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A pro-Russian armed man standing guard at a barricade near the state security service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk yesterday. Armed separatists in Slaviansk seized a bus carrying international observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ukraine’s interior ministry said.
AFP
Western powers led by US President Barack Obama yesterday warned that Russia faced fresh sanctions over Ukraine as Kiev accused Moscow of seeking to trigger a “third world war”.
The threat came amid heightened tensions on the ground as the Ukrainian military launched a new offensive to besiege the rebel-held city of Slaviansk and insurgents blew up an army helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade.
At the entrance to Slaviansk, several members of an OSCE observer mission were detained and taken to the rebel-held security services building, sparking immediate international condemnation.
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said pro-Russian separatists arrested 13 mission members, including three members of the German army and an interpreter.
The Ukrainian interior ministry earlier said seven OSCE members had been detained.
Following a conference call with Obama, plus the leaders of Britain, France and Italy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced that EU ministers would meet soon to agree new measures targeting Russia.
“Given the absence of progress, we have to think about - and not just think about, but act on - the option of new sanctions,” Merkel said.
“For this purpose, European Union foreign ministers will meet as soon as possible.” The US and the European Union have already targeted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle with visa and asset freezes and imposed sanctions on a key Russian bank.
Western leaders have repeatedly threatened to hit Russia with measures aimed at the wider economy.
“The heads of state and government have called for a rapid reaction by the G7 and raised the prospect of new sanctions by the international community against Russia,” the French presidency said in a statement.
The leaders called on Russia to stop its “intimidation” of Ukraine and stressed that a presidential poll scheduled for May 25 was “essential” to stabilise the country. Pages 11, 18
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