In Ukraine, The Fighting 'Doesn't Seem Organized At All'

The news out of Ukraine today was mixed. While Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed he had ordered the Russian troops along the Ukrainian border to stand down, international observers later said there was no indication that anything had changed in Eastern Europe. And a call to cancel a coming regional referendum on greater territorial independence seems to have fallen on mostly deaf ears in the embattled eastern regions of the country.

Reporter Sabra Ayres, a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor based in Kiev at the moment, told us the mood on the ground in Ukraine is still testy at best.

"The situation in the east continues to deteriorate," Ayres told guest host Dina Temple-Raston. "The lawlessness that's been going on is really worrisome and it definitely has gripped the entire country."

"There have been reports of attacks on banks, take-overs of government buildings, jewelry stores...the police has basically given up their guns in some areas to the so-called separatists."

While many in the country are terrified of the potential for a full-out civil war, it still seems like the violence in the east is without direction or control.

"It doesn't seem organized at all, which is what makes it so frightening," Ayres said.

Still, the coming Presidential vote tentatively scheduled for May 25 could help resolve many of the problems in the troubled country.

"Ukrainians believe in voting," Ayres told us. "They will participate in that vote."