Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russia on Sunday of engineering clashes in Odesa that led to the deaths of more than 40 pro-Russian activists in a blazing building and pushed the country closer to civil war.
Yatseniuk, speaking in Odesa, attacked police forces in the Black Sea port city, suggesting they were more interested in the fruits of corruption than maintaining order. Had they done their job, he said, "these terrorist organizations would have been foiled."
Friday's clashes were the most deadly since Moscow-oriented president Viktor Yanukovich was forced to flee in February and pro-Russian militants launched uprisings in the industrial east. They also marked the first serious disorder outside eastern areas since Yanukovich fell, heralding possible future trouble for Kyiv.
"There were dozens of casualties resulting from a well-prepared and organized action against people, against Ukraine and against Odesa," Yatseniuk told representatives of social organizations.
He dismissed Russian accusations that his government was provoking bloodshed in the east with an operation to restore Kyiv's authority in a series of cities under rebel control.
"The process of dialogue had begun, only it was drowned out by the sound of shooting from automatic rifles of Russian production," he said.
The former Soviet republic of Ukraine is divided between a largely Russian-speaking population in the industrial east and Ukrainian-speaking west, where more pro-European Union views prevail. Moscow says Russian-speakers face threats from Ukrainian nationalist militants, an accusation Kyiv denies.
On Sunday, authorities in Ukraine said government forces reclaimed a television tower during a security operation to quell pro-Russian rebel activity in the town of Kramatorsk.
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Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement on his Facebook page that a new assault to reclaim control over Kramatorsk by the National Guard and armed forces began at dawn.
A woman argues with members from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry security forces during a rally outside a trade union building in Odesa on Saturday. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)
The city saw a standoff Saturday that culminated in insurgents setting buses alight to ward off attacks. Russian state television has reported 10 deaths, including two among government forces, during clashes in Kramatorsk so far. Those figures could not be independently confirmed.
At least 12 government armoured personnel carriers were spotted driving through the town Saturday, although they appeared to have returned to their base at a military airfield on the edge of the city by day's end.
Efforts to counteract the insurgency have focused mostly on the nearby town of Slovyansk; authorities are currently seeking to form a security cordon around that city.
The blockade has already resulted in a spate of panic-buying in the city with long lines forming outside grocery stores.
Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly claimed victories in capturing checkpoints surrounding the city, although such boasts have often proven overstated.
Government buildings have been seized by pro-Russian forces in more than a dozen or so cities and town across eastern Ukraine.
Andriy Parubiy, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, said an "anti-terrorist operation" will be carried out in towns beyond Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, according to Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
Traffic around the Donetsk region, where the insurgency is strongest, has been impeded by a proliferation barricades manned by men armed variously with sticks, automatic rifles and handguns.
The goals of the insurgency are ostensibly geared toward pushing for broad powers of autonomy. Russia, which the international community has accused of promoting the unrest, has vociferously condemned recent Ukrainian security operations in the east.
Tensions soared Friday when dozens of anti-government protesters died while trapped in a fire in the city of Odesa.
The self-styled Donetsk People's Republic says it plans to hold a referendum on autonomy by May 11, but with less than a week remaining, little visible effort has been to make that vote happen.
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