(ANSA) - MOSCOW - Russia called on the UN to condemn Ukraine after its armed forces on Tuesday recaptured a military airfield from pro-Moscow separatist militias in the country's Russian speaking east. Also on Tuesday, the White House said Ukraine acted within its rights, and the international community must hold Russia accountable for encroaching on its neighbor. "The Ukrainian government has a responsibility to uphold law and order, and the provocations in east Ukraine are creating a situation to which the government must respond", said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney. "The US and its allies must be willing to impose stiff new sanctions against those personally responsible and against key sectors of Russia's economy, such as energy, banking and mining", said Kathleen Doherty, the deputy mission chief at the US embassy in Rome. While such sanctions could have short-term repercussions on the economies of Italy and other EU countries, they will be little compared to the long-term consequences of allowing countries who annex their neighbors' territories to go unpunished, Doherty added. (ANSA).