The Ukrainian authorities issued a 48-hour ultimatum to pro-Russian separatists in eastern cities on Wednesday, telling them to leave the public buildings they were occupying or face “forceful” action.
Separatist protesters demanding unification with Russia seized and occupied government buildings in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk on Sunday night, in what Ukrainian and US officials have described as a plan coordinated by Moscow plan to destabilise the country.
Ukrainian police and interior ministry special forces cleared protesters out of the regional administration building in a bloodless operation in Kharkiv early on Tuesday, but protesters continue to hold the regional administration building in Donetsk and the Ukrainian Security Service’s (USB) building in Luhansk.
The activists have also established roadblocks on some highways around Donetsk as a precaution against the arrival of security forces from elsewhere in Ukraine.
Arsen Avakov, Ukraine’s acting interior minister, said that the standoffs in Lukhansk and Donetsk would be “resolved in 48 hours”, adding: “There are two options: political settlement through talks or use of force. The minority who want conflict will get a forceful answer from the Ukrainian authorities.”