U.S. president threatens Russia with more sanctions

U.S. president threatens Russia with more sanctions

WASHINGTON, KIEV -- U.S. President Barack Obama says Russia may expect additional sanctions "if it intensifies support to separatists" in the east of Ukraine.

"What I have consistently said is that every time Russia takes these steps in order to destabilize Ukraine and violate its sovereignty, it will suffer the consequences," Obama said in an interview with CBS.

New U.S. sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine could be announced as early as Friday if, as expected, a meeting in Geneva makes no significant progress.

U.S. officials, in fact, do not expect that the meeting of Russian, Ukrainian, U.S. and EU officials in Geneva will produce a significant step forward in resolving the Ukrainian crisis, reports Reuters.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, Minister of the Interior Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook account that Ukrainian forces had killed three and wounded 13 attackers on a base in Mariupol, in the southeast of the country. According to him the attack included "about 300 people armed with guns and Molotov cocktails."

The newly-formed pro-Western government in Kiev launched what it said was "an anti-terrorist operation" in eastern Ukraine, where several towns are controlled by pro-Russian protesters.

Kiev accuses Russia of being behind "separatist aspirations" there, which Russia denies.

First Vice-President of the Ukrainian government Vitaly Jarema said on Wednesday the situation in Donetsk was "very complex", because some police switched sides and joined the pro-Russian militia.

Part of the police in Donetsk, however, remained loyal to Kiev, said Jarema, as quoted by the Ukrainian UNIAN agency. Armed...