The WSJ reports "Ukrainian authorities said Thursday that up to five pro-Russian militants were killed and three roadblocks overrun outside an eastern city at the heart of a local insurgency, as Kiev restarted a military operation to regain control in the region".
Also on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the use of military force against Ukrainian civilians would have consequences for the leadership in Kiev. He didn't elaborate on what they would be.
"If the Kiev regime begins to use the army against its own citizens, that is, without a doubt, a very serious crime," he said. "This will certainly have an impact on those who make such decisions and on our bilateral relations."
Mr. Putin didn't repeat his previous statements that Moscow reserves the right to defend ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine. There was no immediate indication that Moscow was preparing to use military force, though it has built up troops along the border with Ukraine.
The renewed action is among growing signs that an agreement reached last week in Geneva laying out steps to reduce the tension is falling apart. Among other things, the broadly written agreement called for militants to disarm and vacate illegally occupied buildings.
Officials in Kiev have repeatedly accused Russia of having agents operating on the ground in the east to foment unrest. Russia denies this, but has moved tens of thousands of troops to the Ukrainian border, raising fears that it could quickly mobilize.
But Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia's lower house of parliament said Thursday as news of the Ukrainian military operation emerged that there are no plans to send in troops.
"[Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin have both made statements that we have no intention to send troops into eastern Ukraine. As far as I know, no other statements have been made in this regard," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said that police and military units had killed up to five "terrorists" in the early morning operation outside of Slovyansk and that three checkpoints leading into the city had been destroyed. The ministry said that one person from the Ukrainian force had been injured.
