MOSCOW, April 14 (RIA Novosti) – Russia plans no further tightening of the border with Ukraine, a representative of Russia’s Border Service told RIA Novosti on Monday, a day after Ukrainian troops violently suppressed protests in the eastern town of Slaviansk.
“No additional reinforcements are planned,” the Federal Security Services Border Service said.
The comment followed an announcement last week by interim Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchynov about increasing protection on Ukraine's eastern borders.
Protests for federalization have recently been sweeping across Ukraine’s eastern and southeastern regions. On Saturday, the protests spread to several more cities in Donetsk Region: Slaviansk, Mariupol, Yenakievo, Kramatorsk and a number of small towns, where protesters seized government buildings.
Following the increased protests, Turchynov announced the start of a large-scale operation in the southeast of the country involving military forces, which prompted speculation for the need of tight border control.
Reacting to Turchynov's statement, ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who considers himself the legitimate elected leader of Ukraine, said that the country has entered a de facto state of civil war.
