Ukraine: Situation Against Militants Is ‘Helpless,’ Says President

Today, Ukraine is in turmoil.
Interim President Oleksandr Turchynov announced that the nation’s
law enforcement are “helpless” against pro-Russian militants who
are ratcheting up their activity in the eastern regions of Donetsk
and Luhansk.

The state of affairs was discussed at a meeting with regional
governors,
according to the Associated Press, during which Turchynov
offered advice on how to “prevent the threat in the east from
overtaking central and southern regions.” He told the
governors:

I will be frank. Today, security forces are unable to quickly
take the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under
control…. The security bodies… are unable to carry out their
duties of protecting citizens. They are helpless in those matters.
Moreover, some of those units are either helping or cooperating
with terrorist organizations.

The Ukrainian government maintains that separatists are led by
“mercenaries and special units” from Russia.

That some people are switching sides is no surprise, given their
circumstances. Reuters
writes that this morning “the police of Luhansk had already
stacked sandbags to the ceiling of their HQ in anticipation of
trouble” following an “assault they faced on Tuesday night by
gunmen armed with automatic rifles, petrol bombs and stun grenades”
during which they received no aid from the government.

Pro-Russian separatists staged a predawn break-in of a city
council building in Luhansk and waited with AK-47s ready for
workers to arrive,
reports the Kyiv Post. Later, insurgents
seized a tax service and customs office. Radio Free Europe writes
that the recent escalation in violence is “unprecedented” and that
pro-Russian demonstrators “brutally
beat” pro-Ukrainian counterparts at a rally on
Monday. Earlier this week, a mayor was shot in the back by an
unidentified attacker.

A
poll released today shows little confidence in the interim
government. Sixty-four percent of respondents from the unstable
eastern regions believe the leaders in Kiev don’t represent them.
However, the poll also showed that “concern about suppression of
the Russian language, one of the issues frequently raised by Moscow
and cited by pro-Russia separatists” is not widely held by the
predominantly Russian-speaking citizens in these regions. And,
despite separatist agitation, 74 percent of respondents said they
think Ukraine’s division can be repaired. 

Read more Reason coverage of Ukraine here.