Defying warnings from Moscow not to confront pro-Russian militants entrenched in towns across eastern Ukraine, the interim government on Friday threatened to maintain efforts to regain control by force that have so far produced little beyond Russian military drills on Ukraine’s border and heightened alarm about Moscow’s next move. In a posting on Facebook, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov of Ukraine declared on Friday that his country’s military operations in the east — known as “ATO,” meaning Anti-Terrorist Operation — had not been suspended. “There has been no suspension of the ATO in connection to the threat of invasion by Russia’s armed forces,” Mr. Avakov said. “The ATO goes on. The terrorists should be on their guard around the clock. Civilians have nothing to fear.” Despite the minister’s warning, there have been no reports of renewed conflict since Ukrainian forces moved briefly against pro-Russian positions on Thursday […]