Western sanctions center on Putin allies

Pentagon: Russia's defense chief says nation will not invade Ukraine

Moscow has assured Washington it will not invade Ukraine, the US Defense Department said after the United States and Europe imposed fresh sanctions on Russia over its role in the former Soviet republic.

As Western powers stepped up the pressure on Moscow over the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, the White House slapped sanctions on seven Russian officials and 17 firms close to President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

The European Union said it was adding 15 names to its own list, while Canada added nine names and two banks.

Tensions in Ukraine rose when a pro-Moscow mayor was shot and badly wounded and rebels seized another town.

The Pentagon said US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had spoken by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and that "Shoigu reiterated his assurance that Russian forces would not invade Ukraine".

In a statement, US Defense Department spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said the two men discussed a range of issues related to the situation in Ukraine, with Hagel requesting clarification of Russia's intentions in eastern Ukraine.

Hagel called for an end to Russia's "destabilizing influence inside Ukraine and warned that continued aggression would further isolate Russia and result in more diplomatic and economic pressure," Kirby said.

The Pentagon chief also asked for Moscow's help in securing the release of seven inspectors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe being held in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow said that during the phone call with Hagel, Shoigu called on the US to tone down its rhetoric on the crisis in Ukraine.

The Kremlin vowed there would be a "painful" response for Washington over the sanctions imposed.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow was disgusted by the US action, which he said showed Washington had "completely lost touch with reality".

Fears voiced by West

The US said it was prepared to "impose still greater costs" on Russia for what it called its "illegal intervention and provocative actions" in Ukraine.

Washington said it would target specific sectors of the Russian economy if the tens of thousands of troops the Kremlin has ordered to the border invade Ukraine.

Western powers have expressed fears that Russia could be planning an invasion of eastern Ukraine.

Earlier this month, NATO released satellite pictures of up to 40,000 Russian troops massed along the Ukraine border that it said were ready for action and represented a "real threat" to Kiev.

Shoigu assured Hagel that Russian troops had returned to their barracks.

"Russia was forced to launch large-scale exercises near the border with Ukraine, facing the prospect of (Ukrainian) military action against civilians," Shoigu said, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.

"Once the Ukrainian authorities declared that they would not use regular military units against the unarmed population, the Russian troops returned to barracks."

Mayor shot in back

Ukraine's army is waging an offensive to quell the separatist movement in the east of the country that the West believes is fomented and controlled by the Kremlin.

Ukrainian soldiers were surrounding the flashpoint town of Sloviansk in an attempt to prevent reinforcements reaching militants.

Pro-Moscow Mayor Gennady Kernes, from the town of Kharkiv, was shot in the back on Monday and remained in critical condition following surgery.

Kalashnikov-toting militants seized the town hall in Kostyantynivka - the latest of more than a dozen towns held by pro-Russian insurgents who were supposed to have disarmed under a deal reached in Geneva.

(China Daily 04/30/2014 page10)