Kiev, April 16 (RHC)-- The United States is giving its support to the Ukrainian government's military operation against anti-Kiev protesters in the east of the country, describing it as "measured.”

On Tuesday, Ukrainian acting President Olexander Turchynov announced the start of an "anti-terrorist operation" against the protesters after they seized buildings in about 10 towns and cities across the country’s eastern provinces.

This comes as Russia says it is "deeply concerned" about reports of casualties in eastern Ukraine following the government’s military operation. Moscow has called on the international community to condemn Ukraine's approach in dealing with the unrest in the country’s east.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama has accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of failing to offer a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. In a phone conversation with Putin earlier this week, Obama said Russia’s actions in Ukraine were not conducive. Obama reportedly told Putin that Kiev had made "real offers" to address concerns about the decentralization of powers to local governments in the country.

The Kremlin issued a statement saying that Putin rejected Western claims that Moscow is behind attacks on government buildings, pointing out that they were "based on unfounded information."