London - Britain said on Tuesday events in eastern Ukraine looked to be part of a Russian strategy to destabilise the country, saying it was “gravely concerned” by pro-Russian protesters' seizure of government buildings.
“There can be no justification for this action, which bears all the hallmarks of a Russian strategy to destabilise Ukraine,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague told parliament, saying the seizures looked like part of a strategy to damage the credibility of Ukraine's forthcoming presidential election.
Police detained 70 people occupying a regional administration building in eastern Ukraine overnight, but pro-Moscow protesters held out in a standoff in two other cities in what Kiev called a Russian-led plan to dismember the country. - Reuters