Pro-Russians seize Ukrainian government buildings

Oleksander Turchynov said it was the “second stage” of special operations by Russia aimed at breaking up Ukraine, following its annexation of Crimea.

In Donetsk, protesters proclaimed a “people’s republic”, independent of Ukraine, and said a Crimea-style referendum should be held on joining Russia in May (video above).

Government buildings in Kharkiv and Luhansk were also taken over and weapons seized, according to the Ukrainian government.

In another sign of mounting tension between Ukraine and Russia, the Ukrainian defence ministry said one of its officers, Stanislav Karachevsky, had been killed by a Russian soldier – the second Ukrainian death in Crimea since Russia took control of the Black Sea peninsula.

The ministry said the officer was preparing to leave Crimea on Wednesday when an argument broke out with Russian servicemen in the dormitory where he lived.

‘Separatist disorder’

In Luhansk, a statement from the local police force said: “Unknown people who are in the building have broken into the building’s arsenal and have seized weapons.”

On Sunday, protests took place across eastern Ukraine, and a number of government buildings were seized.

Read more: Will Russia invade eastern Ukraine?

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page that the regional administrative building in another eastern city, Kharkiv, had been cleared of “separatist” protesters.

Kiev’s government has responded to the protests by accusing Vladimir Putin of orchestrating “separatist disorder” – a charge that was also laid against the Russian president during the annexation of Crimea.

Pro-Russian protesters also broke into a regional administrative building in the mining city of Donetsk on Sunday.

Ukraine’s Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Monday protests were aimed at sparking incursion by “foreign troops” into Ukrainian territory.

He said that Russian troops are within 30 kilometres of the Ukrainian border and have not pulled back, but added that foreign soldiers would not be allowed to seize Ukrainian territory.

On Sunday, the Czech Republic’s President Milos Zeman pleaded for “military readiness”, including the possibility of Nato forces in Ukraine, in response to Russian actions.

“The moment Russia decides to widen its territorial expansion to the eastern part of Ukraine, that is where the fun ends,” he said in a broadcast on Czech public radio.

“There I would plead not only for the strictest EU sanctions, but even for military readiness of the North Atlantic Alliance, like for example Nato forces entering Ukrainian territory.”