The standoff in Ukraine is heating up and shots have been fired. “The Ukrainian army launched its first major assault on a rebel stronghold in the east of the country on Friday, provoking the heaviest fighting since a pro-Russian uprising began a month ago,” reports The Washington Post. “Two military helicopters were shot down, and at least three people were reported killed.” A spokesman for Vladimir Putin was indignant, saying, Ukraine had “effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements.” Russia has created all the tension, so it’s rich for Putin to blame Ukraine for responding. But Vasyl Krutov, head of Kiev’s “anti-terrorist center” behind the operation, made no bones about it: “What we are facing … is not just some kind of short-lived uprising, it is in fact a war.”