As Kiev moves against separatists, is this the beginning of the end?

A 10-day cease-fire between Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists came to a bloody end this week, as government troops renewed their assault against armed militias in the eastern cities of Slovyansk and Donetsk.

At least four Ukrainian troops have been killed since newly elected President Petro Poroshenko lifted the cease-fire.

On Monday, he ordered troops to quash the insurgency and end its attempts to chip away parts of the country.

By Tuesday, pro-Russian insurgents captured the Interior Ministry headquarters in the eastern city of Donetsk. Separatists fought for hours with poorly trained and disorganized government troops, ending with rebels taking control of a complex housing the area’s police headquarters, and leaving dead officers outside.

Donetsk is one of two regions in the east that declared independence from the government in Kiev. The second, Luhansk, is also roiling as Ukrainian troops struggle to stop armed separatists.

Elected in May, Poroshenko is trying to return his country to the path toward Europe.

Just last week he signed an agreement with the European Union, opening trade and promising to promote European values like democracy and human rights.

But telephone negotiations between Poroshenko, his European allies and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin were not enough to keep Kiev from acting.

Putin said the Ukrainian president bore full responsibility for the latest violence and pledged to defend Russian-speaking citizens.

"Unfortunately, President Poroshenko made a decision to resume military operations," said Putin.

"We couldn't convince him that the road to a sustainable, durable and long-term peace cannot lie through war."

The Russian Foreign Ministry is calling for Ukraine to reinstate the cease-fire, and accused Poroshenko of the “physical annihilation of citizens of [his] own country.”

The ministry also said that the authorities “do not even care about the fate of small children.”

With the war of words escalating along with the actual fighting on the ground, Russian diplomats joined foreign ministers from Germany, France and Ukraine on Wednesday in Berlin to try and end the crisis. The other countries accuse Moscow of beginning and fomenting the fighting.

It’s unclear where the daylight is now. Ukraine’s new president has realigned the country’s economic interests with Europe — the very move that sparked the political crisis and standoff with Russia in the first place late last year. 

What might Putin do now in the disputed restive regions in eastern Ukraine?

Can sanctions and diplomatic pressure from Europe bring Russia and Ukraine together before this devolves further into all-out, open war?

We consulted a panel of experts for the Inside Story.