Ukrainian forces moved against pro-Russian forces manning checkpoints outside the eastern Ukraine city of Slaviansk, killing and wounding a still undetermined number of people and prompting Russia to launch what the country’s defence minister said were military exercises along the Ukrainian border.
The moves sharply raised tensions in the developing crisis. In Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said any fighting would have an impact on Ukraine’s relations with Russia and would prove that Russia was justified in interfering in Crimea.
“If, in fact, the Kiev regime has started to use the armed forces against people inside the country, then, with no doubt, it is a serious crime against their own nation,” Mr Putin said at a forum in St Petersburg for regional reporters and media figures that was broadcast live on Rossiya 24 television.
The Russian military exercises seemed likely to further fray relations with the United States and its Western allies, who have demanded repeatedly that Russia cease its efforts to stir unrest in eastern Ukraine and desist from military action along the border, where the Kremlin has massed as many as 40,000 troops.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the exercises would include troop movements on the ground as well as flights by the Russian air force. Mr Shoigu also complained about NATO exercises in Poland and the Baltics, which the alliance announced recently in response to previous Russian threats of military intervention in Ukraine.