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| Ukraine crisis: Protesters 'storm security HQs in east' | Ukraine crisis: Protesters 'storm security HQs in east' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine have seized state security buildings in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian officials say. | Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine have seized state security buildings in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukrainian officials say. |
| Reports say that in Luhansk the protesters have raided the arsenal in the security building. Police have reacted by blocking roads into Luhansk. | Reports say that in Luhansk the protesters have raided the arsenal in the security building. Police have reacted by blocking roads into Luhansk. |
| On Sunday protesters broke into the regional government buildings in the two cities and also Kharkiv. | On Sunday protesters broke into the regional government buildings in the two cities and also Kharkiv. |
| Ukraine's acting president has called an emergency security meeting. | Ukraine's acting president has called an emergency security meeting. |
| It comes as Ukraine's Defence Ministry said a Russian soldier had killed a Ukrainian military officer still loyal to Kiev in eastern Crimea late on Sunday. | |
| Another Ukrainian officer present is reported to have been beaten and detained by Russian troops. | |
| The circumstances of the incident are unclear. The Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted the Defence Ministry as saying the incident happened outside the Ukrainian's living quarters. | |
| Russian reports said a group of Ukrainian soldiers had been drinking in the town of Novofyodorovka and were on their way home when they passed Russian soldiers guarding an entry to the military base where they previously worked, prompting an argument between the two groups. | |
| Russian news agencies reported that prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the death - one of few fatalities reported since Russia took control of the Black Sea peninsula last month. | |
| Tensions have escalated in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks. Russia is consolidating its grip on Crimea, annexed by Moscow last month, and thousands of Russian troops remain massed near the Ukrainian border. | Tensions have escalated in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks. Russia is consolidating its grip on Crimea, annexed by Moscow last month, and thousands of Russian troops remain massed near the Ukrainian border. |
| Ukrainian authorities say protesters have now left the government building in Kharkiv. | Ukrainian authorities say protesters have now left the government building in Kharkiv. |
| But in Luhansk on Monday police said "unknown people who are in the building have broken into the building's arsenal and have seized weapons". | But in Luhansk on Monday police said "unknown people who are in the building have broken into the building's arsenal and have seized weapons". |
| In Donetsk, groups occupying the provincial government building remain barricaded inside. | |
| Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov cancelled a visit to Lithuania to deal personally with the unfolding events. | Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov cancelled a visit to Lithuania to deal personally with the unfolding events. |
| Meanwhile Ukraine's prime minister has accused Russia on Monday of sowing unrest in his country's eastern provinces as a pretext for dispatching troops across the border. | |
| Speaking at an emergency Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Russia was behind the seizures of several government buildings in eastern regions that have for weeks seen a spike in secessionist sentiment. | |
| "The plan is to destabilise the situation, the plan is for foreign troops to cross the border and seize the country's territory, which we will not allow,'' he said, adding that people engaged in the unrest have distinct Russian accents. | |
| Mr Yatsenyuk said Russian troops remain stationed within 30 kilometres (19 miles) of the frontier. The city of Luhansk is just 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Russia | |
| Eastern Ukraine was the political heartland of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president who fled to Russia in February after months of protests. | |
| About half of the region's residents are ethnic Russians, many of whom believe Ukraine's acting authorities are extreme Ukrainian nationalists who will oppress Russians - a claim Kiev denies. | |
| Russia has moved large numbers of troops to areas near the Ukrainian border, and has asserted its right to intervene in Ukraine in order to protect the rights of ethnic Russians there. | |
| Since Crimea held a secession referendum - before being formally annexed by Russia - there have been calls for similar votes in Ukraine's east. | |
| Are you in the region? Send us your reactions. You can email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Ukraine'. | Are you in the region? Send us your reactions. You can email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Ukraine'. |