Eastern Ukraine braced for 'full-scale' military action as deadline for pro-Russian separatists to lay down firearms passes with no sign of them complying



Gunfire between pro-Russians and Ukraine special forces with one killed and many others wounded, reports say



Action in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, is the first reported gun battle in the region



Acting president says 'full-scale terrorist operation' has now been launched against pro-Russian militants

'The blood of Ukrainian heroes has been shed in a war which the Russian Federation is waging', he said



Has set a deadline for 6am Monday for pro-Russians to give up weapons and leave occupied buildings

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded by saying plans to mobilise was a 'criminal order'

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting about the crisis at 8pm New York time




Towns in eastern Ukraine were today braced for military action from government forces after a deadline set by Kiev for pro-Russian separatists to end their occupation of state buildings passed without any signs they had complied.



The Ukrainian government demanded the rebels disarm by 9am (6am BST) or face a major 'anti-terrorist' operation.

As the deadline passed, a Reuters reporter in the flashpoint city of Slaviansk, where armed men had seized two government buildings, said there was no outward sign the rebels had complied with the ultimatum.

It came after Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov said was ‘waging a bloody war’ against Ukraine by sowing disorder in the troubled eastern European nation.

Oleksandr Turchynov vowed to use the Ukrainian army to launch a ‘full-scale anti-terrorist operation’ against pro-Russian militias as the volatile region lurched closer to a full-scale civil war.

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Pro-Russian protesters burn tires as they prepare for battle with Ukrainian special forces in the town of Slavynsk. One was killed and five others wounded, officials say

A masked Ukraine federalisation supporter walks the streets of the town. The acting president declared a 'full scale anti-terrorist operation' today following the action Armed members of Ukraine's federalisation seize a police station. Other such buildings have been overtaken by men local to Russian in the past few days A masked and armed Ukraine supporter, right, on the streets of Slovyansk - where numerous people were wounded in gun fire today including this man, left A video reportedly taken in the aftermath of the attack shows an injured man, left, who says he has been shot in the chest. Right are bullet holes in a car





His threat to mobilise Ukraine’s troops came after a state security officer was killed and five others wounded during a fierce gun battle with camouflaged rebels in Sloviansk as the town’s police station was seized by militiamen. A rebel was also killed.

Nato sources said Russian forces were suspected of orchestrating and carrying out assaults on state buildings and police stations in as many as seven cities in the south-east of Ukraine, including the major industrial hub of Donetsk. Moscow denies the charges.

The country's interior minister Arsen Avakov said a security service officer was killed near Slovyansk, east Ukraine, in gun fire and five others were wounded. The Russian news agency RIA reported one pro-Moscow activist was killed and two others were injured.



It is the first reported gun battle in the area - where armed men loyal to Moscow have seized a number of law enforcement buildings, including a police station, in recent days.

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session on Sunday night, and the United States warned that it was likely to impose further sanctions on the Kremlin if the escalation in eastern Ukraine continues.

THE SPARK THAT COULD IGNITE THIS TINDERBOX

ANALYSIS By Ian Birrell This is the long-dreaded moment. It is seven weeks since a strange struggle in the east of Europe began, with the silent invasion of Crimea by Russian special forces stripped of their insignia and supported by well-armed local militia to quash any dissent. Despite the seizure of the peninsula – the first major land grab in Europe since 1945 – both sides sought to avoid conflict knowing the regional tinderbox could explode. Moscow wanted the annexation of Crimea to pass peacefully to demonstrate that its citizens supported the takeover. Ukraine, a weak and bankrupt state run by an interim government following the ousting of a pro-Russian president, aimed to avoid a conflagration that could rip it apart and destroy any hopes of democracy. But now everything has changed. In recent days, pro-Moscow forces have seized police stations and security buildings, barricading themselves in, flying Russian flags and demanding breakaway referendums just as in Crimea. They threw down a gauntlet, and authorities in Kiev had no option but to respond. Previous demonstrations in the Russian-speaking east of Ukraine appeared largely to involve local people. But events over the weekend were different, with the arrival on buses of well-organised, well-trained and well-armed forces, wearing identical uniforms to those I saw in Crimea last month. At least half a dozen cities were targeted. No country could allow such incidents of insurgency on its territory. But Ukraine’s efforts to dislodge these gangs – which led to casualties on both sides yesterday – risk sparking a full-scale intervention by the Kremlin to ‘defend’ the region’s Russian speakers. It is a threat that terrifies Ukraine’s new political masters – and, indeed, the rest of the continent – after Nato released aerial photographs last week revealing the extent of Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s borders. What is Putin’s gameplan? His invasion of Crimea was probably a pragmatic response to the ousting of his ally, fuelled by fear of Ukraine slipping out of Russian control and into the arms of Europe. Now he has seen his popularity soar on a surge of nationalist fervour, with even Mikhail Gorbachev’s former aides talking about the ‘inevitable’ restoration of ‘a state like the Soviet Union’. This could make it difficult to back down, even if he wanted to do so. None of the eastern Ukrainian regions want unification with Moscow, according to polling. But analysts believe Putin wants to keep the state as weak and unstable as possible. For all the tough talk from Western leaders, their limp response to his adventurism will have convinced Putin they are too divided, too weak and too worried about gas supplies to respond adequately to further aggression in Ukraine. No one can predict his next move – although there are alarming similarities to the way he captured Crimea. All of which adds up to the most combustible set of circumstances for Europe since the Balkans erupted more than two decades ago.

Two Russian sympathisers stand near to s pile of burning tyre before the gun fire broke out earlier today

More pro-Russians stand at another burning check point as smoke from the burning debris fills the air

An armed man stands next to a barricade in front of the police headquarters in Slaviansk while others atop the structure keep watch

A Pro-Russian protester shelters from heavy rain while standing on a barricade in front of the occupied police building

A man loyal to Moscow stands with two banners made from shields near to the Ukraine security agency building

Acting president Oleksander Turchinov said in a televised address Russia was waging a war against Ukraine by sowing disorder in the east of the country.

He said: 'The blood of Ukrainian heroes has been shed in a war which the Russian Federation is waging against Ukraine. The aggressor has not stopped and is continuing to sow disorder in the east of the country



'The National Security and Defence Council has decided to launch a full-scale anti-terrorist operation involving the armed forces of Ukraine,' he declared.



'We will not allow Russia to repeat the Crimean scenario in the eastern regions of the country.'

Troops from Ukraine were seen dropping in to the region in helicopters this afternoon.

Russia's Foreign Ministry responded by saying Ukraine plans to mobilise an army to put down the rebellion was a 'criminal order'.



The ministry said the West should bring its allies in Ukraine's government under control. It also said the country would put an urgent discussion of the situation in eastern Ukraine on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council.

The statement said: 'The situation in southeastern Ukraine is taking on an extremely dangerous character. The authorities in Kiev, who put themselves in power as a result of a coup d'etat, have set a course to use force to put down popular protests.

'We decisively condemn attempts to use brute force against protesters and activists ... We are particularly indignant about the criminal order of (Ukrainian Acting President Oleksander Turchinov) to use the army to put down protest.'

NATO described the appearance in eastern Ukraine of men with specialised Russian weapons and identical uniforms without insignia as a 'grave development'.

Pictures of violence throughout the eastern region of Ukraine emerged today. In one, a pro-Russian mob can be seen attacking a Ukrainian protestor with batons until police are forced to step in.



Earli er, i nterior minister Arsen Avakov s aid the men who seized the buildings in Slovyansk had opened fire on Ukrainian special forces sent to the city. He called on residents to remain calm and stay at home.

Pro-Russian supporters, many holding batons, clash with Ukraine supporters in downtown Kharkiv. One man cowers on the floor after being beaten by the men while another man steps in to halt the fight

A Ukrainian officer stops the activist from trying to hit the protester who remains lying on the steps

An Associated Press reporter found a bullet-ridden SUV on the side of the road and a pool of blood on the passenger seat where the gunbattle was supposed to have taken place.

A video reportedly taken in the aftermath of the attack, shows numerous cars with bullet holes in.

It then pans to a man lying on the ground. A voice, speaking in Russian, is heard to say: 'Do you have a first aid Kit? Where did the bullet hit, where is the pain?' The wounded man answers: 'It hit my chest.'

The video then shows a man in uniform slumped against a car with blood running down his front. An assault rifle lies on the floor next to him.

A voice is then heard to say: 'That guy was shot.'

Vladimir Kolodchenko, a lawmaker from the area who witnessed the attack, said a car with four gunmen pulled up on the road in a wooden area outside Slovyansk and open fire on Ukrainian soldiers who were standing beside their vehicles.

Both attackers and the Ukrainian servicemen left soon after the shooting.

A man appears from clouds of smoke on the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city before throwing another tyre of the blaze

Armed pro-Russia protesters prepare for the battle with Ukrainian special forces on the outskirts of Slavyansk today

Pro-Russian activists escort a masked man from a secret service building in Lugansk, Ukraine

An armed man stands near of Pro-Russian protester's barricade in front of the occupied police station

A member of the People's Militia of Donbass, who are pro-Ukraine, stands outside the local office of Ukraine's Security Service today

Ukrainian police officers surrender while armed separatists seize their headquarters

The regional administration in Donetsk issued a statement, confirming one dead but said there were altogether nine wounded people.

They wouldn't say who the wounded people were, but said the man who died was killed in gunfire outside Slovyansk.

The unrest in Slovyansk and the nearby major industrial city Donetsk were the latest shows of spiralling anger in eastern Ukraine, which has a large Russian-speaking population.

It was also the support base for Viktor Yanukovych - the Ukrainian president ousted in February following months of protests in Kiev.

Overnight, the interior minister reported an attack on a police station in the nearby city of Kramatorsk.

A protester, thought to be pro-Russian, fuels a burning barricade with scrap tyres

A pro-Moscow gunman stands outside a seized police station in Slovyansk as the gunfire battle rages

A pro-Russian protester holds a shield at a check point as black smoke from burning tyres surrounds him

One video shows a helicopter landing near to Slovyansk with Ukraine special forces disembarking shortly afterwards, right



A video from local news website Kramatorsk.info showed a group of camouflaged men armed with automatic weapons storming the building.

The news website also reported that supporters of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic have occupied the administration building, built a barricade with tires around it and put a Russian flag nearby.

Regional news website OstroV said three key administrative buildings have been seized in another city in the area, Enakiyeve while in Mariupol, a city south of Slovyansk and just 30 miles away from the Russian border, the city hall was seized by armed masked men.

Local news website 0629.com.ua said 1,000 protesters were building a barricade around it while unknown armed men raised the Russian flag over the building.

On Saturday in Donetsk, the regional capital, witnesses said the men who entered the police building were wearing the uniforms of the Berkut, the feared riot police squad that was disbanded in February after Yanukovych's ouster.

Men loyal to Moscow warm themselves around a fire while on guard outside a Ukraine police building A view of the barricade in front of the seized police station in the eastern Ukraine town of Slovyansk

Ukraine supporters set up barricades at the entrance to Slavyansk - using any items they can find to block the roads from pro-Moscow supporters

Battle lines are drawn: Crowds watch as the militia build a barrier outside the police station

On Saturday morning a group of pro-Russian activists armed with metal sticks seized the prosecutor's office in Donestsk. They have left the building after talks with police. Nobody was arrested

Berkut officers' violent dispersal of a demonstration in Kiev in November set off the mass protests that culminated in bloodshed in February when more than 100 people died in sniper fire. The acting government says the snipers were police.

It wasn't immediately clear if the men who occupied the Donetsk police building had made any demands, but the Donetsk police chief said on national television that he was forced to offer his resignation.

Ethnic Russians in Ukraine's east widely fear that the new pro-Western Ukrainian government will suppress them.

Mr Avakov has described the unrest as 'Russian aggression'.

In an earlier post, he said the men who seized the buildings in Slovyansk had opened fire on Ukrainian special forces sent to the city today.

He called on residents to remain calm and stay at home. In a phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry 'expressed strong concern' that the attacks 'were orchestrated and synchronised, similar to previous attacks in eastern Ukraine and Crimea,' according to the State Department.

Pro-Russian militia carrying riot shields at the police station in the eastern Ukraine town of Slovyansk yesterday

Pro-Russian militants have seized at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons from the Slovyansk police station

Pictured, an armed pro-Russian activist stands at a makeshift checkpoint at the entrance into the eastern Ukrainian town

Mr Kerry 'made clear that if Russia didn't take steps to de-escalate in eastern Ukraine and move its troops back from Ukraine's border, there would be additional consequences,' the department said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry rejected the claims, while Mr Lavrov blamed the crisis in Ukraine on the failure of the Ukrainian government 'to take into account the legitimate needs and interests of the Russian and Russian-speaking population', the ministry said.

Mr Lavrov also warned that Russia may pull out of next week's Ukraine summit if Kiev uses force against 'residents of the southeast who were driven to despair'.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, who is in Ukraine this weekend, condemned the unrest in a Twitter post as 'a coordinated armed action to seize control over key parts of Eastern Ukraine,' which 'would not have happened without Russia'.

In Slovyansk, the mayor said yesterday the men who seized the police station were demanding a referendum on autonomy and possible annexation by Russia.

Protesters in other eastern cities have made similar demands after a referendum in Crimea last month in which voters opted to split off from Ukraine, leading to annexation by Russia.

