'Troops killed' in Ukraine ambush

Separatists have called for Russia to absorb Donetsk region

Seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in an ambush in the eastern Donetsk region, reports say.

A unit was attacked near the town of Kramatorsk by about 30 heavily-armed rebels, the defence ministry said. One rebel is also said to have died.

Correspondents say this is the most serious loss of life for the government in its operation against separatists.

Donetsk is one of two regions declared separate from Ukraine after referendums deemed illegal by Kiev, the US and EU.

The defence ministry said an armoured personnel carrier carrying paratroopers was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and exploded.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says Moscow has "crossed red lines"

More soldiers were killed or injured in a firefight which ensued with the insurgents, who were said to be hiding in bushes.

On Monday, the pro-Russian separatists who declared independence in Donetsk said that all Ukrainian troops in the region would be viewed as occupying forces and should leave.

Their leader Denis Pushilin called on Russia to "absorb" Donetsk region.

Meanwhile in the neighbouring Luhansk region, separatists said an attempt was made on the life of a rebel leader.

Self-declared governor Valery Bolotov was shot and had lost a lot of blood, but his life was not in danger, the press office of the "Luhansk People's Republic" said.

'Crucial'

The BBC's Richard Galpin reports from Donetsk on the fears of some pro-unity residents

Earlier the Kiev-appointed governor of Donetsk region said Ukraine was planning a national referendum on devolving power to regions.

Speaking at a news conference in Donetsk, Mr Taruta called on parliament to pass legislation which would authorise a vote to help regions get more power while remaining within Ukraine.

Mr Taruta also described Sunday's separatist referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk as "an opinion poll".

He said the self-declared "People's Republic of Donetsk" did not exist legally or politically, and that the Donetsk region could not survive economically as an independent territory.

People in the east "should hear answers to the questions that they are concerned about", he said.

On a visit to Kiev, Germany's foreign minister urged talks between government and rebels.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed support for a national round table which the government is planning to hold on Wednesday.

Ukrainian officials say the meeting will include politicians and civic leaders from the country's east, but armed separatists have already refused to negotiate.

Mr Steinmeier also backed Ukraine's 25 May presidential vote, which he said would be "crucial" in bringing the country out of its crisis.

Ukrainian forces are holding positions outside the eastern town of Sloviansk

Ukraine PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk (L) signed a deal for 1bn euros in EU aid

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier hopes to mediate in the Ukraine crisis

Separatists in Luhansk declared a "sovereign state" after the referendum

Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk say 89% and 96% respectively voted in favour of "self-rule" in the referendums.

Armed rebels remain in control of many official buildings across eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian gas company Gazprom has asked Ukraine to pay $1.66bn (£1bn) for gas deliveries in June.

Gazprom says Ukraine owes it $3.5bn. It recently doubled the price Ukraine must pay for gas - a move that Kiev has refused to accept.

But Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Russia should stop using gas as "a new type of weapon".

He also accused Moscow of seizing Ukrainian property including oil and gas during the annexation of Ukraine's southern autonomous republic of Crimea in March following a controversial referendum.

Mr Yatsenyuk was speaking in Brussels after signing a deal for 1bn euros in EU aid.

The Ukrainian government fears a similar outcome to the annexation of Crimea in Donetsk, Luhansk and parts of the south.

Nato believes some 40,000 Russian troops are deployed near Ukraine's border, although Moscow says they have been pulled back.

Are you in the Donetsk or Luhansk region, or elsewhere in Ukraine? Will you be voting in the presidential election on 25 May? What do you think of the "self-rule" referendums? You can send us your thoughts by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Ukraine".

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Published on: 9:12 PM

Russian outrage at Ukraine killing

Daniel Sandford hears from a man who says he witnessed the attack

Russia has expressed outrage at a fatal shooting in eastern Ukraine which it blamed on Ukrainian nationalists.

Russian state media reported that five people had been killed in a gun attack on a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian activists near the town of Sloviansk.

A Ukrainian official said it may have been a shootout between criminals. Nationalists have denied involvement.

The incident comes as pro-Russian groups continue to occupy government buildings defying a deal to leave.

Ertogrul Apakan, who heads the special mission of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe in Kiev, said his deputy would be in Donetsk to try to get them to comply with an agreement reached on Thursday to ease the crisis.

Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US agreed during talks in Geneva on Thursday that illegal military groups in Ukraine must be dissolved, and that those occupying government premises must be disarmed and leave.

But the separatists' spokesman in the city of Donetsk said that the Kiev government was "illegal", and vowed they would not go until it stepped down.

TV pictures showed what was described as the aftermath of an attack on a pro-Russian checkpoint at about 01:00 local time (22:00 on Saturday GMT), including the body of a man under a cover.

The BBC is unable to verify the footage. However, a Reuters journalist at the scene reported seeing two bodies in a truck.

Daylight Reuters TV footage of the scene shows several burnt-out vehicles.

The Russian foreign ministry said the Ukrainian far-right group Right Sector was behind the attack. A business card with the name of its leader Dmytro Yarosh appeared in the unverified Russian TV pictures.

"Russia is indignant about this provocation by gunmen, which testifies to the lack of will on the part of the Kiev authorities to rein in and disarm nationalists and extremists," it said in a statement.

Right Sector spokesman Artyom Skoropadsky told the BBC the group had nothing to do with the shooting.

"Right sector was not there, and whatever happened there was an obvious provocation from the Russian secret services," he said.

A pro-Russian activist at a captured building in Sloviansk

Viktoriya Siumar, deputy head of Ukraine's National Security Council, also speaking to the BBC, said the shooting was being investigated, but said there were indications that it was "an argument between local criminal groups".

"The level of criminality in eastern Ukraine increased substantially recently," he added.

This is the first fatal incident in the region since Thursday's agreement, prompting Sloviansk rebel leader and self-proclaimed mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarev to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to send peacekeepers. He also asked for food and weapons.

Mr Ponomarev added that a "people's army of Donbass" was being set up. Donbass (Don river basin) is the industrial area of eastern Ukraine made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Donetsk says that the Geneva deal is already in trouble and events in Sloviansk will do little to change that.

'Threat to the globe'

Meanwhile in an interview for NBC's Meet the Press aired on Sunday, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to "restore the Soviet Union".

"It's crystal clear that for today, Russia is the threat to the globe, and the threat to the European Union, and a real threat to Ukraine," Mr Yatsenyuk said.

Ukraine has been in crisis since President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in February.

Russia then annexed Crimea following a regional referendum that approved joining the Russian federation. The annexation provoked international outrage.

Pro-Russian activists then occupied buildings in several eastern Ukrainian cities, many calling on Moscow to support them.

Ukraine has said that operations against the pro-Russian militants have been suspended over Easter.

Ukraine's interim authorities have appealed for national unity and promised to meet some of the demands of pro-Russian protesters.

These include the decentralisation of power and guarantees for the status of the Russian language.

But the US has warned the next few days will be pivotal and has threatened more sanctions against Russia if it fails to abide by the agreement.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is set to visit Kiev on Tuesday.

Are you in Ukraine? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'Ukraine'.

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Published on: 5:37 PM

Ukraine calls Easter truce in east

Ukraine's foreign minister: "We will not be using force... at this moment"

Ukraine's foreign minister has said that operations against pro-Russian militants in the east of the country have been suspended over Easter.

Andriy Deshchytsia told the BBC the security services would resume military action if the separatists continued to occupy government offices.

They are refusing to leave buildings in several cities, defying an agreement reached on Thursday to ease the crisis.

The US has threatened more sanctions if Russia fails to abide by the agreement.

The Kremlin responded by accusing the White House of treating Moscow like a "guilty schoolboy".

In a separate development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would award medals to Russians who took part in the seizure of Crimea from Ukraine last month.

Maidan 'not illegal'

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Deshchytsia said the aim of the military operation in the east was to "bring life back to normal and protect the population", but it would be stopped over Easter.

"The anti-terrorist operation was put on hold for the Easter time and we will be not using force against them at this moment," he said.

Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine have refused to leave official buildings despite the Geneva deal

The "Donetsk People's Republic" refuses to recognise the Kiev authorities

Armed men show a sticker with text reading "Donetsk don't listen to Kiev", in the eastern city of Sloviansk

The Ukrainian foreign minister added that the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was willing to start a negotiation process with the separatists.

In response to separatist calls for pro-European protesters in Kiev to also vacate sites they were occupying, he said that those camped in the capital's Maidan Square had "asked permission from the city council" and their camp was therefore not an "illegal occupation".

Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US had agreed during talks in Geneva that illegal military groups in Ukraine must be dissolved, and that those occupying government premises must be disarmed and leave.

The sides also decided there would be an amnesty for all anti-government protesters.

But the separatists' spokesman in the city of Donetsk said that the Kiev government was "illegal", and vowed they would not go until it stepped down.

After cautiously welcoming the deal struck on Thursday, the White House stepped up pressure on Russia to use its influence over separatists occupying the buildings in nine cities and towns in eastern Ukraine.

On Friday, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice warned that if Moscow failed to uphold the deal a new round of sanctions would focus on what she called "very significant sectors of the Russian economy".

She added that the US had identified close associates of the Russian leadership as potential targets for new sanctions.

Posters appeared in Donetsk demanding Jews 'register, pay new tax or leave'

Russia responded by saying it was disappointed with the US assessment of the Geneva deal.

"You can't treat Russia like a guilty schoolboy who has to... show he has done his homework," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said.

"That kind of language is unacceptable."

Ukraine's interim authorities have appealed for national unity and promised to meet some of the demands of pro-Russian protesters.

These include the decentralisation of power and guarantees for the status of the Russian language.

David Stern reports from Kiev's Maidan Square where protesters remain

Ukraine has been in crisis since President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in February.

Russia then annexed the Crimean peninsula - part of Ukraine but with a Russian-speaking majority - in a move that provoked international outrage.

The annexation followed a referendum in Crimea that backed a move to join the Russian Federation.

Are you in Ukraine? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'Ukraine'.

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Published on: 5:51 PM

Pro-Russian militants refuse to leave Ukraine buildings despite crisis deal

 

DONETSK, Ukraine –  Pro-Russian insurgents in Ukraine's east who have been occupying government buildings in more than 10 cities said Friday they will only leave them if the interim government in Kiev resigns.

Denis Pushilin, a spokesman of the self-appointed Donetsk People's Republic, told reporters that the insurgents do not recognize the Ukrainian government as legitimate. 

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Ukraine and Russia on Thursday agreed to take tentative steps toward calming tensions along their shared border after more than a month of bloodshed. But Pushilin, speaking at the insurgent-occupied regional administration's building in Donetsk, said the deal specifies that all illegally seized buildings should be vacated and in his opinion the government in Kiev is also occupying public buildings illegally.

"This is a reasonable agreement but everyone should vacate the buildings and that includes Yatsenyuk and Turchynov," he said referring to the acting Ukrainian prime minister and president.

The deal calls for the immediate return of all government buildings seized by pro-Russian militia. But none of the government buildings seized across eastern Ukraine has yet been vacated, according to local media.

Pushilin on Friday reiterated the insurgents' call for a referendum that he said will allow "self-determination of the people."

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the parliament Friday morning that the government has drafted a law that would offer amnesty to all those who will be willing to lay down their arms and leave the occupied government buildings.

On Thursday, thousands gathered at peaceful demonstrations in at least four eastern cities to denounce Russia for its perceived meddling in Ukrainian affairs. Political developments in eastern Ukraine have for weeks been dominated by a small but vocal and armed opposition to the interim government in Kiev.

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Published on: 10:26 PM

WILL DOME BE BUILT?Chernobyl cap at risk amid crisis in Ukraine

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  The first half of the arch has already been completed and sits in a waiting position near reactor four until the second half is finished.SSE Chernobyl NPP photo

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  The arch will cost over $1.5 billion once completed and will envelope reactor four to replace the crumbling concrete sarcophagus already in place.Reuters

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  A rendering of what the containment arch at Chernobyl will look like once completed. The project was scheduled to be finished by October 2015 but is now delayed indefinitely.Reuters

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  A hazard sign indicating radiation is seen in front of a containment shelter for the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

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  A containment shelter for the damaged fourth reactor (L) and the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure (R) at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant are seen from Ukraine's abandoned town of Pripyat.REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Ukraine's political and economic meltdown could spell doom - or at least delay - for a containment dome being built over Chernobyl.

Construction of the coated steel, climate-controlled sarcophagus was begun in 2010 to cover the site of the infamous 1986 meltdown, scene of the worst nuclear accident in history. But finishing the $2.1 billion project requires money and, likely, stability from the Ukraine government and international backers. Planned in sections comprised of two 300-foot-high arches that will span the site and then be walled on the sides, the project will never be completed by the original goal of 2015, officials acknowledge.

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“Delay of the project should end immediately."

- Roksolana Stojko-Lozynskyj, of the Ukranian Congress Committee

And given Ukraine's economic and political crisis, it's anyone's guess when the project, designed to last at least 100 years, will ever be completed. Called the New Safe Confinement Arch project, it is  funded by Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. But Ukraine is broke, and donor nations may be leery of investing amid political instability.

“In our financial analysis we are of course making the working assumption that it will not receive any money from Ukraine in the near term,” Vince Novak, director of nuclear safety at the EBRD said in a recent interview with Nuclear Engineering magazine.

Chronically cash-strapped Ukraine has been in turmoil for months after a revolution ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who had backed out of a deal to join the European Union in favor of a funding package from Russia. In recent weeks, tensions between Ukraine and Russia have flared, after Russia invaded Crimea and signaled that it may want an even bigger piece of its neighbor.

The planned structure would entomb the reactor building and be built of steel coated with polycarbonate, which is effective at degrading radiation levels. The first half of the arch was recently completed and is being held in a makeshift waiting area near the plant site, but the second half is on hold. 

Novak said it is not just funding that is holding up the project, some 85 miles north of Kiev.

“It [the delay] has been largely driven by the finalization design and to a certain extent the design of the auxiliary system,” he told FoxNews.com.

The new containment cap would replace the existing sarcophagus which was constructed immediately after the reactor meltdown in 1986. Made from concrete, the original containment structure at the reactor building is starting to deteriorate, leaving open the possibility that more radiation could escape if there is even a partial collapse.

Activists and experts say containing Chernobyl is a top priority.

“Delay of the project should end immediately,” Roksolana Stojko-Lozynskyj, of the Ukrainian Congress Committee, told FoxNews.com. “It ecologically vital to the region and should go on regardless of what is currently happening. It’s not only a matter of safety for Ukraine but for Europe as a whole.”

The Chernobyl disaster occurred in in April 1986 while Ukraine was still under the rule of the Soviet Union. It killed 31 immediately, though thousands more are believed to have died or suffered from radiation poisoning. The nearby city of Pripyat was left a ghost town, and a 1,000-square-mile area around is dubbed the "Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, although some people insist on living there. 

Cancers and deformities have been reported in the last few decades in the region in Northern Ukraine as well as nearby Belarus.

It would seem that it is in everyone's interest to seal off the source of the deadliest nuclear accident in history.

“You would think Russia would have an interest in finishing the structure,” Jonathan Lesser, an economist specializing in energy, told FoxNews.com. “Then again, they could use completion as yet another bullying point to continue their moves on Ukraine.” 

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Published on: 2:14 AM

Russia urges caution in east Ukraine

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin calls on the Ukrainian government to cease a "war with its own people"

Russia has urged the authorities in Kiev not to use force against pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine.

At a special UN Security Council session, Russia's ambassador Vitaliy Churkin called on Kiev to "start a genuine dialogue".

But Ukraine's UN ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said Moscow had artificially created the crisis in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's government has promised military action against pro-Russian militants on Monday morning.

According to a Ukrainian presidential decree, pro-Russian separatists should give up their weapons and leave government buildings they have occupied by 06:00 GMT, Reuters reported.

Pro-Russian forces have targeted several cities in eastern Ukraine in the past week.

Mr Churkin said that there neo-Nazis and anti-Semites within the ranks of what he called "the self-proclaimed government in Kiev".

"The henchmen of Maidan [protest movement] must stop attacking their own people," said Mr Churkin.

Ukraine's government has promised military action against pro-Russian militants if they do not relinquish control of government buildings by the early hours of Monday.

Mr Churkin said that the opinions and interests of protesters in eastern Ukraine had not been taken into consideration.

European Union foreign ministers are due to meet later on Monday in Luxembourg to discuss the crisis.

Troop build-up

US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power: "This instability was written and choreographed in and by Russia"

The US said Russia was "spreading fiction" and that the events of the past week mirrored those preceding the annexation of Crimea.

"We know who is behind this," said Samantha Power, the United States' permanent representative to the UN.

She said that the US would still take part in talks on the crisis planned for Geneva on Thursday.

However, she said that if the talks were to succeed, Russia would have to explain the build-up of 40,000 troops on Ukraine's eastern border.

It was the 10th time the Security Council has convened to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

The meeting was called for by Russia, which has strongly criticised Kiev's plan to use its armed forces in eastern Ukraine.

Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov earlier said he would not allow a repetition of what happened in Crimea which was annexed by Russia last month.

Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

Ukrainian forces used military helicopters in the their bid to shift the Sloviansk protesters

Protesters burned tyres and bolstered their defences before the government operation began

Are you in eastern Ukraine? Have you been affected by the unrest? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Ukraine".

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Published on: 12:26 AM

Ukraine to fight pro-Russia forces

The BBC's David Stern reports: Moscow denies the trouble has been ''orchestrated'' from the Kremlin

Ukraine's president says a full-scale operation involving the army will be launched in the east after pro-Russian militants seized government buildings.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said he would not allow a repetition of what happened in Crimea which was annexed by Russia last month.

His live televised address from parliament came after pro-Russian forces targeted half a dozen cities.

Earlier, Nato's secretary general voiced concern at events in the region.

And the US ambassador to the UN said the attacks this weekend bore the "tell-tale signs of Moscow's involvement." But the Kremlin denies involvement in events in eastern Ukraine.

Early on Sunday Ukrainian authorities said they launched an "anti-terror operation" after armed men took over the city of Sloviansk.

A Ukrainian officer was killed in a gun battle in the city, and there are reports the Ukrainian operation has been halted.

But both sides suffered a number of casualties, interim Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

Eastern Ukraine has a large Russian-speaking population and has seen a series of protests since the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

'Sowing discord'

"We will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in the eastern regions of Ukraine," said President Turchynov.

"The aggressor... is continuing to sow disorder in the east of the country."

But Mr Turchynov offered not to prosecute militants who gave up their weapons by early Monday.

Ukrainian forces used military helicopters in the their bid to shift the Sloviansk protesters

Protesters burned tyres and bolstered their defences before the government operation began

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen's statement on Sunday drew parallels with some aspects of last month's seizure of Crimea.

He said the "reappearance of men with specialised Russian weapons and identical uniforms without insignia, as previously worn by Russian troops during Russia's illegal and illegitimate seizure of Crimea, is a grave development".

A Nato source told the BBC the organisation believed that "Russian forces have been involved in the seizure of some of the buildings".

And the US ambassador to the UN said the attacks on police and other buildings in eastern Ukraine had "telltale signs of Moscow's involvement".

"It's professional, co-ordinated. Nothing grass-roots about it," ambassador Samantha Power told ABC News.

"The forces are doing in each of the six or seven cities they have been active in exactly the same thing."

Turning violent

On Saturday, armed men took over police stations and official buildings in Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka.

Similar accounts emerged of armed men dressed in camouflage arriving in buses in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk and storming the police stations.

BBC reporters in Sloviansk said the gunmen were well-organised and quickly established control throughout the town. Checkpoints had been set up on the main roads into the town.

Pro-Russian activists have blockaded the security services' office in Luhansk

In the regional capital, Donetsk, several public buildings have been occupied

In the port city of Mariupol, the Ukrainian flag was removed at an official building

In other developments:

• Rival rallies turned violent in the eastern city of Kharkiv - Ukraine's second biggest - with reports of 10 people injured


• Pro-Russian activists wielding clubs surround Kharkiv's city council, with mayor Henadiy Kernes reportedly inside


• Unconfirmed reports suggested official buildings had also been taken over in two other cities - Mariupol and Yenakievo.


• Pro-Russian demonstrators continued occupying the main administrative building in the regional capital Donetsk, which they have held for one week


• A protest leader told the BBC that the activists in Sloviansk took action to support the Donetsk sit-in.

There was heavy gunfire as armed men took the police station in Kramatorsk

Interior Minister Avakov labelled the weekend actions a "display of aggression by Russia".

Announcing the operation to clear the activists, he warned people to stay in their homes in Sloviansk.

"The separatists are shooting to kill without warning against the approaching special forces," he said,

He later said Ukrainian forces had been attacked at a checkpoint on the way to Sloviansk, and at least one officer had been killed and five others wounded.

An unknown number of militants were also wounded, he said.

Witnesses at the police station said there was no sign yet of any clashes, and the centre of the town was quiet.

Are you in eastern Ukraine? Have you been affected by the unrest? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Ukraine".

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Published on: 12:21 AM

Ukraine 'planning Crimea withdrawal'

Watch key footage as pro-Russians take over Sevastopol navy base

Ukraine is drawing up plans to withdraw its soldiers and their families from Crimea, Kiev's security chief says.

Andriy Parubiy said they wanted to move them "quickly and efficiently" to mainland Ukraine.

Earlier, pro-Russian forces seized two naval bases - including Ukraine navy's HQ - in Crimea. Kiev says its navy chief has been detained.

It comes a day after Crimean leaders signed a treaty with Moscow absorbing the peninsula into Russia.

A referendum in Crimea on Sunday, approving its split from Ukraine, came nearly a month after Kiev's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was replaced by Western-leaning interim authorities.

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called the crisis in Crimea "the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War".

There were charged exchanges in a session of the UN Security Council, during which US envoy Samantha Power said her Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin "showed more imagination than Tolstoy or Chekhov".

"Russia it seems has re-written its borders but it cannot rewrite the facts," said Ms Power, who was then accused by Mr Churkin of dropping "to the level of the tabloid press".

'Demilitarised zone'

Mr Parubiy, in a news conference, set out more details on Kiev's position in light of the events in Crimea.

He said arrangements were now being set up to introduce visas for Russian nationals travelling to Ukraine.

And he said Kiev was seeking UN support to "proclaim Crimea a demilitarised zone", which would involve the withdrawal of Russian troops and the "relocation of Ukrainian troops to continental Ukraine as well as facilitate evacuation of all the civilian population who are unwilling to remain on the occupied territory".

Ukraine is also leaving the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance, and is preparing for military exercises with the US and the UK, Mr Parubiy added.

With reference to plans to withdraw troops and their families, Ukraine's interim Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya told the BBC that they would not be forced to leave if they did not want to.

But he said: "The situation is unpredictable and uncontrolled sometimes, so that's why there is a danger also for the civilians".

Meanwhile, a deadline of 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) set by Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov for the release of navy chief Serhiy Hayduk has passed.

Shortly afterwards, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu called on the Crimean authorities to release him.

A defence ministry statement said Commander Hayduk had been obliged to carry out orders in accordance with Ukrainian military regulations.

Mr Turchynov earlier said that unless Serhiy Hayduk and "all the other hostages - both military and civilian ones - were released, the authorities would carry out an adequate response... of a technical and technological nature".

It is not clear exactly what he means, but it could involve the electricity or water that Ukraine supplies to Crimea, the BBC's David Stern in Kiev suggests.

Pro-Russian crowds broke into the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol

They removed Ukrainian symbols including this gate

Ukrainian flags have been removed and replaced with Russian ones

Many Ukrainian officers left the base, although some said they would not surrender

Kiev said Mr Hayduk was detained soon after Ukraine's naval headquarters was stormed by some 200 pro-Russian activists, some armed, in Sevastopol - the port city which is also home to Russia's Black Sea fleet.

They were filmed going through offices, removing Ukrainian insignia and replacing Ukraine's flag with the Russian tricolour.

There were cheers from the crowd when Russia's Black Sea Fleet commander Aleksandr Vitko arrived and entered the building.

A handful of Ukrainian servicemen have refused to surrender. One told the BBC's Mark Lowen that they had been told to stay overnight to protect the equipment but fully expected to be told by Kiev in the morning to withdraw.

Footage shows the head of Ukraine state TV being beaten until he signs his own resignation letter

Ukraine's navy base in Novo-Ozyorne in west Crimea was also infiltrated after a tractor was used to ram the front gates. Some 50 Ukrainian servicemen were seen filing out of the base.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Ihor Tenyukh and First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema reportedly tried to enter Crimea to defuse tensions but were prevented from doing so.

'Clear warning'

Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's constitutional court approved the treaty absorbing Crimea into the Russian Federation. The treaty now only needs ratifying by parliament which correspondents say it is certain to do.

In an emotionally charged speech on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin said Crimea had "always been and remains an inseparable part of Russia".

Meanwhile, shocking footage has emerged of MPs from Ukraine's far-right Svoboda party roughing up Oleksandr Panteleymonov, the acting chief executive of the state broadcaster, over his decision to broadcast the treaty ceremony in the Kremlin.

The crisis in Crimea is expected to dominate a meeting of European Union leaders who meet in Brussels on Thursday.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the EU must send "a very clear warning" to Russia, raising the possibility of further sanctions against Moscow. He also said the G8 group should discuss whether to expel Russia "if further steps are taken".

Moscow said any expansion of sanctions was "unacceptable and will not remain without consequences".

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is heading to the region. He will meet Mr Putin in Moscow on Thursday and Ukraine's interim leaders in Kiev on Friday.

Pro-Russian forces effectively took over Crimea - with its predominantly ethnic Russian population - after Mr Yanukovych fled Ukraine on 22 February following protests in which more than 80 people were killed.

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Published on: 3:18 PM

UKRAINE SPLIT? Crimea set to hold referendum on whether to join Russia

The parliament of the disputed Crimean Peninsula has voted in favor of leaving Ukraine to become part of Russia, with a referendum on endorsing the move to be held later this month.

The parliament, which enjoys a degree of autonomy under current Ukrainian law, voted 78-0 with eight abstentions in favor of holding the referendum and joining Russia. Local voters will also be given the choice of deciding to remain part of Ukraine, but with enhanced local powers.

In other developments:

• Crimea’s deputy prime minister has labeled Ukrainian forces as “occupiers” who must leave the region or surrender, according to Reuters.
• Ukraine’s interim government is declaring the referendum illegal, while opening a criminal investigation against Crimea’s Prime Minister, Sergei Askyonov, Reuters reports.
• The White House is imposing visa restrictions on Russians and Crimeans who it says are "threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
• Ukrainian police have cleared out a government building in Donetsk that has been occupied by pro-Moscow protesters since Monday, taking more than 70 people into custody for questioning.

Crimean Vice Premier Rustam Temirgaliev said the referendum will be held March 16. RIA reported that the referendum would consist of two questions. The first would ask whether voters wished to join Russia "as a subject of the [Russian Federation]." The second question would ask whether voters wished to remain a part of Ukraine but as an autonomous republic, as laid out in the country's post-Soviet 1992 constitution.

In Moscow, a prominent member of Russia's parliament, Sergei Mironov, said he has introduced a bill to simplify the procedure for Crimea to join Russia and it could be passed as soon as next week, the state news agency ITAR-Tass reported.

A referendum had previously been scheduled in Crimea on March 30, but the question to be put to voters was on whether their region should enjoy "state autonomy" within Ukraine.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Temirgaliev said, "From today, as Crimea is part of the Russian Federation, the only legal forces here are troops of the Russian Federation, and any troops of the third country will be considered to be armed groups with all the associated consequences."

Temirgaliev told the Interfax news agency that the region is ready to adopt Russian currency, according to Reuters.

"This is our response to the disorder and lawlessness in Kiev," Sergei Shuvainikov, a member of the local Crimean legislature, told the Associated Press Thursday. "We will decide our future ourselves.”

The vote drew harsh criticism from acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov, who said the authorities in Crimea are “totally illegitimate.”

“They are forced to work under the barrel of a gun and all their decisions are dictated by fear and are illegal,'' his spokeswoman quoted him as saying, according to Reuters.

Ukraine’s interim Economy Minister, Pavlo Sheremeta, also cast doubt on the legality of the upcoming referendum.

"We're not working out what to do if Crimea joins the Russian Federation because we believe [the referendum is] unconstitutional,” he said, according The BBC.

The region has been a part of Ukraine since 1954, when Soviet ruler Nikita Khrushchev, himself of Ukrainian origin, formally transferred ownership of the region to Ukraine from Russia. In 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimea briefly became an autonomous region before its parliament agreed to remain a part of Ukraine.

News of the referendum came as leaders of European Union nations were arriving in Brussels for an emergency summit on the ongoing crisis. British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters the purpose of the summit was threefold: to begin talks between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats, to show Ukrainians that Europe would "help the Ukrainian people in their hour of need," and send a "very clear message to Russia that what they are doing in unacceptable and will have consequences."

The leaders are deciding what sorts of sanctions sanctions they can impose on Russia over its actions in Ukraine, but Moscow has threatened to retaliate if any punitive measures are put in place.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in Brussels for the summit, said Russia was continuing to stir up trouble.

"We ask Russia to respond whether they are ready to preserves peace and stability in Europe or (whether) they are ready to instigate another provocation and another tension in our bilateral and multilateral relations," Yatsenyuk said.

In Simferopol, Crimea's capital, about 50 people rallied outside the local parliament Thursday morning waving Russian and Crimean flags. Among the posters they held was one that said "Russia, defend us from genocide."

In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, police on Thursday removed pro-Moscow protesters from the regional government’s building and took down a Russian flag that had been flying over it.

Donetsk city police chief Maksim Kirindyasov said the protesters – who had occupied the building since Monday – did not resist removal and were “cleared in a matter of a few minutes,” Reuters reports.

Late Wednesday, Crimea's new regional Prime Minister, Sergei Aksyonov told the Associated Press that 11,000 self-defense troops, all or most of whom are believed to be Russian, had joined with riot police and security forces to control all access to the strategic peninsula and had blockaded all Ukrainian military bases that have not yet surrendered. Aksyonov also said that his government was in regular contact with Russian officials. Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu have all denied sending troops into the region.

The West has joined the new Ukrainian leadership in demanding that Russia pull its forces from Crimea, but little progress was reported after a flurry of diplomatic activity Wednesday. U.S. and Western diplomats failed to bring Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers together for face-to-face talks on the confrontation in Crimea, even as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced optimism that an exit strategy was possible. "I'd rather be where we are today than where we were yesterday," he said.

Meanwhile, NATO punished Russia by suspending military cooperation, and the European Union extended $15 billion in aid to Ukraine, matching the amount the country's fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych accepted from Moscow to turn his back on an EU trade accord.

The EU also imposed asset freezes against 18 people held responsible for embezzling state funds in Ukraine, including Yanukovych, his son and some of his closest allies. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Published on: 1:42 AM

Kerry, Lavrov to meet after war of words heightens over Ukraine crisis

Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the crisis in Ukraine on Wednesday, a day after the U.S. escalated a war of words with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's military intervention in Crimea.

Kerry and Lavrov are expected to meet on the sidelines of a long-planned conference on Lebanon, which is likely to be overshadowed by ongoing tensions in Ukraine, according to the BBC.

The top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine, the U.S., Britain and France are not necessarily all at the same table, but French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said everyone has been working non-stop for a diplomatic solution over the crisis in Ukraine. 

Lavrov, speaking in Spain ahead of meetings planned with Kerry, warned against Western support of what Moscow views as a coup.

"If we indulge those who are trying to rule our great, kind historic neighbor, we must understand that a bad example is infectious," Lavrov said. 

Meanwhile, Russian lawmakers were working on a draft law to allow the confiscation of property, assets and accounts of European or U.S. companies if sanctions are imposed on Russia, RIA news agency said, according to Reuters.

The news agency quoted Andrei Klishas, head of the constitutional legislation committee in the upper parliament house, as saying the bill "would offer the president and government opportunities to defend our sovereignty from threats." 

On Tuesday, Kerry met in Ukraine with the new government's acting president, prime minister, foreign minister and top parliamentary officials. Speaking to reporters afterward, Kerry urged Putin to stand down and said the U.S. is looking for ways to de-escalate the mounting tensions. 

"It is clear that Russia has been working hard to create a pretext for being able to invade further," Kerry said. "It is not appropriate to invade a country, and at the end of a barrel of a gun dictate what you are trying to achieve."

In Washington, President Obama said his administration's push to punish Putin put the U.S. on "the side of history that, I think, more and more people around the world deeply believe in, the principle that a sovereign people, an independent people, are able to make their own decisions about their own lives. And, you know, Mr. Putin can throw a lot of words out there, but the facts on the ground indicate that right now he is not abiding by that principle." 

Speaking at a fundraiser later Tuesday, Obama said it might be possible for the situation to "de-escalate in the next several days and weeks."

The Obama administration announced a $1 billion energy subsidy package in Washington as Kerry was arriving in Kiev. The fast-moving developments came as the United States readied economic sanctions amid worries that Moscow was ready to stretch its military reach further into the mainland of the former Soviet republic.

Earlier Tuesday, Putin hammered away at his message that the West was to blame for Ukraine's turmoil, saying its actions were driving Ukraine into anarchy. He warned that any sanctions the United States and European Union place on Russia will backfire.

American threats of punitive measures are "failure to enforce its will and its vision of the right and wrong side of history," Russia's Foreign Ministry said — a swipe at Obama's statement a day earlier that Russia was "on the wrong side of history."

The Obama administration, meanwhile, said it will boycott the Sochi G-8 summit unless Moscow reverses its position on Ukraine, according to Reuters, which cited a senior administration official. 

Russia took over the strategic Crimean Peninsula on Saturday, placing its troops around its ferry, military bases and border posts. Two Ukrainian warships remained anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, blocked from leaving by Russian ships.

On Wednesday, tensions remained high as Russian forces seized two Ukrainian missile defense battalions in Crimea, Reuters reported, citing an Interfax news agency report. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry was unable immediately to confirm on the report. 

In Donetsk, the home city of outsted president Viktor Yanukovich, police said they were evacuating a government building occupied since Monday by pro-Russian demonstrators, according to Reuters. 

Witnesses told the news agency a Russian flag on the roof of the building was replaced with a Ukrainian flag, but another Russian flag was still flying from a flagpole in front.

In other developments:

• Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said European Union leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday could decide on sanctions against Russia if there is no "de-escalation" by then, Reuters reported. 

• NATO alliance on Tuesday accused Russia of continued violations of its international commitments and Ukraine's sovereignty and said it will directly confront Moscow with the allegations during a special meeting on Wednesday.

• Kerry said it was “incredibly moving” to visit the sites where dozens of protesters were killed during anti-government demonstrations that led to Yanukovych’s ouster.

Speaking from his residence outside Moscow on Tuesday, Putin said he still considers Yanukovych to be Ukraine's leader and hopes Russia won't need to use force in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

Putin pulled his forces back from the Ukrainian border on Tuesday, yet said that Moscow reserves the right to use all means to protect Russians in the country but hopes it doesn't have to. Putin warned that any sanctions the West might place on Russia for its actions there will backfire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Published on: 1:33 AM

PLAYING THE NAZI CARDPutin says extremism key in Ukraine uprising

In the propaganda war raging over Ukraine’s revolution, Russia is playing up claims of neo-Nazi involvement in the protests that toppled Viktor Yanukovych, alleging the far right is on the rise in the former Soviet republic and was crucial in the Ukrainian president’s downfall.

The allegations have stirred up memories of the ugly complicity of some Ukrainians’ with German pogroms of Jews in World War II in which hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian Jews died. Russian propagandists -- including President Vladimir Putin -- point to roles of the ultra-nationalist political party Svoboda and neo-Nazi faction the Right Sector in the revolution as evidence.

"We've seen lots of people, you know, with those signs -- armbands with swastikas," Putin said Tuesday. "There could be some unknown personality who could grab the power who could have serious consequences."

"We've seen lots of people, you know, with those signs -- armbands with swastikas. There could be some unknown personality who could grab the power who could have serious consequences."

- Russian President Vladimir Putin

Four ministries in the interim government, including the defense ministry, are now being run by Svoboda members. The Kremlin-controlled television channel Russia Today has been at the forefront of the broadcasting of the allegations, headlining one report, “West sides with neo-Nazis.”

And the Russian Foreign Ministry, in its defense of Russia’s incursion into Ukraine’s Crimea, has accused Washington and European allies of turning a blind eye to the participation of Russophobes and anti-Semites in the protests in Kiev’s Independence Square that led to Yanukovych’s ouster.

“The U.S.A. and its allies have closed their eyes to the excesses of the radical fighters on Maidan, the bullying of political opponents and ordinary citizens, as well as anti-Semitism and militant Russophobia,” the ministry said in a statement.

Independent analysts and observers acknowledge that neo-Nazis and Svoboda members were among some of the most organized elements that fought off Yanukovych’s riot police in Kiev’s Independence Square. But they say the ideological makeup of Ukraine’s interim government and of the protesters camped still in Independence Square, known as the Maidan, is complex.

To define the revolution by its more fringe elements is to misunderstand, they say, how the downfall of Yanukovych came about because of widespread anger at the cronyism and corruption that marked his rule and his refusal to draw Ukraine closer to Europe and away from Russia.

“By and large this was a revolution for democracy,” said Brian Bonner, the chief editor of the English-language newspaper Kiev Post. “Of course there are some extremists here who react strongly about Russia, which is understandable after centuries of what Ukraine has endured under Russian domination and repression. And you see that in some ultra-nationalist groups.”

He adds: “But this was a revolution to throw off Russia and to join if not the European Union, at least the European family of democratic nations.”

Ukraine’s Jewish leaders also warn against exaggerating the role of neo-Nazis in the overthrow of Yanukovych and the turning away from Russia.

They worry that a flurry of recent attacks on synagogues and the scrawling of swastikas on them is not the work of Ukrainian far right groups, but vandalism carried out by Russian provocateurs, and purposely done to provide grist to the Russian propaganda mill and to discredit Ukraine.

A Jewish leader in Simferopol, Rabbi Michael Kapustin, issued a statement last week saying:  “The city is occupied by Russians. Apparently Russians intend to take over the Crimea and make it a part of Russia. If this were the case I would leave the country since I want to live in democratic Ukraine.”

The rabbi of a synagogue in Crimea that was attacked just hours before Russian troops started their land-grab has urged Jews to show solidarity with Ukraine. And Rabbi Jacob Dov Bleich, president of the Jewish Federation of Ukraine, backed other Ukrainian religious leaders in calling on Russia not to act aggressively against Ukraine.

The appeal fell on deaf ears. Putin highlighted the involvement of “fascist hooligans” in the Ukraine revolution before asking the Duma, the Russian parliament, for approval to deploy Russian soldiers on Ukrainian soil. Duma members took up the cue, with several condemning Ukrainian fascists. 

Not that liberals and Ukraine’s Jews are not concerned with the presence of the Right Sector and the role other ultra-nationalists are playing. Jewish legislators like Aleksandr Feldman have called on Maidan protesters to shun anti-Semites. But he insists the neo-Nazis and ultra-nationalists are a minority among those who helped oust Yanukovych.

Some analysts worry that further Russia-driven turmoil will boost the far right, but for now they say there is a danger on that role being exaggerated, pointing out that several prominent opposition politicians, including one of the front-runners to become president in elections slated for May, are Jewish.

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Published on: 5:52 AM

Lawmakers question lack of warning, intel agency differences on Ukraine

A congressional committee has launched a review to find out why U.S. intelligence agencies disagreed on Russia's intentions ahead of its intervention in Ukraine, as lawmakers question why there was no clear warning of Moscow's military action.

The House Intelligence Committee is reviewing what caused the differing assessments of possible Russian action by analysts with the Pentagon and the Central Intelligence Agency, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Pentagon analysts said last Friday that there would be no movements in the next 24 hours, while Central Intelligence Agency analysts were "more circumspect," indicating the possibility for intervention, one U.S. official told the newspaper.

Rep. Mike Rogers, R., Mich., the committee's chairman, told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that his committee had begun an examination to find out "what was missed in some of the [Russian] intentions piece." 

Russia took over the strategic Crimean Peninsula on Saturday, placing its troops around its ferry, military bases and border posts. Two Ukrainian warships remained anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, blocked from leaving by Russian ships.

But a classified report earlier in the week by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that Russian military drills near the Ukrainian border would not provide a pretext for intervening in Crimea, The Los Angeles Times reported.

A separate classified report from the CIA stated that some signs pointed to a Russian intervention, but that one was not expected, officials told the paper.

“I think the Russian steps came as a surprise,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., an intelligence committee member, told The Los Angeles Times. “I think in part it comes from trying to predict a fairly unpredictable [Russian President] Vladimir Putin.”

A Pentagon spokesman declined requests for comment from The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times, but the CIA defended its assessments. 

"Since the beginning of the political unrest in Ukraine, the CIA has regularly updated policy makers to ensure they have an accurate and timely picture of the unfolding crisis," CIA spokesman Chris White told the Journal. "These updates have included warnings of possible scenarios for a Russian military intervention in Ukraine."

Rogers told the Journal that some analysts "came to the wrong conclusion," but that he wouldn't characterize the issue as an intelligence failure.

Meanwhile, some Senate Intelligence Committee members left a closed-door briefing on Ukraine and other issues on Tuesday with questions of why there was no clear warning of how Russia would respond to the political unrest in Ukraine.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, the panel's top Republican, told POLITICO that something was missed. 

“Well, I’m not sure what the issue is," Chambliss said. "I mean obviously that’s why you get briefings to try to deep dive into it to see whether it’s a lack of intelligence gathering or whether there were some signs that analysts just didn’t see. But it’s pretty clear that there was no indication that this was coming like it did."

Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told POLITICO earlier this week that President Obama and lawmakers initially viewed Putin's decision to intervene as unlikely. 

“From everything I’ve seen, this was not anticipated,” King told the publication. “I think there will have to be a whole evaluation of what our links into Russia are and [into] determining their policy.”

“As far as the administration, I think they had to be taken off guard,” he said. “They were making these very tough pronouncements that there will be consequences and he won’t do it. I don’t think they would have done that if they were thinking that Putin would do this.”

Shawn Turner, spokesman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said government officials would cooperate with the congressional review. 

"We are aware that Chairman Rogers has asked his staff to work with intelligence agencies to get a better understanding of the community's early analysis of the situation in Ukraine," Turner told the Journal. "As always, we look forward to working with the committee in support of oversight efforts."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Published on: 9:43 PM