Morning Brief: Violence Tests Truce in Ukraine

From Foreign Policy Mon Apr 21 2014, 13:26:09

Violence Tests Truce in Ukraine

Ukraine: Gunfire at a checkpoint controlled by pro-Russian militants killed at least three people near the town of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. The bloodshed underscored the fragility of the agreement reached on Thursday by the European Union, Russia, the United States, and Ukraine. Pro-Russian militants have so far refused to lay down arms or vacate government buildings they've seized.

Photographic evidence endorsed by the Obama administration over the weekend suggests that the well-armed, professional looking "green men" who have seized government sites and helped foment unrest in eastern Ukraine may be members of Russia's military and intelligence forces. Similar forces were identified during the annexation of Crimea after long denials from Moscow.

In response to the continued signs of Russian aggression, the White House is reportedly pursuing a strategy of containment, similar to what the United States practiced during the Cold War, by limiting Russia's political and economic ties to the world. The United States has prepared another list of individuals and institutions to be targeted for sanctions if the current agreement fails, but it is not yet planning to extend the sanctions to whole sectors of the Russian economy.

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