The US and Russia, while trading the blame for pushing Ukraine to the brink of civil war, are nonetheless tugging at the leashes of the two players in the field, each jockeying for advantage in the quadrilateral meeting of senior US, Russian, European, Ukrainian and UN officials scheduled to take place in Geneva Thursday, April 17, debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report.
Expectations of fruitful results from the meeting are low. But the fact that all the parties are talking offers Ukraine its last hope of escaping a bloody civil war. To this end, too, late-night phone calls are being exchanged among Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin as well as Chancellor Angela Merkel.
So far no real shots, aside from a few warning rounds – have been fired between the Ukrainian “anti-terror” force dispatched to East Ukraine on Tuesday April 16 and pro-Russian separatist activists. But it is obvious to all sides that the situation is charged enough for an unforeseen spark to easily send the conflict spinning out of control.
The east Ukrainian separatists have been formed into pro-Russian militias with clandestine aid from Moscow in money and logistical support, such as material for checkpoints, though not weapons. They have seized police and government buildings in up to a dozen towns, centering on the Donetsk region near the Russian border.
This development brought US CIA chief John Brennan on a secret visit to Kiev over the April 12-13 weekend. He arranged for the Kiev government to mount a counter-operation. They put together an armed contingent made up of Ukrainian internal security SBU special forces and the Alpha Force, which is the special operations unit of the Ukrainian secret service-SZRU, as well as paratroops and police units. General Vasily Krutov was given command of the contingent.
…
But debkafile’s military sources report that notwithstanding the claims of 4-11 dead and dramatic footage taken in both places of exchanges of fire, flying jets and advancing tanks, nothing really changed on the ground.
The number of casualties was not confirmed, or which side they belonged to, and the tanks turned tail after heated debate with their pro-Russian brothers.
Full article: Washington and Moscow pulling strings to hold Ukraine combatants back from brink of civil war (DEBKAfile)
Global Geopolitics 