Ukraine crisis: President vows to fight pro-Russia forces

Ukraine's president says a full-scale operation involving the army will be launched in the east after pro-Russian militants seized government buildings. Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he would not allow a repetition of what happened in Crimea which was annexed by Russia last month. His live televised address from parliament came after pro-Russian forces targeted half a dozen cities. Moscow has strongly criticised Kiev's plan to use its armed forces. Our Analysis The warning by Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is clear and to the point. Many of the units (I use the word advisedly) involved in the initial take-over of buildings in several cities in eastern Ukraine look like organised, professional military forces. This is exactly what was seen at the outset of Russia's Crimea operation - armed men with no clear insignia, but with all the hall-marks of the Russian military. The Ukraine crisis looks to have moved into a higher gear this weekend. Experts say that the events look neither spontaneous nor unplanned. The fear is that, just as in Crimea, the Russian government is seeking to use the lack of clarity as to who exactly is involved to gain time to create facts on the ground. At the same time it is threatening that any response by Ukrainian security forces will only make matters worse. Earlier, Nato's secretary general voiced concern at events in the region. And the US ambassador to the UN said the attacks this weekend bore the "tell-tale signs of Moscow's involvement." But the Kremlin denies involvement in events in eastern Ukraine. Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February. 'Sowing discord' "We will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in the eastern regions of Ukraine," said President Turchynov. "The aggressor... is continuing to sow disorder in the east of the country." But Mr Turchynov offered not to prosecute militants who gave up their weapons by early Monday. According to a Ukrainian presidential decree, pro-Russian separatists should give up their weapons and leave buildings they have occupied by 0600GMT, Reuters reported. Ukrainian forces used military helicopters in the their bid to shift the Sloviansk protesters Protesters burned tyres and bolstered their defences before the government operation began Responding to Mr Turchynov's address, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said the plan to use the armed forces was "criminal" and caused "particular indignation". Ukraine was, the spokesman said, "waging war against its own people". He added that Russia wanted the crisis in eastern Ukraine to be considered as a matter of urgency by the UN Security Council. Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen's statement on Sunday drew parallels with some aspects of last month's seizure of Crimea. He said the "reappearance of men with specialised Russian weapons and identical uniforms without insignia, as previously worn by Russian troops during Russia's illegal and illegitimate seizure of Crimea, is a grave development". A Nato source told the BBC the organisation believed that "Russian forces have been involved in the seizure of some of the buildings". And the US ambassador to the UN said the attacks on police and other buildings in eastern Ukraine had "telltale signs of Moscow's involvement". "It's professional, co-ordinated. Nothing grass-roots about it," ambassador Samantha Power told ABC News. "The forces are doing in each of the six or seven cities they have been active in exactly the same thing." A senior Ukrainian intelligence official said his country's special services had evidence proving Russia's direct involvement in the events in eastern Ukraine. "We have not only evidence, we have 18 detainees, we have career officers of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, we have arrested agents complete with instructions, arms and explosives," Security Service head Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said in a live TV discussion programme. Turning violent On Saturday, armed men took over police stations and official buildings in Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka. Similar accounts emerged of armed men dressed in camouflage arriving in buses in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and storming the police stations. BBC reporters in Sloviansk said the gunmen were well-organised and quickly established control throughout the town. Checkpoints had been set up on the main roads into the town. Pro-Russian activists have blockaded the security services' office in Luhansk In the regional capital, Donetsk, several public buildings have been occupied In the port city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian flag was removed at an official building. Follow @LaNUBlog & @Hon_KingSIMEO on Twitter for Updates