Monday 14 April 2014 15.06 About 100 pro-Russian protesters armed with bats and rocks have stormed a police station in the east Ukrainian town of Gorlivka.
Protesters smashed windows and grabbed metal shields from police.
An AFP correspondent in the town said the local police force, which put up almost no resistance to the attack, later swore allegiance to a pro-Russian commander who took charge.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's interim president has signalled support for a national referendum on turning the ex-Soviet republic into a federation with broader rights for its east, where many want closer ties with Russia.
Pro-Kremlin militias, who have seized government buildings in cities such as Donetsk, are demanding local referendums on either broader local rights or an option to join the Russian Federation.
Acting President Oleksander Turchynov stopped well short of giving in to these demands by signalling support for a national referendum on Ukraine's future status.
The outcome of such a vote is far less certain, as most in Kiev and the Ukrainian-speaking west reject the idea of federalisation.
Mr Turchynov suggested that the national vote could coincide with snap presidential polls that Ukraine is set to hold on 25 May following the February removal of Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych.
"In recent days, there has been a lot of talk about a national referendum," Mr Turchynov told politicians in nationally televised remarks.
"We are not against holding a national referendum that - if parliament adopts the corresponding decision - could be held together with the presidential elections.
"I am certain that a majority of Ukrainians will support an indivisible, independent, democratic and united Ukraine.
"This is my conviction and I think that all those present share my view."
Pro-Russia protesters in the region fear a loss of their right to speak Russian and the collapse of an already depressed economy if their government cuts ties with their close and historical ally Russia.
Ukraine's new leaders have already struck a political partnership deal with the European Union and are expected to sign an economic relations and trade agreement later this year.
Meanwhile, a deadline for pro-Russian militants to hand over their weapons and leave buildings they have occupied in eastern Ukraine has passed without signs of rebels complying.
The authorities in Kiev set a deadline of this morning for armed separatists to leave public buildings they have occupied or face military action.
Russia last night urged Ukraine not to use force and rejected claims that it is orchestrating the unrest.
A spokesman for Vladimir Putin said the Russian President is watching the situation in Ukraine with great concern.
The United States, France and Britain all blamed Russia for the upsurge in violence in the region.
Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern regions should be involved in drafting the constitution that should be put to a referendum on the type of state Ukraine should be.
Mr Lavrov said it was not in Russia's interests for Ukraine to break up, but that Russia wanted all citizens of the country to be given equal treatment by the government in Kiev.
He denied Ukrainian and US allegations that Russia had undercover agents fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine.
Mr Lavrov also said he was seeking explanation of media reports that CIA Director John Brennan had visited Kiev.
EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has said the events in eastern Ukraine over the weekend were "coordinated" by Russia
Arriving at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, Mr Gilmore said: "It's difficult to accept that the events that happened over weekend occurred of their own accord. There appears to be a degree of coordination involved.
"In many ways, it's reminiscent of what happened in Crimea before the annexation of Crimea."
Mr Gilmore said that the storming of regional state buildings by armed pro-Russian separatists in a number of cities in the east of Ukraine would prompt EU foreign ministers to look more closely at the idea of full economic and trade sanctions against Russia.
Such sanctions, known as Phase 3 in the EU's response to Russian intervention, have not yet been used by the EU, but have been implicitly threatened should Russia intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine, or if it should further "destabilise" the situation there.
Following an emergency EU summit on the crisis in Ukraine in March, the European Commission has been examining how sanctions against Russia might work, and what impact such sanctions, or any retaliation by Russia, might have on individual EU member states.
The commission is expected to publish its findings later this week.
"What has happened over the weekend is certainly going to occasion the foreign affairs council to look more urgently at Phase 3," Mr Gilmore told reporters.
"Phase 3 has always been conditional on Russia de-escalating the crisis that exists in Ukraine.
"What we've seen over the weekend certainly hasn't been a de-escalation."
Foreign ministers will also discuss sending an expert mission to Ukraine in preparation for a possible full EU mission that would assist the government in Kiev with civil and policing support and support in implementing the rule of law.
The Government tentatively supports such an idea so long as it is coordinated with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which already has monitors on the ground in Ukraine.
Ministers will also discuss the possibility of adding more names to the list of those individuals who have been banned from travelling to the EU and of having assets held within the EU frozen.
European capitals are anxious not to close off all channels communication with Moscow.
Officials say they hope to convince Mr Lavrov to attend a four-way meeting in Geneva on Thursday, involving the US, Russia, the EU and Ukraine.
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