BBC Online: Russia has denied involvement in the seizures of official buildings by pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of wanting to “seize” Ukraine, amid escalating rhetoric between Russia and the US. On Thursday US Secretary of State John Kerry had accused Russia of “distraction, deception and destabilisation” in eastern Ukraine. The US says Russia has failed to live up to an agreement to end the crisis struck in Geneva last week. American officials say Russia is behind unrest in eastern Ukrainian cities. Pro-Russian separatists are occupying key buildings in a dozen eastern Ukrainian towns, defying the central government. Ukraine has launched military raids to regain the buildings, which Mr Lavrov described as a “bloody crime”. “The West… wants to seize Ukraine so to speak, being solely motivated by its own geopolitical ambitions and not the interests of the Ukrainian people,” Mr Lavrov said, according to AFP. “The might of US propaganda” was aimed “at smearing Russia, smearing those who protest against the illegal actions of the [Kiev] authorities,” he went on. Soon after Mr Lavrov’s comments, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Russia wanted to “start World War Three” by occupying Ukraine “militarily and politically” and by creating a conflict that would spread to the rest of Europe. Russia has ordered new military exercises on its border following the Ukrainian military raids, drawing condemnation from Kiev. Moscow has tens of thousands of troops along its side of the border and on Friday acting Ukrainian Defence Minister Mikhail Koval told the Interfax-Ukraine agency that they had come within a kilometre of the border. Natalia Antelava investigates who entered Mariupol’s city council building ‘Active role’ Earlier US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a strongly worded statement in which he called on Moscow to help defuse the crisis or face further sanctions. Mr Kerry praised the interim authorities in Kiev, saying they had honoured the agreement struck in Geneva on 17 April to de-escalate the crisis. But he said Russia had “put its faith in distraction, deception and destabilisation” and said it had failed to call for separatists to leave official buildings and give up their arms as stipulated by the Geneva agreement. He also accused Russian media of promoting President Vladimir Putin’s “fantasy” about events in Ukraine. Mr Kerry said US intelligence was confident that Russia was “playing an active role in destabilising eastern Ukraine” with personnel, weapons, money and operational planning”. Also on Friday, reports from the port city of Odessa indicated that an explosion at a checkpoint injured at least seven people. On Thursday morning raids by Ukrainian commandos on pro-Russian checkpoints around the town of Sloviansk left at least two separatists dead. Unrest began in Ukraine last November over whether the country should look towards Moscow or the West. Last month, Russia annexed Ukraine’s mainly ethnic-Russian Crimea. This followed a referendum in the region that backed joining the Russian Federation but which the West and Kiev deemed illegal.
