This article was written by guest contributor Jason Ditz.

Ukraine’s Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk dismissed anger over Friday’s killing of scores of pro-Russia protesters in Odessa, faulting the police for not cracking down on the “terrorist organizations” before they were killed.

At least 38 people were killed in the incident, which saw pro-Kiev protesters attacking the headquarters of Odessa’s pro-Russia protests, setting the building on fire and shooting at people inside as they tried to escape. The attackers have been linked to the ultra-nationalist Right Sector.

Despite the pro-Russia protesters being the victims of the brutal attack, Yatsenyuk went on to claim that Russia had carefully orchestrated the entire incident to try to foment a civil war.

Yatsenyuk and other interim officials have accused the protesters of trying to provide a pretext for a Russian invasion, and while many of the protesters, particularly in the wake of military attacks on them, are indeed calling for Russian aid, it seems Russia’s government is reluctant to intervene directly, and is rather hoping that their deployment along the border will deter Ukraine’s interim government from going too far in its attacks on ethnic Russians across the east.

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