war as efforts to contain uprisings in the east
against Kiev's authority have only elevated the violence in recent days.
"War
is in effect being waged against us, and we must be ready to repel this
aggression," said Turchynov in a televised address from Kiev and
referring to violence in the cities of Odessa, Slavyansk, and elsewhere
over the weekend.
According to
Agence France-Presse,
the latest high-level warning from Kiev comes as Ukraine spirals
"further into a chaos that many fear could result in open civil war."
Turchynov
has called up additional forces and reintroduced conscription for
military-aged Ukrainians citing fear of a Russian invasion on the
eastern border.
This AFP video report shows how some regular Ukrainians are preparing for "civil war":
Report: civilians in Ukraine ready for civil war
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ajtkVurRoQ]
Meanwhile, in and around the city of Slavyansk on Monday, journalists
reported that opposing factions were exchanging heavy gunfire and that loud explosions could be heard throughout the area.
And
in Donetsk, militias opposed to Kiev's rule and calling for a
referendum vote on their autonomy have now taken full control of the
city despite continued threats from the Ukraine army.
“What is
happening in the east is not a short-term action,” said Vasyl Krutov,
who heads the Kiev government’s military operations in the east. “This
is essentially a war.”
As the following map by AFP shows, the number of cities in open revolt against the Kiev government is growing:
The
Associated Press reports:
Ukraine
is facing its worst crisis in decades as the polarised nation of 46
million tries to decide whether to look towards Europe, as its western
regions want to do, or improve ties with Russia, which is favoured by
the many Russian-speakers in the east.
In the last few weeks,
anti-government forces have stormed and seized government buildings and
police stations in a dozen eastern Ukrainian cities. Authorities in Kiev
– who blame Russia for backing the insurgents – have up to now been
largely powerless to react.
And since Russia has kept tens of
thousands of troops along Ukraine's eastern border – and annexed its key
Black Sea peninsula of Crimea last month – Ukraine's central government
fears Russia could try to invade and grab more territory.
Since
the government began trying to take back the buildings late last week,
Slavyansk has been under a tight security cordon. Movement in and out of
the city has ground almost to a halt, causing shortages in basic
supplies. Lines have been seen at grocery stores.
The goals of the
insurgency are ostensibly geared towards pushing for broader powers of
autonomy for the region, but some insurgents favour separatism, and the
annexation of Crimea looms over the entire political and military
discussion.
Following Friday's violence in Odessa and
the growing number of revolts in the east, former U.S. ambassador to
Moscow, Michael McFaul, spoke with
Time magazine and made
this warning: “The last 24 hours was a major escalation,” told TIME. “This is real. This is war.”
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