By Andrey Ostroukh
Russia warned on Wednesday that any attack on its citizens in
Ukraine would be considered an attack on Russia itself, as the
Ukrainian government said it had resumed its "antiterrorist"
operation against pro-Russian militants in the eastern part of the
country.
The escalating rhetoric comes amid growing signs that the
agreement reached last week in Geneva between the U.S., European
Union, Russia and Ukraine, laying out steps to reduce tension, was
headed for failure. Its collapse would escalate a race between
Washington and Moscow to fix blame on the other side--as well as
set off new rounds of tit-for-tat punitive measures.
Setting the stage for likely new sanctions, the State Department
said that Russia's recent public comments have been devoid of "any
indication of a plan to implement the Geneva statement, to follow
through on promises made." Western capitals and Ukraine accuse
Moscow of failing to rein in the pro-Russia, anti-Kiev groups in
eastern Ukraine.
Russia's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, blasted Ukraine and the
U.S. for what it called a "distorted interpretation" of the Geneva
deal, arguing that Kiev isn't doing enough to disarm and rein in
Ukrainian nationalist groups. Washington and Kiev reject those
allegations.
Poland on Wednesday welcomed some 150 U.S. troops to its
territory, sent to reassure American allies close to the Russian
border.
U.S. officials said the Obama administration was moving rapidly
toward imposing new sanctions on more people close to President
Vladimir Putin within days, fueling expectations of action by
Friday.
The White House had initially planned to impose new sanctions on
Russia last week, but held off after Russian Foreign Minister
Sergei Lavrov signed the Geneva deal, according to two American
officials who took part in the talks last Thursday.
Secretary of State John Kerry said at the time that the U.S.
would know if Moscow was committed to implementing the agreement
within a week.
U.S. officials said the next round of sanctions being developed
won't hit broad sectors of the Russian economy, but, instead, focus
on a wider range of Russian officials, business "cronies" close to
Mr. Putin, and their companies.
One possible target, according to U.S. officials, is Igor
Sechin, the president of Rosneft, Russia's state-owned oil company.
The company did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The EU is expected to follow by sanctioning another group of
Russian and Ukrainian officials viewed as complicit in the
destabilization of Ukraine.
Despite warning repeatedly of more serious consequences, the
Obama administration has so far held off on the broader sanctions.
For them to be effective, as with Iran previously, it would be
better if Europe went along. But many Europeans fear collateral
damage to their own struggling economy, which is more closely tied
to Russia's than the U.S.
Obama administration officials said that they remain prepared to
hit broad sectors of the Russian economy--including its energy,
finance, and defense industries. But getting to that point on Iran
with European allies was a long and difficult process that required
overcoming a series of political, economic and legal obstacles.
Ukraine's new government, meanwhile, sought to show it was
prepared to act.
Late Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said Sviatohirsk, a town
of about 5,000 people, had been cleared of militants, with no
reports of injuries. The town hadn't been among those claimed by
the anti-Kiev activists, however, and residents reached by phone
said it had not been occupied.
In an interview with the state-run RT channel, Mr. Sergei Lavrov
said Kiev had failed to follow through on its pledge to stop
violence, citing the military operation.
"If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of
Russians have been attacked directly, like they were in South
Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in
accordance with international law," he said.
"Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the
Russian Federation."
In 2008, Russia sent troops into the breakaway Georgian region
of South Ossetia after Georgian forces allegedly fired on Russian
peacekeepers. The ensuing 10-day war triggered what was at the time
the most severe East-West conflict since the Cold War.
In the TV interview, Mr. Lavrov dismissed the government in Kiev
as puppets of the U.S. "There is no reason not to believe that the
Americans are running the show," he said.
Kiev's so-called antiterrorist operation, he noted, began
shortly after a visit to Kiev by U.S. intelligence chief John
Brennan and was restarted after Mr. Biden left, he noted.
The State Department said any suggestion that the U.S. was
behind the political unrest in Ukraine was ludicrous.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also called on Kiev to pull its
forces back from the eastern part of the country. The statement
didn't mention the buildup of Russian troops on the Russian side of
the border, however.
Western officials have grown increasingly downbeat about the
prospects for the Geneva deal.
"The practical consequences of Geneva are rather depressing,"
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters. "Russia and the
people who implement Russian policy in Ukraine are bringing us
closer to the unpleasant finale that could be the disintegration of
Ukraine. It seems Russia's intensions are quite clear."
Daniel Baer, the U.S. representative to the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is charged with
monitoring implementation of the Geneva deal, said in Brussels that
he has seen no evidence Russia is abiding by the agreement.
Mr. Baer said residents of eastern Ukraine may have legitimate
complaints, but they need to be resolved by democracy and not be
force. "Nobody's denying there are grievances," he said.
Western leaders want to shore up Ukraine's new government with
aid and loans, while trying to ensure it doesn't repeat the
economic and political missteps of the past that contributed to its
current economic straits.
The International Monetary Fund's executive board is tentatively
scheduled to consider a $17 billion bailout for Ukraine on April
30, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
Approval, which is expected, would unlock another $10 billion in
aid promised by the U.S. and Europe.
In Slovyansk, the eastern Ukrainian city that has become one of
the centers of separatist activity since it was taken over by
anti-Kiev groups April 12, the self-appointed "people's mayor"
confirmed that a U.S. reporter had been detained on suspicion of
speading disinformation.
Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the mayor, said Simon Ostrovsky of Vice
Media, was being treated well but didn't indicate when he might be
released.
The U.S. State Department, as well as the OSCE, called for his
release. Mr. Ostrovsky holds U.S. and Israeli citizenship.
Mr. Ponomaryov also accused unnamed nationalist extremists in
the killing of Vladimir Rybak, a local legislator whose body,
showing evidence of torture, was found in a river outside Slovyansk
this week.
Officials in Kiev said they suspected Russian agents operating
in the Donetsk region in the killing.
Naftali Bendavid, Ian Talley and Marcin Sobczyk contributed to
this article.
Write to Andrey Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires