KIEV, Ukraine
Ukraine’s security services, the SBU, removed pro-Russia armed separatists fromDonetsk’s SBU headquarters late Monday night, interim President Oleksandr Turchynov’s office said in an official statement.
Donetsk, along with Ukraine’s eastern cities of Kharkiv and Lugansk, saw 1,000-1,500 pro-Moscow protesters take control of local administration buildings and SBU offices, demanding referendums on joining the Russian Federation.
Police officials in Lugansk also said Monday that the local SBU headquarters and its weapons arsenal were in the hands of separatists calling themselves the ‘Army of the Southeast’.
Local law enforcement officials announced that all major roads into the city have been closed.
Turchynov and acting Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk have directly accused Russia of orchestrating and carrying out the attacks in the hope of repeating what Turchynov called ‘a Crimea scenario’, a reference to Russia’s invasion and subsequent illegal annexation of the region last month.
In an address broadcast on national television, Turchynov announced, ‘the second wave of a Russian operation to dismantle the country,’ began Monday.
“Enemies of Ukraine are trying to play out a Crimean scenario, but we will not let this happen," Turchynov said.
Speaking at an emergency cabinet meeting, Yatsenyuk said, ““A plan has been launched to de-stabilize the situation and allow foreign troops to cross the border and occupy huge parts of our country. We will not allow this.“
Former Prime Minister and current presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko, who was in DonetskMonday, reiterated Turchynov’s claims that Moscow had a direct hand in planning and fomenting Sunday’s violence, claiming most of the protesters were paid and trained by Russia’s security services, the FSB.
Yatsenyuk, in his comments to a cabinet meeting, claimed many of the protests spoke with distinct Russian accents.
Claims of Russian involvement come amid suspicions that the FSB – the successor to the Soviet-era KGB – is attempting to set the ground for a replay of the events in Crimea, where Russia sent in special forces units, under the guise of ‘local civilian self-defense groups’, to seize key sites in and around major cities.
Russia’s foreign ministry warned the Ukrainian government not to escalate the crisis by resorting to using force against the protestors.
The unrest comes amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine after Russia invaded Crimea last month and most recently deployed between 40,000-50,000 combat-ready troops along Ukraine’s eastern borders.
Putin claims Ukraine’s Russian-speaking population is under threat from radical Ukrainian-speaking ultra-nationalists and has vowed to use force to protect the country's ethnic Russian population.
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