IT IS death by a thousand cuts. Every day sees more bad news for Ukraine’s government from the east. This week buildings were seized in Konstantinovka, armed men backed by 2,000 cheering anti-government protesters took control of government offices in Luhansk, and the city council building was taken in Gorlovka.In most cases, local police and security services did nothing. When anti-government protesters took the television headquarters in Donetsk they met no resistance, switched off Ukrainian television and retuned to Russian channels instead. The police also did little when pro- and anti-government groups fought in the city streets. In Konstantinovka, when the police building was taken, policemen were reportedly told not to come to work until the takeover was complete.Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine’s acting president, may rail against police treachery but he has admitted that the security forces are “helpless” in the east. It is not hard to fathom why. The police are paid little, unlike in Russia. Many were sent to Kiev during anti-government protests last winter and told they were fighting “fascists”. Now these people are nominally their masters. The Russian…
