AP Interview: US troops may be sent to E Europe

PARIS (AP) — NATO's top military commander in Europe, drafting countermoves to the Russian military threat against Ukraine, said Wednesday they could include deployment of American troops to alliance member states in Eastern Europe now feeling at risk.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told The Associated Press he wouldn't "write off involvement by any nation, to include the United States."

Foreign ministers of the 28-nation alliance have given Breedlove until Tuesday to propose steps to reassure NATO members nearest Russia that other alliance countries have their back.

"Essentially what we are looking at is a package of land, air and maritime measures that would build assurance for our easternmost allies," Breedlove told the AP. "I'm tasked to deliver this by next week. I fully intend to deliver it early."

Asked again if American soldiers might be sent to NATO's front-line states closest to Russia, the four-star U.S. general said, "I would not write off contributions from any nation."

In March, Russian troops took control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, whose inhabitants then voted in a referendum to secede and join Russia. The U.S. and other Western countries have accused Moscow of massing troops on Ukraine's border to maintain the pressure on the government in Kiev, and possibly for military use.

NATO chief calls on Russia to "step back" …Play Video

Speaking at the end of a NATO conference in Paris, Breedlove told the AP the Russian armed presence near Ukraine's frontier continues unabated.

To illustrate his point, the general's staff provided the AP with a set of commercial satellite photographs they said showed Russian warplanes, combat helicopters, armor, artillery and a probable airborne or special forces brigade deployed in locations east of the Ukraine-Russian border, including along the coastline of the Sea of Azov.

A defense analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, reviewed the satellite images and said the forces depicted in them don't appear to be involved in training exercises.

They appear to be "in combat readiness," Anthony Cordesman said.

But he said it's unclear from the images how much of a buildup of Russian forces there has been in the border area.

Respected Ukrainian Military Analyst Warns Russian …Play Video

"They show there is a mixture of light and heavy forces and that they could go quickly" if ordered into Ukraine, and that they include forces to provide air mobility, according to Cordesman. "But that's all they show," he said.

The commercial provider of the photographs, DigitalGlobe, said they were taken in late March.

"What we see there is a force of about 40,000," Breedlove said. "I would characterize it as a combined arms army. In other words, this is an army that has all of the provisioning and enablers that it needs to accomplish military objectives if given them."

The Russians' assets include fixed and rotary wing aircraft, artillery, field hospitals, communications and jamming gear, he said.

Kremlin objectives remain unclear, the NATO commander said. The force could stand pat and intimidate Ukraine solely by its presence, drive south to create a land bridge with Crimea, push along the Black Sea coast to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa and the largely Russian Trans-Dniester enclave of Moldova, or invade other areas of eastern Ukraine where ethnic Russians are demanding unity with Russia, he said.

However the Russian contingent might ultimately be used, it's "ready to go essentially at command. We talk about inside of 12 hours," Breedlove said.

NATO has already reinforced its Baltic air patrols and is performing daily AWACs surveillance flights over Poland and Romania. Breedlove said he has already received enough pledges of maritime assets from NATO member states to carry out beefed-up maritime operations through the end of the year.

"The tougher piece is, how do we do the assurance piece on the land," the general said. "Because these are measures which are more costly (and) if not done correctly, might appear provocative. And everything we are trying to do in the air, on the ground and at sea we are trying to completely characterize as defensive in nature."

"There is not a shortage of what we can use. It's how do we use this in a measured way that indicates defensive capability so that we don't provoke. And that's what we will be working on," Breedlove said before departing for NATO's military headquarters near Mons, Belgium.

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AP National Security Writer Robert Burns contributed to this report from Washington.

Related video

NATO's top military commander says he won't rule out using troops to help any country feeling at risk.
Submitting plan

For many, the sudden seizure of buildings in Donetsk was as unexpected as the arrival of masked, armed soldiers in Crimeasix weeks ago.

In eastern Ukraine, as in Crimea, a majority of the population is ethnically Russian. In many regions, such as Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk, loyalties to Russia also run strong, and distrust of the new government in Kiev runs deep. And as in Crimea, many ethnic Russians voice fears – exaggerated or not – of discrimination at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists who helped topple the previous government.

However, until this weekend, eastern Ukraine had appeared calm. Nobody had attempted a coup or uprising; no paramilitary soldiers patrolled the streets.

But while Sunday's separatist upheaval may have appeared spontaneous, its underlying forces had been building for some time. And tacit encouragement from Moscow, if not outright manipulation, helped to bring Donetsk and other cities to the boil.

Until this weekend, eastern Ukraine’s outward calm concealed growing polarization. Long before Sunday’s separatist demonstrations, local activists of the movement known as EuroMaidan, or Maidan for short, say they have been feeling intensifying hostility from pro-Russian neighbors.

Pro-Russia Protestors Take Over Govt. Building in …Play Video

EuroMaidan supporters who own businesses in Donetsk say that they have faced increased bureaucratic hassles in recent weeks, including fire code inspections, tax audits, and other administrative pressures. Many have started to carry guns in their cars; others are switching apartments for sleep on a regular basis. Activists are afraid to meet in person and instead hold online voice discussions using virtual private networks to try to evade Russian surveillance.

“Only idiots aren’t afraid these days,” says one activist who asked not to be named, fearing Russian security agents.

THE MOSCOW FACTOR

For many analysts, it was only a matter of time before the “Crimean scenario” took place in eastern Ukraine.

“This was absolutely predictable from the very beginning,” says Alexei Kolomiyets of Kiev’s independent Institute of Euro-Atlantic Integration. “From the moment events began happening in Crimea, this scenario [of separatist protests] was fully expected.”

Ceasefire in Ukraine/Russia gas warPlay Video

Most agree with pro-Ukrainian activists on the ground that the uprising is orchestrated by Moscow in order to destabilize the country before the May 25 presidential elections. The estimated 40,000 Russian troops and heavy weaponry stationed just across the border – less than an hour’s drive from Donetsk center – is contributing.

“Russia is doing everything it can to make sure that [Ukraine] is splintered, not a unified, single bloc,” says Vadim Karasev, an analyst with the Institute for Global Strategies.

In its negotiations with the United States and the EU, Moscow has pushed the concept of radically decentralizing government power in Ukraine, to give its regions substantial autonomy from Kiev. Moscow’s goal here, says Mr. Karasev, is to create a sort of satellite region, something akin to the Warsaw Bloc during the Cold War, to protect its own borders.

“Russia doesn’t need the Donbass,” he says, referring to the larger geographic region that includes Donetsk. “Russia needs a federalized system that it can manipulate, with its own policies.”

Observers disagree whether Russia does in fact plan to invade, or is merely using the presence of troops as a threat to influence negotiations. But if a military incursion is in the cards, Russia may be waiting for events to reach a threshold like in Crimea where intervention will be justified.

Ukraine struggles to deal with pro-Russia proteste …Play Video

“I believe there is an intention to invade,” says Vera Nanivska, who heads the International Center for Policy Studies in Kiev. “They have to occupy these official buildings, hold these referendums, and carry out this procedure exactly as they did in Crimea. And then Russia will be here.”

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MOSCOW (AP) -- Dragging much of Europe into his fight with Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin urged European leaders Thursday to quickly help Ukraine settle its gas debt to Russia to prevent an imminent shutdown of Russian natural gas supplies to the continent.

Putin's letter to 18 leaders, released Thursday by the Kremlin, is part of Russia's efforts to retain control over its struggling neighbor, which is teetering on the verge of financial ruin and is facing a pro-Russian separatist mutiny in the east.

A large Russian military buildup alongside the Ukrainian border has also raised fears that the Kremlin could use the tensions in eastern Ukraine as a pretext to invade, following Moscow's annexation of Crimea last month.

Putin's move raises the specter of a new gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine that could affect much of Europe. In 2009, Moscow turned off supplies to Kiev, leading to the shutdown of Russian gas moving across Ukrainian pipelines to other European countries.

The amount that Putin claims Ukraine owes is growing by billions every day. In the letter, Putin said Ukraine owes Russia $17 billion in gas discounts and potentially another $18.4 billion incurred by Ukraine as a minimal take-or-pay fine under their 2009 gas contract.

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Russian national flags fly above barricades with a road sign "Stop" with an Orthodox icon in front …

He added, on top of that $35.4 billion, Russia also holds $3 billion in Ukrainian government bonds.

The amount is far greater than the estimated $14 billion bailout that the International Monetary Fund is considering for Ukraine.

Putin warned that Ukraine's mounting debt is forcing Moscow to demand advance payments for further gas supplies. He warned that if Ukraine failed to make such payments, Russia's state-controlled gas giant Gazprom will "completely or partially cease gas deliveries."

Putin told the leaders that a possible shutdown of Russian gas supplies will increase the risk of Ukraine siphoning off gas that intended for Europe and will make it difficult to accumulate sufficient reserves for next winter. He urged quick talks between Russia and European consumers of Russian gas to prevent a looming shutdown of supplies.

"The fact that our European partners have unilaterally withdrawn from the concerted efforts to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, and even from holding consultations with the Russian side, leaves Russia no alternative," Putin said.

Ukraine Sets Deadline for Pro-Russian ProtestersPlay Video

He said Russia may decide to help its struggling neighbor "not in a unilateral way, but on equal conditions with our European partners."

"It is also essential to take into account the actual investments, contributions and expenditures that Russia has shouldered by itself alone for such a long time in supporting Ukraine," he wrote in the letter. "Only such an approach would be fair and balanced and only such an approach can lead to success. "

Putin has been tightening the economic screws on the cash-strapped Kiev government since it came to power in February, after Ukraine's Russia-leaning president fled the country after months of protest.

Starting this month, Russia state energy giant Gazprom scrapped all discounts on gas to Ukraine, meaning a 70 percent price hike that will add to the debt figure.

Russia argues that a gas discount was tied to a lease for Russia's Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed last month. And Ukraine has promised the IMF that it will cut energy subsidies to residents in exchange for the bailout. That means gas prices were set to rise 50 percent on May 1 even before the latest salvo from Putin.

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Vasilyeva reported from Kiev, Ukraine.

By Thomas Grove

LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Armed pro-Russia separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk rejected Kiev's offer of amnesty for those who seized government buildings this week and called on others to defy the pro-European government in Kiev.

Protesters wearing bullet-proof vests and armed with Kalashnikov rifles, pistols and other guns inside the security building, a former KGB headquarters, said they would only lay down their weapons if Kiev agreed to hold a referendum on the future of the region.

"We demand concretely a referendum on federalization so that the will of the people is heard," said Aleksei Kolekin, one of the protest leaders barricaded into the five-storey building in Luhansk.

The demands, which echo the steps the Ukrainian territory of Crimea took before it declared independence and voted to join Russia, have been rejected by Kiev, which says the occupations are part of a Russian-led plan to dismember the country.

Tensions have risen in the mainly Russian-speaking east since the overthrow of Ukraine's Russian-backed president, the installation of a new pro-European government and Moscow's annexation of Crimea, creating the largest confrontation between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

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A pro-Russia protester stands at a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk, Apri …

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russian agents and special forces of stirring up separatist unrest, which Russia has denied.

In Kiev, Ukraine's Interior Ministry repeated the threat of force to clear the state buildings.

"We are trying to find a compromise, but the demands put forward by the occupiers are unacceptable. Our aim is to avoid the use of force, but that option remains in place," Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy told journalists.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Wednesday he expected the situation to be brought under control within 48 hours, with force if necessary.

But acting President Oleksandr Turchynov struck a softer tone, saying he hoped to avoid bloodshed and proposed that protesters holding buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk would not be prosecuted if they left the building and surrendered their arms.

Ukraine invasion aimed at 'destabilizing' …Play Video

Activists at both buildings said they would continue talks with the government, but said the current offer was not enough.

"They offered amnesty, but there is no movement on a referendum for federalisation," said Alexander Gureyev in Luhansk.

"We are not going to accept an amnesty without a referendum," he said by telephone.

AFGHAN VETS

Protesters, many of whom say they have served in Afghanistan and Chechnya, seized the Luhansk state security building on Sunday along with its weapons arsenal. A strict military order has been imposed in the building.

Pro-Russia Protestors Take Over Govt. Building in …Play Video

Without electricity in much of the building, the men, wearing commandeered security services gear, use flashlights and candles.

Barricades made of bookshelves have been erected in every corridor to complicate any potential storming by the authorities.

Outside, between 100 and 200 people stood in the pouring rain in solidarity with the protesters, who called on compatriots in other parts of eastern Ukraine to join their cause.

"Brothers of southeast, let's work together. Please help us. We need a turnaround. We have to accomplish what we came here to do," said protest leader Kolekin.

In Donetsk, protesters have occupied the regional administrative building where some have called for the creation of a Donetsk republic. Some 1,500 protesters were outside the building on Thursday in solidarity with the separatists.

The presence of tens of thousands of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine has sparked worries they could intervene in the crisis, though Russia has repeatedly sought to ease concerns.

"Russia has stated many times that it is not carrying out any unusual or unplanned activity on its territory near the border with Ukraine that would be of military significance," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday that some 40,000 Russian troops were massed along Ukraine's borders "not training but ready for combat" and warned that Russia must pull back its troops from the Ukrainian border as a first step to start dialogue over the crisis.

(Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets and Conor Humphries in Kiev and Jason Hovet in Prague; Editing by Will Waterman)

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Pro-Russian militants remain defiant in Ukraine

Separatists reject acting President Oleksandr Turchynov's offer of amnesty if they surrender their weapons.
Similar to Crimea

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli government will stop transferring tax money to the Palestinians in retaliation for their recent drive for further United Nations recognition, an Israeli official said Thursday, putting at risk hundreds of millions of dollars needed to run their government.

The move marks Israel's toughest sanction yet since U.S.-brokered peace talks have faltered.

The Palestinians owe Israeli companies hundreds of millions of dollars for electricity, power and other services. The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak publicly, said Israel would deduct the Palestinian debt against its monthly transfer of tax money that it collects for the Palestinians.

Under interim peace accords, Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinians and transfers about $100 million a month. Without it, the Palestinian Authority likely couldn't pay the salaries of its tens of thousands of employees.

The official did not elaborate on how much money would be withheld or how long it would be withheld.

Reacting to the announcement, Palestinian Labor Minister Ahmad Majdalani called the Israeli decision illegal and a political, rather than economic, move. He said the Palestinian Authority owes the Israel electric company alone some $400 million.

The decision is part of an escalating back-and-forth campaign since the talks helmed by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry floundered. Under the peace talks' terms, Israel promised to release 104 long-held Palestinian prisoners in four groups. At the same time, the Palestinians said they would suspend a campaign to sign up Palestine, recognized by the U.N. General Assembly as a non-member observer state, for as many as 63 U.N. agencies, treaties and conventions.

Israel last week failed to release the fourth group of prisoners and renewed a push to build homes in an Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem — the area of the holy city sought by the Palestinians for their future capital. In response, Abbas signed letters of accession for 15 international conventions. Israel then called off the final prisoner release.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered his ministers to cut off contact with their Palestinian counterparts, while Israeli officials have prevented Palestinian mobile phone company Wataniya from transferring equipment to Gaza.

The move looks to deepen the crisis between the sides as the U.S. seeks to save peace talks that are supposed to conclude by the end of the month. The U.S is hoping to extend them to the end of the year.