Staff working for Serhiy Taruta, the steel baron appointed by Kiev as governor of the restive Donetsk region, say he is hard at work in the regional capital, but cannot disclose where exactly for security reasons.

The governor is in an “operational headquarters suitable for wartime,” said Taruta’s spokesman, Alexander Omelchuk.

Those unusual working arrangements reveal an uncomfortable truth for the Western-backed government in the capital Kiev: its control over the Russian-speaking Donetsk region in the east of the country is so fragile it is almost non-existent.

The difficulties with governance are countrywide

The point was driven home at the weekend when a series of insurrections by pro-Russian protesters spread like bush fire through the region.

In one town after another, the officials and security forces who are nominally loyal to Kiev and supposed to uphold its rule over the country melted away or, in some places, swapped sides and joined the protesters. Kiev and its Western backers say this state of affairs is the result of cynical manipulation by Russian agents, an allegation Moscow denies.

Whatever the reason, the fact is that Kiev’s writ does not run in large parts of the territory, raising questions about whether the country can keep functioning in its current form, or ever realise Kiev’s ambitions of joining the European Union. Acting President Oleksander Turchinov rejects the notion that Ukraine is split. He said yesterday difficulties with governance were countrywide and stemmed from the fact pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych concentrated power before fleeing in February.

Pro-Russian armed men stand guard as pro-Russian supporters gather outside the mayor’s office in Slaviansk, eastern Ukraine, yesterday. Photo: ReutersPro-Russian armed men stand guard as pro-Russian supporters gather outside the mayor’s office in Slaviansk, eastern Ukraine, yesterday. Photo: Reuters

“We did not expect that the whole system of central and regional power would fall to pieces so quickly,” Turchinov said.

Donetsk region is Ukraine’s coal mining heartland, has much of the country’s heavy industry, and is home to 4.3 million people – or about a tenth of Ukraine’s total population as it stood at the start of this year.

A spokeswoman for Turchinov said the authorities in Kiev remain in control of the east of the country, where Taruta is one of several business billionaires they have put in charge, but declined to elaborate. The Kiev administration announced that it was launching a full-scale operation to put down the rebellions in the east, starting on yesterday morning, although 12 hours later there was no sign of the operation.

“The government is making every effort to restore confidence in the authorities,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky told a news conference. “Ukraine is fighting back,” he said.

Anecdotal evidence of Kiev’s crumbling hold can be seen throughout Donetsk region, where the majority of peoplespeak Russian instead of Ukrainian. Many feel an affinity with people across the border in Russia.

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