Ukraine Leader Calls For UN Peacekeeper Help

Ukraine's interim president has called for UN peacekeepers to be deployed to help Kiev regain control of areas taken over by pro-Russian militants.

Armed separatists have been seizing and occupying key buildings in eastern Ukraine - defying a deadline set by the Kiev government for them to stand down.

At least 100 attacked a police station in Horlivka on Monday, forcing riot officers to withdraw from the area, witnesses said.

Armed men were seen smashing windows, ransacking the building and building barricades in footage beamed around the world via a live stream online.

Pro-Russian forces detain a man in eastern Ukraine

Ukrainian TV footage showed an ambulance treating people who were apparently injured during the assault on the police HQ in the city of 300,000 people.

There was no immediate response to the action from Ukrainian forces after acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said a "large-scale anti-terrorist operation" would be launched and the Donbass region would "soon be stabilised".

In Mariupol, Sky News Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard said militants occupying a council building have had assurances that police in the city are "on their side".

Burning tyres at a checkpoint in Slaviansk

She said: "They are reinforcing their barricades, bringing more tyres, more sandbags. They are telling us that they are appealing to Russia for help and saying they will stay in that building until victory.

"They are paying no heed whatsoever to this deadline from the acting president."

At least two people were killed and several others injured in the city of Slavyansk in clashes on Sunday.

Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are among the latest cities to be hit by unrest

Armed men that Western leaders claim are Russian forces have set up checkpoints and barricades in towns in the area.

President Turchynov also said he had no objection to a referendum in the east of the country to run alongside planned presidential elections as he believes the majority of Ukrainians would support an "independent, democratic and unitary Ukraine".

World leaders warned of the violent seizure of the government buildings was a "dangerous escalation" in the crisis.

Pro-Russian protesters detain a man in Luhansk

David Cameron spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the pair agreed that the building occupations should be condemned and foreign secretaries in Luxembourg should discuss how work on sanctions can be accelerated.

Foreign Secretary William Hague said denials of Russian involvement did not have "a shred of credibility".

He said: "What has happened in eastern Ukraine over the last 48 hours is clearly a further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine and it is a very dangerous one because of course it could lead to other measures being taken on both sides.

Hundreds of civilians have come out in support of the activists

"There can't be any real doubt that this is something that has been planned and brought about by Russia. The forces involved are well-armed, well-trained, well-equipped, well-coordinated, behaving exactly the same way as what turned out to be Russian forces behaved in Crimea before the full Russian military takeover of Crimea.

"So it has all the appearances of a further gross, deliberate and premeditated violation of the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine." 

The UK's ambassador to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, told the Security Council that satellite images show between 35,000 and 40,000 Russian troops are massed near the Ukraine border, in addition to the 25,000 "illegally" in Crimea.

Sir Mark said there were increasing signs of Russian involvement in orchestrating the violence.

"We want to use this Security Council meeting to expose that but also warn Russia against using events in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for further military escalation in the region," he said.

Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the meeting he is alarmed by Ukraine's announcement of a "full-scale anti-terror operation" to seize back occupied areas.

He denied Western claims that Moscow is behind the violence, and said Kiev has been using neo-Nazi forces to destabilise its eastern region.

"It is the West that will determine the opportunity to avoid civil war in Ukraine," he said.

"Some people, including in this chamber, do not want to see the real reasons for what is happening in Ukraine and are constantly seeing the hand of Moscow in what is going on. Enough. That is enough."

He said Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine are "concerned about their future" and "don't want radicals to impose their will on them".

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later demanded explanations after claiming there were reports the head of the CIA was visiting Ukraine.

European Union foreign ministers are holding talks later today to discuss how to toughen sanctions against Russia without losing the support of EU governments worried about Moscow switching off the gas to Europe.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement: "The Russian Federation is urged to call back its troops from the Ukrainian border and to cease any further actions aimed at destabilising Ukraine."

Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK would "press for a firm and united response".

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