Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers have also been brought in to Slavyansk where pro-Russian separatists have seized the local headquarters of the police and state security service.<br /><br />The operation has significantly raised fears that Moscow might now intervene militarily on behalf of Russian speakers in the region.<br /><br />Moscow has reportedly amassed thousand of troops along the border with Ukraine.<br /><br />Writing on his Facebook page, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev described Ukraine as being on the “brink of civil war.”<br /><br />Moscow accuses Kyiv of provoking the crisis by ignoring the rights of citizens who use Russian as their first language, and has promised to protect them from attack.<br /><br />Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denied that Moscow was stirring up the separatists in the east and southeast as a possible prelude to repeating its annexation of Crimea. “Ukraine is spreading lies that Russia is behind the actions in the southeast,” Lavrov said on a visit to China.<br /><br />Kyiv opposes anything that might lead to the dismemberment of the country. But in an attempt to undercut the rebels’ demands, Turchynov has held out the prospect of a nationwide referendum on the future shape of the Ukrainian state.
