Ukraine in \\\'pivotal period\\\' as deal stalls, US warns Russia

Russia was under intense US pressure on Saturday to convince pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine to give up eastern towns they are occupying, after Washington said the situation in the former Soviet republic was in a “pivotal period”. But with the separatists’ refusal to budge throwing a deal to defuse the crisis into doubt, and US sanctions looming large, Russia was biting back – warning that its military is massed on Ukraine’s border, ready to act. In the nearly dozen Ukrainian towns the pro-Kremlin rebels were holding, the stalemate dragged on Saturday. In the main eastern city of Donetsk, separatist gunmen remained barricaded inside the regional government building. Around 50 of the militants milled around barricades of sandbags and tyres while morning joggers ran by almost oblivious to them. “We are going on as usual,” one of the rebels said. “An Orthodox priest is inside with us and we are going to celebrate Easter tonight.” The failure to implement the agreement hammered out in Geneva Thursday by the US, Russia, Ukraine and the EU threatened to deepen the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, according to AFP.