Moscow (AFP) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday said Ukraine was on the verge of civil war as Kiev authorities launched a military operation against pro-Kremlin militants in the separatist east.

“I will be brief: Ukraine is on the brink of civil war, it’s frightening,” the country’s former president was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.

Sergei L. Loiko/Los Angeles Times/MCT