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Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
Pro-Russia activists reinforced barricades Wednesday around the state security building they have occupied in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, and called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to protect them should the Ukrainian authorities use force to restore Kyiv's control. But talks were underway to ease the standoff, which Kyiv fears could provide a pretext for a Russian invasion. Lawmakers from eastern Ukraine have proposed an amnesty for protesters, while authorities said Wednesday that 56 people held by protesters in Luhansk had been allowed to leave.
The latest developments come as the various sides position themselves for talks in Vienna scheduled for next week between Russia, Ukraine, the European Union and the United States — the first such inclusive diplomatic summit called to address the crisis in Ukraine.
The Luhansk security services building was among several government offices seized by pro-Moscow groups Sunday in an escalation of protests against the interim government in power since the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov warned Wednesday that the standoff in Luhansk and the two neighboring Russian-leaning cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv must be resolved within the next two days, either through negotiations or through the use of force, the Interfax news agency reported.
"A resolution to this crisis will be found within the next 48 hours," Avakov told reporters in Kyiv.
In Donetsk, a group of pro-Russian deputies inside the regional government building on Monday displayed a banner proclaiming a separatist republic, and called for a referendum on the establishment of a "Donetsk People's Republic." Authorities have ended a sit-in by protesters in the city of Kharkiv.
The cities affected by the uprisings are in Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland, which has a large population of ethnic Russians and strong economic and cultural ties to Russia. Many residents are suspicious of the government that took power in February.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest by financing outside agitators.
"Everything that we've seen in the last 48 hours from Russian provocateurs and agents operating in eastern Ukraine tells us that they've been sent there determined to create chaos," Kerry said.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt tweeted photos on Wednesday that he said were proof of a Russian military buildup on the Ukrainian border — claims that Moscow said were unfounded.
"The daily activity of Russian troops on national territory does not threaten the security of the U.S. or other member states of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a news release. "Attempts to accuse Russia of a buildup of troops are unfounded."
The Ukrainian government and the United States have accused Moscow of fomenting unrest in Ukraine as a pretext for another Russian military incursion similar to last month's takeover of Crimea. Up to 40,000 Russian troops are massed along the Ukrainian border, according to NATO. Moscow insists it has no plans to repeat its Crimea operation in eastern Ukraine, but it has also argued that relations between Kyiv and the eastern regions are irreparably split, and insisted that federalizing Ukraine was the only basis for a political solution. Thus far, the government in Kyiv has rejected that argument, although its leaders have spoken of offering greater autonomy to the Russian-speaking regions.
Russia on Wednesday told Western powers that next week's four-way talks must focus on fostering dialogue among Ukrainians, and not on bilateral relations among the participants. Moscow sees the government in Kyiv as representing some, but not all Ukrainians.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivered the message in a telephone conversation with Secretary Kerry, Russia's Foreign Ministry said. It said Lavrov and Kerry had urged all sides to refrain from violence in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Next week's meeting would be the first direct talks with Moscow and the new authorities in Kyiv, but Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland said that expectations were not high for the talks.
"We don't have high expectations for these talks, but we do believe it is very important to keep that diplomatic door open," Nuland testified at a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Al Jazeera and wire services
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry accuses Russian agents of instigating ‘chaos’ as possible pretext for military action.
Ukraine security forces take back one government building, but pro-Russia demonstrators hold regional headquarters.
IMF-imposed austerity measures could play into Russia's ploy for a federalized Ukraine.
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