Pro-Russian separatists
attacked a base of the Ukrainian national guard in an eastern city overnight
and Kiev said three of the militants were killed, bloodshed likely to
overshadow crisis talks in Geneva.
Ukrainian, Russian and Western
diplomats arrived for the emergency talks in Switzerland, but there was little
hope of any progress in resolving a crisis that has seen armed pro-Russian
fighters seize whole swathes of Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin, who overturned decades of post-Cold War diplomacy last month by declaring Russia's right to intervene in neighboring countries and annexing Ukraine's Crimea region, may give clues to the extent of his territorial ambitions at an annual televised question and answer session. He has deployed tens of thousands of troops on the frontier.
The new deadly clashes in the
port of Mariupol took place even as a modest Ukrainian military operation to
recapture territory elsewhere from armed pro-Russian rebels ended in disarray,
with troops surrendering rather than open fire.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov
said an armed group of about 300 separatists attacked the national guard base
in Mariupol with guns and petrol bombs. Three separatists were killed in
shooting that followed and 13 were wounded, he said. No guardsmen were hurt.
"Given the aggressive nature
of the attack on the base, an interior ministry group has been strengthened by
Omega special forces. Helicopters have been sent in," he said.
Pro-Russian militants control
buildings in about 10 towns in eastern Ukraine after launching their uprising
on April 6. Kiev fears that Moscow, which claims the right to use military
force to protect its supporters, could see any deaths as a pretext to launch an
invasion.
On Wednesday, an armored column
of Ukrainian paratroops was humiliated in an attempt to retake some towns.
Pro-Moscow separatists took control of some of their armored vehicles and
crowds surrounded another column, forcing the troops to hand over the pins from
their rifles and retreat.
European countries and the United
States are threatening Russia with more sanctions unless it takes steps at the
Geneva meeting to show it will de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
So far, diplomacy has failed to
keep up with events on the ground, with Russia's partisans seizing control of
territory before Western countries can formulate a response.
Bloodshed has been limited so far
during the uprising in the east, with two people killed on Sunday, including a
member of the Ukrainian state security forces shot dead.
The United States and European
Union have imposed visa bans and asset freezes on a small number of Russian
individuals, a response that Moscow has openly mocked. However, the Western
states say they are now contemplating far more serious measures that could hurt
Russia's economy more broadly, which could be put into place shortly after
Thursday's Geneva meeting.
CONSEQUENCES
"What I have said
consistently is that each time Russia takes these kinds of steps that are
designed to violate their sovereignty, that there are going to be
consequences," U.S. President Barack Obama said on Wednesday in an
interview with CBS. Using words unheard since the Cold War, he said the United
States had stronger conventional military forces than Russia, and neither side
wanted a conflict.
"We don't need a war,"
he said.
Western countries have repeatedly
made clear they are not prepared to fight for Ukraine, but the NATO alliance
announced steps on Wednesday to beef up security of member states such as
Poland and the Baltic countries, which feel threatened by Russian action
nearby.
Upon arriving in Geneva on
Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia said there was still
time for negotiations to ease tensions with Russia.
"I think that we still have
a chance to de-escalate the situation using the diplomatic means," he
said. "And we will try hard. We are trying hard - not only Ukraine - but
also the United States. However, the time is now, not only to express the
concerns, but to look for a more concrete and adequate response to Russia's
plans and actions."
Kiev and the West believe Russian
agents are directing the insurgency in the east. A U.S. official said
Washington was looking for evidence in Geneva that Russia would stop.
"The idea here is that they
would stop aiding and abetting and supporting these separatists and that they
would pull their troops back from the borders," the official told
reporters as Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Geneva. Other U.S. officials
in Washington said they did not expect a breakthrough.
Putin has accused the Ukrainian
government of risking mass bloodshed by using its military to try to crush the
rebellion in the largely Russian-speaking east of the former Soviet republic.
"The sharp escalation of the
conflict puts the country, in effect, on the brink of civil war," the
Kremlin quoted Putin as telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week.
The European Commission took a
step towards preparing for wider sanctions, handing documents to EU member states
on Wednesday explaining the potential impact on their economies of stricter
trade and financial measures, diplomats said.
The documents examine energy,
finance, trade and other areas. A number of EU countries that rely heavily on
Russian gas supplies are nervous about possible retaliation from Moscow and at
least one EU diplomat said the measures had to be balanced.
Putin has shown no sign of
backing down before his question-and-answer session. He traditionally speaks
about matters close to the hearts of ordinary Russians such as dilapidated
housing, inefficient local authorities and inflation.
But on the eve of the event, for
which Russians had registered more than 1.5 million questions by Tuesday,
presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would give an extensive
assessment of U.S. and EU sanctions.
Chapisha Maoni