Ukraine: Alleged Terrorist Threat Sparks New Tensions

Uprisings involving potential
terrorists in Ukraine’s eastern regions are creating new tensions
on an international level. The U.S. and NATO are both warning
Russia not to intervene in the unstable situation.

On Sunday, small groups of pro-Russian separatists seized
government buildings and an armory in three cities and demanded
independence referendums. Government troops 
bloodlessly retook the buildings, but the separatists acted
again today.

“The Security Service of Ukraine says that pro-Russian
separatists have taken 60 people hostage in the security agency’s
headquarters in Luhansk, and are threatening to use arms and
explosives,” the Kyiv Post
reports. The agency has deemed them “terrorists,” though the
“protesters occupying the building denied the charge that they had
wired the building with explosives and were holding people against
their will.”

Russia, which has for weeks amassed an estimated 40,000 troops
near the Ukrainian border, demands that
Ukraine immediately cease “any military preparations” as a response
to the unrest, lest it spark a civil war. Russia also accused the
U.S. of providing private military services to the Ukrainian
government to suppress ethnic Russians.

The U.S.’s stance is that the separatists are actually Russian
agents. Secretary of State John Kerry
suggested today that Russia is the one attempting to foment
civil war as a “contrived pretext for military intervention.” Kerry

warned that the U.S. may impose even more sanctions if that
happens.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke about the
crisis today saying, “If
Russia were to intervene further in Ukraine, it would be an
historic mistake. It would have grave consequences for our
relationship with Russia and it would further isolate Russia
internationally,” and that instead it should “engage in a genuine
dialogue with the Ukrainian authorities and respect its
international commitments.”

The president of the Czech Republic, a NATO member, yesterday
suggested that NATO forces should be used to defend Ukraine
if Russia were to attempt annexing more regions of the
country.