Crisis in Ukraine

Kiev  -- Ukrainian acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Wednesday that the separatist protests in Ukraine's eastern region would be resolved within 48 hours -- either through negotiations or the use of force.

At the same time, Russia insisted that the presence of its troops just over the border was no reason to worry.

The United States and others have accused Russia of fomenting the separatist unrest as a pretext for military intervention.

Using classified and commercial satellite imagery, the United States estimates there are up to 40,000 Russian troops on the border with eastern Ukraine. NATO has also warned of a major troop buildup.

But Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Ukraine and the United States have "no reason for concern" about the presence of Russian forces, which it says are on military exercises.

"Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not conduct unusual or unplanned activities which are militarily significant on its territory near the border with Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry said in a prepared statement.

It added that accusations that Russia was building up its armed forces were "groundless."

Asked if he considered the threat of a Russian advance into Ukraine more likely now than last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told CNN's Jim Sciutto, "We are always vigilant. We are always looking at the options that we need to take."

Gen. Philip Breedlove, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, has been asked to come up with "new and additional measures and options" and report back to both Hagel and NATO, the U.S. defense secretary said.

Meanwhile, the separatist protests in eastern Ukraine have entered their fourth day.

Pro-Russian protesters seized government buildings in the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv on Sunday.

Rebels who occupied Donetsk's regional government building a day later -- declaring a "people's republic" and calling for a referendum on secession from Ukraine to be held by May 11 -- remained in control of the building Wednesday, holed up behind substantial makeshift barricades.

In Kharkiv, more than 70 people were detained Tuesday in what Ukrainian authorities said was an anti-terrorism operation, as security forces cleared a government building of protesters.

The 48-hour deadline set by Avakov to end the crisis may escalate the tensions in Ukraine's eastern region.

"There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict -- a political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both," he said, according to official news agency Ukrinform.

On Tuesday, Moscow warned that any use of force to crack down on protests in the region, which borders Russia, could lead to civil war and called for "the immediate cessation of any military preparations."

I belive that we Should be praying for our Ukranian brothers.