Last Sunday's takeover of Ukrainian administrative buildings in Kharkiv, Donetsk and other Ukrainian cities by pro-Russian agitators signals that Russia is likely using its proxies in Ukraine to create a possible pretext for invading the sovereign nation again, as they did in Crimea. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops and military assets along Ukraine's eastern border with Russia, and has vowed to "protect" Russian-speaking people in Ukraine -- echoing their threat against Crimea weeks ago.
Eastern Ukraine is heavily industrialized, and populated with millions of Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Some pro-Russian demonstrators there want a referendum to choose whether the eastern part of the country would break away from Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. An identical ploy was used by the Russian-speaking majority in Crimea, at the apparent behest of Russia.
(photo: A pro-Russian thug breaks a window in an administrative building in Kharkiv. Reuters)
