Obama visiting Asia with Ukraine teetering

(CNN) – A busload of 13 people, most of them military observers from Europe, were taken hostage by pro-Russia militants in an eastern Ukraine city held by separatists on Friday, according to Ukraine’s interior ministry.

This show of violence is an ominous sign that the situation inside that country is spinning out of control.

President Barack Obama again warned Russia of imminent consequences, but he did so at a time when much of his attention is taken up by his trip through Asia.