louisiana. >> and we want to thank you for watching aljazeera america. i'm del walters in new york city. "inside story" is next, and you can check us out by going to aljazeera.com. happy memorial day. as we get closer to national elections in ukraine, the struggle for the eastern part of the country continues armed men are killing each other, and it's unclear how much the leaders in kiev or moscow control the action. it's inside story, next. hello, i am ray swarez. when the former left his

country, and headed to russia, the parliament quickly seated a new team, and called elections for may. russia plucked crimea from ukraine, and called the new government in kiev illegitimate, not one that represented the countries people. carriesion that carries the potential for the country to make a fresh start to suddenly looking fragile.

>> killing at least a dozen troops and wounding more than 33. >> we destroy add check point, the fastest ukrainian army deployed. seven it happened 20 miles south of done necessarying. a city that declares independence from ukraine earlier this month. and in the town just outside shelling destroyed several homes. residents complained, about being caught between the troops and rebel cross fires. what can i say about these people that shot at us. what can i tell my son about the people and whey that do. power to ukraine? can i say that? i don't understand it. >> the escalating regional instability comes just days before ukraine's first

presidential election, since former leader victor january no coif itch was ousted in february. >> particularly in the east. >> we understand there will be attempts to try to wreck the elections. we have strengthening law enforcement by bringing in new contingents to protect polling stations. >> they have already the subject to intimidation, and death threats. >> 46 members of the commission have been captures by terrorist during this period. they have been thrown in the trunk of cars driven around the region, and then released. >> instability, has not dampened local enthusiasm. >> of course i will vote. because we need to find some solutions to help our country. and i am for peace. >> there are two leading candidates for this week's balloting.

bet row now the owner, has a history of working with both russia, and ukraine's founding orange revolution government. he is currently leading in the polls. the former prime minister, who has a history of abusing power while in office. she was jailed for two years under the previous government. she is running a distant second in the polls. in the run up to the elections, rug president vladimir putin has order add major withdrawal of troops from the ukrainian border. the acting prime minister is calling the move a bluff. >> even the the troops are moving away, the breaking of the borders being carried out by arm terrorists have been trained in western with territory. >> nato has been watching closely as some 40,000 troops were with staged along the border with ukraine.

ethe critical election just days away, will the rising violence in the eastern part of the country undermineke ya's authority just as a new government is hoping to bolster it. that's our focus this time on inside story. at the international republican institute, from new york,ianny a professor of history and russian studies at new york university. and also in ukraine's capitol, michael a spokesperson for the special monoforring mission in ukraine from osce. the organization for security and cooperation in europe. and michael, let me start with you. yo i have monitoring watching the country. does this cross a threshold, this latest attack? it's one thing to have bully boys pushing everybody out of a town hall, it's another to have such a potent attack on the ukrainian

military. >> we have been noticing the field in the last few weeks. we with currently have about 200 monitors in the east and southern areas, and they go about patrolling 24/7. what has been evidence the trend in the past few couchle of weeks has been -- we see more heavy arms not just a.k. 47th. and mobile launching pads for surface aramisles. the missles have been seen -- and also, though we have incredible mountain and access to many parts to region, there have been a few times are the monitoring have been delayed or detained. this hinders the ability a little pit. we do believe, in the bigger cities especially,

mrs. a silence majority who has not taken part in the violence. that wants their normal life to go on. however, it is very difficult at the moment, and for example, very briefly there's a problem even simple things like withdrawing money from cash machines. so it is difficult for people to do that, to get their pensions and get on with normal life. >> now, i know it is a duff question to answer, and if you don't know you don't know. but do with we know anything about the province of those heavier weapons that are finding their way into these prorussian militias? do we with know anything about where those arms might come from? what we with can tell you, is that obviously, the mobile launching pads these are not things that are found in your local hardware store, at a local police station. those raise a lot of concern, and also they did bring down ukrainian military helicopters and

they could be a threat to civil aviation. also, you know, there's -- there seems -- our on servers have seen that there is a proliferation of check points throughout the region. and the armed groups aren't necessarily connected or coordinating. so even though you may have had discussions with one group about access, there's another group down the road that doesn't recognize you. to get points and familiar with them. >> stephen knicks along with these irregular prorussian elements. there are new pro kiev many lish shas but not under the control of the ministry of defense.

the vast does not feel discriminated against because of their ethnicity in terms of the elections i think the authorities have put in place a system that will provide for an election that is well administers. that is respected by the people, and what will reflect the will of the people. and we think we will meet international standards. that's what way with expect to see. there may be instances of violence in certain parts of the country, overall, i think the authorities will put in place a good system for a free

election. >> what do you think of that? the idea that there is a silent majority out in the east. not necessarily wanting to redraw the borders of the country, but you are going so see them in evident on election day. >> they do have weapons. and until recently, they have the backing of the russian government as well. russia is a great power compared with the ukraine. so few people can come out on the states arm themselves with the assistance of russia, and make a big difference. which will not be directly involved in the affairs of eastern ukraine. and they may allow them to work it out by

themselves. there are differences but you hope that it would be add cat to allow the citizens to work it out for themselves. it began with a very strong presence by the united states, tip lomatic, which is then countered by even stronger involvement by the russian government. and between those two forces. not take such an active part. flu the russian media, and allow the ukrainians to decide for themselves through an election. >> let me just jump in there, is -- do you get the sense, that a government in moscow is willing to accept the outcome whatever that outcome is of the elections on the twenty-fifth.

>> . >> if the government follows flu on what it seems to have declared, which is that it is going to reconsider the description of power between the center and localities that would be enough for russia. the future developments. that they would have the right, or say they have a right to be involved in ukrainian affairs because they as russians could speak for them in ukraine. the pro russian in ukraine. >> we will take a short break, and when we come back, we will take about what legitimacy would mean in any government form in the elections of the twenty-fifth. whose interests will be

at pray in the coming daying. moscow's? buts sell's? washington. kiev? is stay with us this is inside story.

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story.come back to inside ukrainians vote for a new president sunday. it could be a chance for a fresh start. but after all the country's been through, from the protests to presidentian that covish's ouster, russia's annexation, and now insurgency in the eastern part of the country, condition an election alone pull it together? and confer legitimacy? stephen knicks, will it be possible to hold a credible poll in those cities in the east that have had takeovers? private still authorities trying to make tape law and order? the ones in have threatened in fact to try to disrupt the poll? >> well, there's no doubt there have been disruptions and delivered attempts to try to disstabilized the electoral process in these two areas. however, the central government has taken steps to ensure that

anyone who wants to vote in those two, will have the opportunity. they are setting up alternative sites outside the areas that the government does not currently have control over, thus, ensuring a nationwide vote. that will be free fair, and meet international standards. the possibility inside kates there will be record turnover. i think they realize the historic nature, and it's an opportunity to elect a truly legitimate government, elect a president for a full five year term, and allow this country to move forward economically, politically, and in other ways and continue the integration to the european union. talking about the degree to which this has moved on from having a big russian involvement, to being in a lot of way as

ukrainian verses ukrainian conflict. for people who aren't area experts is that an important distinction to make as we near election day? about a week ago, we made our first lotter to the permanent council. our head of mission and deliver add report. and i must say that the support for our mission and for what we with do, and for staying engaged in ukraine, was very very high from all 57 participating states and i think i include russian sha in that. ukraine is a country the size of france, and our monitors are reporting that and a vast majority of the country things are calm, people are preparing. going about with their daily lives and preparing for the elections. i should also add that only yesterday, we were in the third national

unity talks about where lunch by the government, and i must say there were some very positive confident boosting steps, for example, approaching constitutional reform, looking at more decentralization, and i think you can say these are long festering issues that the government has shown it wants to deal with, and hopefully that will go away in terms of calming thingses gown. >> professor, in the weeks after the ouster of viktor yanukovych there was a lot of reluctance on the part of vladimir putin's government to even talk to anybody in kiev. will they be more prepared to talk to whoever is thosen in the may 25th ballot when the time comes. well with there be a chance now to have more normal relations between these two neighbors.

it is possible do say that was the main point. the next point is to say this has to be a system that is flexible enough to allow for the minority. to express themselves. and they could say the points are made, and they have already been speaking more with leaders of the ukrainian can establishment. and those conversations have been about ways in which the constitutional order might be changes in ukraine. which russia would satisfy both the ethnic question, the matter of russian speaker whose feel more aligned with russia, but have also satisfy russia's political question, which is to give them the pretext for being further involved down the road if necessary. so there are already signs of that. >> mr. knicks, your organization is involved in consulting with

people, in the current government, helping to set up the system for a free and fair election, and so on. do you get the sense that the people that emerge from the may 25th balloting will be ready to run the country. even. you don't have a super power breathing down your neck next door. >> he has a commanding lead, and i would just look at his record, people talk to him, in terms of his business captivity youmen, people forget that he actually managed the 2002 parliamentary campaign. so he helped build a

coalition of forces pro western, forces that won a pleuralty of seats in 2002, and ushered in the historic 2005 presidential election. and being someone who has served in government, he also politically astute. and he has already indicated that if elected president, his first trip will not be to brussells, will not be to washington, lit be to the dunbas. because he wants to negotiate and brace peace to this country. that's what the voters are demanding. and i think that you will see whoever, might be elected president, reaching out to people in the east and try to bring

this country together. >> well, professor, this was a deeply fractured country before the demonstrated began, does this election also carry the possibility of reflecting the deep divisions in the ukrainian society and landing you up with a result that gives you an ungovernable country? a stalemate, if you will? >> it does have that potential. and what matters here is what russia does next. really, anywhere you go, you will find people who have differences of politics, ideology, class, and so on and so forth. there is quite normal, but if one with voice is given particular strength, because it is back bade regional super power, say russia. then that changes things. what yaw want to have happen, is people feeling more russian than they are ukrainian, but this would be -- they will

have it out in the legal constitutional forum of ukraine itself. if russia does take a step back, and allowed them to work it out, and work also with the new government on the level of international relations then things can be quite stable. but if we continue to statute this wound, to focus on the fact that ukraine is divided. then it will continue to be unstable. >> we with will take a short break, and when we come back, the near term future of ukraine, the country will wake up on the morning of the 267th in the midst of a you remember toking a new government and then what. this is inside story. vé

>> in the last several weeks various politicians have talked about snot wanting to rush into the e.u., and even more provocatively never wanting to join nato, but that hasn't cemented to be enough. will this be enough for moscow. >> it is possible, it is possible. >> a new ukraine goes back, and the two with countries are born out of the same history.

they all go back to around 1,000 when both countries can trace their origins and the national history it is the same place. -- they don't want ukraine, in particular to break away. and to be completely away. aside from neutralizing, keeping ukraine as a thank you company, aside from that, would they want anything else. they don't have that much to gain with with the european union, because the union is not offering that much anyway. >> let me throw that to stephen knicks. w the people you have been talking to, is there a spirit right now in the more pro ukrainian parts but they have been pushed west, by the actions of the putin government? >> i don't think there's any pushing west.

i think you have the look at public opinion ukraine. and a majority see themselves at a european state, and they would like to be part of europe. and i think the west has a role in helping the people realize those aspirations. >> coming up this weekend, what do you have deployed in the field? what kind of assets? will you be getting back the intelligence that will help us know whether this is a clean, or at least clean enough election? >> well, to be clear, we have a separate parallel mission under the ose of almost 1,000 observers. many of them very experienced russian ukrainian speaking, and they -- their mandate, of course, is to look for fair election, and they will be giving their preliminary results on monday. what we are be looking for is a mission is a monetary mission, is to

look at is structures that kind of support an election, to see whether those have been disturbed. the vast majority is calm, and we are meeting very young people that are english speaking, have foreign degrees and they tell us, our monitors that all they want is a progressive, ukraine, where they are find good jobs and live in peace. they are very positive about the future. >> gentlemen, thank you all for a good conversation. we will see what happens this weekend, thank you. that brings us to the end of this edition of inside story. thank you for being with us, join us ethe next time, from washington, i'm ray swarez.

>> thailand's former prime minister is detained following thursday's military coup. ♪ >> hello there, welcome to al jazeera. i'm laura kyle in doha. increased security after the attacks that killed more than 30 people. a former war lord from the democratic republic of congo is sentenced to 12 years in prison for the massacre of hundreds of villagers. plus ♪