Ukraine's east rallies for secession referendum, Russia's aggression to dominate Obama Europe trip

The rally in Donetsk came less than a week after the Ukrainian region of Crimea approved secession in a referendum regarded as illegitimate by the Western countries. After the referendum, Russia moved to formally annex Crimea.

With Crimea now effectively under the control of Russian forces, which ring Ukrainian military bases on the strategic Black Sea peninsula, concern is rising that Ukraine's eastern regions will agitate for a similar move.

Russia has brought large military contingents to areas near the border with eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said there is no intention to move into eastern Ukraine, but the prospect of violence between pro- and anti-secession groups in the east could be used as a pretext for sending in troops.

Eastern Ukraine is the heartland of Ukraine's economically vital heavy industry and mining and the support base for Viktor Yanukovych, the Ukrainian president who fled to Russia last month after being ousted in the wake of three months of protests in the capital, Kiev.

Russia and Yanukovych supporters contend Yanukovych's ouster was a coup and allege that the authorities who then came to power are nationalists who would oppress the east's large ethnic Russian population.

"They're trying to tear us away from Russia," said demonstrator Igor Shapoval, a 59-year-old businessman. "But Donbass is ready to fight against this band which already lost Crimea and is losing in the east."

Donbass is the name for the region of factories and mines that includes Donetsk.

The demonstrators erected about several tents, an ironic echo of the massive tent camp that was established on Kiev's central square after the protests against Yanukovych broke out in late November.

"I'm ready to live in a tent, but I'm not ready to submit to the West, to dance to their tune," said Viktor Rudko, a 43-year-old miner.

The local parliament on Friday formed a working group to develop a referendum analogous to the one in Crimea. Activists on Saturday passed out mock ballots, although no referendum has been formally called.

As tensions roil in the east, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is deploying an observer team aimed at easing the crisis.

Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement on Friday that Moscow hopes that the 200-strong team "will help to overcome the internal Ukrainian crisis" and ensure the respect for human rights there.

It is unclear whether the team will be allowed into Crimea. Russian forces last week stopped OSCE military observers from entering Crimea. The organization on Friday did not specify whether the observers will go to Crimea.

Lukashevich said on Saturday that the OSCE's mission "will reflect the new political and legal order and will not cover Crimea and Sevastopol which became part of Russia."

Daniel Baer, the United States' chief envoy to OSCE, said the observers should have access to the territory because Crimea remains Ukrainian to the rest of the world.

Russia's aggression to dominate Obama Europe trip

Pushing back against demands to supply arms to Ukraine, Obama administration officials said Friday that economic sanctions would remain the primary weapon as the US and its European allies seek a diplomatic solution to Russia's aggression.

President Barack Obama travels across the Atlantic next week and will seek a cohesive stance from European leaders unnerved by Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula but cautious about the economic punishment the United States says it's willing to unleash if Moscow makes further expansionist moves.

"Our interest is not in seeing this situation escalate and devolve into hot conflict," Obama National Security Adviser Susan Rice said. "Our interest is in a diplomatic resolution, de-escalation and, obviously, economic support for Ukraine, and to the extent that it continues to be necessary, further cost imposed on Russia for its actions."

Obama's trip, scheduled long before Russia moved to annex the Crimean Peninsula away from Ukraine, had initially aimed to nurture international relationships as well as feature a high-profile audience with Pope Francis. But Russia's actions will now dominate Obama's visit as the president and US allies seek to confront one of the most serious political crises in Europe since the cold war.

Underscoring the gravity with which the United States and the west perceive Russia's intervention in Ukraine, Obama will meet with leaders of the Group of Seven leading economies on Monday to display a unified stance against Moscow.

"What will be clear for the entire world to see is that Russia is increasingly isolated, and that the United States is leading the international community in supporting the government of Ukraine and the people of Ukraine, and in imposing costs on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine," Rice said.

Secretary of state John Kerry will join Obama during his trip, which will include stops in The Hague, Netherlands; Rome; Vatican City; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While in The Hague, Kerry will meet with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Obama this week ordered sanctions against nearly two dozen members of Putin's inner circle and a Russian bank and he signed an executive order that would allow the US to sanction key Russian industries. US officials said Russia's energy, financial services and metals and mining sectors are among the industries that could be targeted.

On Friday, the European Union announced its own new sanctions, aiming for a deputy prime minister, two presidential advisers and the speakers of both houses of parliament. It also stated that further steps by Russia to destabilize Ukraine would lead to unspecified economic consequences and asked its members to prepare possible targets.

In that sense, the EU actions and threats against Russia fall short of the US efforts, illustrating the European nations' caution over matching the US measures against a country that is so intertwined with their own economies as both a trading partner and energy supplier.

Sen. John McCain, a prominent Republican who recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, said the US needs to provide financial aid to Ukraine, immediately send defensive weapons to the country, resume work on the missile defense system in Poland, develop a long-term plan to get energy to Europe and Ukraine and speak up for the people.

Critics also say Obama has not been swift enough in imposing sanctions.

"This incrementalist approach is failing, and it will continue to fail," said Andrew Kuchins, the director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He's got to step outside of his comfort zone and seize the initiative, take measures that put Putin on the defensive."

Beyond presenting a joint front against Russia, Obama while in Europe will be sure to make an appeal for European political and economic assistance for Ukraine, which has been left reeling in the wake of the

Obama, however, will have to make that request empty-handed. Congress has yet to approve $1 billion in loan guarantees for Ukraine because of Republican objections over provisions to expand the lending authority of the International Monetary Fund.

On Tuesday, Obama will meet with Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen, an opportunity to reassure Eastern European members of the alliance, including the Baltic states, which have become especially alarmed by Putin's moves.

Rice said the economic measures were already taking a toll on Russia.

"You can see that these measures have had at least an initial impact when you look at the markets, when you look at the currency, when you look at the ratings by the major ratings agencies which have downgraded Russia from stable to negative just in the last 24 hours that these steps are consequential,'' she said.

But Rice would not say under what circumstances Obama would advance to broader, harder- hitting sanctions on Russia's economic sector.

"We have not taken that decision; as the president said yesterday, that is not our preference,'' she said. "But if the situation escalates, that remains a tool at our disposal."