Slavyansk / Kiev: Moldova’s government has put its borders on alert as violence intensified in Ukraine with the death of 30 pro-Russian militants in battles with the Ukrainian Army, The Independent reported.
Moldovan border is less than 45 miles from Odessa. The country’s government put its borders on high alert on Monday, citing concerns about the escalating violence and deteriorating security situation in Ukraine.
President Nicolae Timofti, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca and Parliament speaker Igor Coreman said in a joint statement that security forces had been ordered “to take all necessary actions to ensure public order inside the country”, the UK daily reported.
Also, the UN human rights office on Tuesday condemned the surging violence in Ukraine, calling on all involved to try to defuse tensions.
Fresh warnings of civil war was also let out by the officials on Tuesday. “Chaos and the risk of civil war” are now looming in Ukraine, said French President Francois Hollande, reflecting a frantic European push under way for a diplomatic solution before it is too late.
There are still fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could yet order an invasion into his ex-Soviet neighbour under the guise of a “peacekeeping” mission.
But the US general commanding Nato’s military operations, Philip Breedlove, said Russian special forces the West believes are already deployed covertly “may be able to accomplish his (Putin’s) objectives in eastern Ukraine” without the need to send in troops.
Kiev and its Western backers see Moscow’s main aims as making sure Ukraine’s east holds a planned “referendum” on Sunday calling for autonomy, and sabotaging all possibility of a nationwide presidential election two weeks later. With those deadlines ticking closer, Ukraine's authorities on Monday stepped up their offensive to crush rebels holed up in Slavyansk, a flashpoint town of more than 110,000 people that is the epicentre of the insurgency.
Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov downplayed on Tuesday prospects for a second Geneva peace conference on Ukraine, calling instead for a joint East-West push for national dialogue.
Mr Lavrov said such a gathering would achieve little as long as an April 17 agreement from the first Geneva talks has not been implemented so far.
Kiev calls for ‘volunteer aid’ to quell separatist uprising
Ukrainian political and military leaders called for volunteers on Tuesday to help restore order ahead of elections that are increasingly threatened by a pro-Russian separatist uprising in the eastern part of the country, The Washington Post reported.
With the nation on alert for more violence, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko urged the creation of a “volunteer army” because neither Ukraine’s Army nor its security services has been effective so far in handling outbreaks of rebellion, the Russian news service Interfax reported on Tuesday.
Hers was one of many calls to form combat-ready units of “self-defense” forces ahead of May 25 presidential and mayoral elections.
Andriy Tiron, battalion commander of the National Guard, told reporters in Kiev that demonstrators who helped oust the previous pro-Russian government were being urged to volunteer for military duty. But there was confusion about who would command them and what their duties would be.
The calls for volunteers came a day after fierce fighting broke out around the eastern city of Slovyansk between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces waging an offensive to take back cities that have slipped from the government’s control.
