Ukraine accuses Putin of fuelling latest violence

Ukraine accused Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, of orchestrating the seizure of state buildings in two eastern Ukrainian cities by pro-Russia protesters yesterday, in a further escalation of tension between Kiev and Moscow.

The protesters seized the regional government building in the industrial hub of Donetsk and security service offices in Luhansk, waving Russian flags and demanding a Crimea-style referendum on joining Russia.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said police would restore order in both cities without recourse to violence. He accused Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, whose political base was in Donetsk, of conspiring with Putin to fuel tensions. “Putin and Yanukovich ordered and paid for the latest wave of separatist disorder in the east of the country. The people who have gathered are not many, but they are very aggressive,” Avakov said in a statement on Facebook.