Ukraine Says That Militants Won the East

[Purveyor]

By ALISON SMALE and ANDREW ROTHAPRIL 30, 2014

KIEV, Ukraine — It is by now a well-established pattern. Armed, masked men in their 20s to 40s storm a public building of high symbolic value in a city somewhere in eastern Ukraine, evict anyone still there, seize weapons and ammunition, throw up barricades and proclaim themselves the rulers of a “people’s republic.” It is not clear who is in charge or how the militias are organized.

Through such tactics, a few thousand pro-Russian militants have seized buildings in about a dozen cities, effectively establishing control over much of an industrial region of about 6.5 million nestled against the Russian border.

Day by day, in the areas surrounding the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, pro-Russian forces have defied all efforts by the central government to re-establish its authority, and on Wednesday, Ukraine’s acting president conceded what had long been obvious: The government’s police and security officials had lost control.

“Inactivity, helplessness and even criminal betrayal” plague the security forces, the acting leader, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, told a meeting of regional governors in Kiev. “It is hard to accept but it’s the truth. The majority of law enforcers in the east are incapable of performing their duties.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/01/world/europe/ukraine.html?_r=0

[msongs]

1. putin's brown shirts nt

[moondust]

2. If they want to live in Russia,

shouldn't they just move to Russia? More than enough space there for everybody.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. The Kiev government apparently can't control its own repressive apparatus.

The cops don't do anything, and the military appears to be a joke.

Is some hefty fraction of cops and soldiers (especially commanders) sympathetic to the separatist militants?

Edited to add: A government that can't control its own repressive apparatus is pretty much a joke.

[joshcryer]

4. They're afraid to make it a shooting war.

For obvious reasons.

If Bundy's militas creeps took the Clark County Courthouse by force, they'd be slaughtered.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. Yes, they seem to be in an untenable position.

Do nothing and watch the East wander off on its own.

Do something and come face to face with the Russian Army.

[pampango]

6. "The Kiev government apparently can't control its own repressive apparatus." Yankovich?

There are plenty of historical examples of governments that could not control their security forces when confronted by overwhelming opposition whether domestic or foreign in origin.

Yanukovich; Aslan Maskhadov; Slobodan Milošević and too many others to count. Sometimes losing control of your security forces is more a function of the strength of the opposition (again domestic or foreign) rather than the legitimacy of the government.

[jakeXT]

5. I wonder where they might have learned that those tactics work in the Ukraine?

Kiev gave them a bad example

[Tommy_Carcetti]

7. The very worst behavior at Maidan was still mild compared to the actions of militants in the East.

Especially the kidnapping of journalists and murdering of dissenting politicians. And you didn't see roving bands in Maidan carrying AK-47s and grenade launchers.

[Jesus Malverde]

8. We'll clearly the mob has spoken.

In this world of mob democracy the Kiev government has received a no confidence vote.

The president better not leave kiev lest we assume he abandoned office like the last guy.

Another NATO misadventure.