#Donetsk
The last government building loyal to #Kiev paid the price today. http://t.co/HXit66WpR7
— John Walker (@podnoss) 1. Mai 2014Donetsk
buildings stormed in tense May Day sceneMay Day celebrations in
Donetsk
turned violent as pro-Russian separatists clashed with police as they stormed the prosecutor's office.Police initially used tear gas to control the crowd but later handed over their weapons.
At one point police made a tortoise formation with their shields in a bid to protect themselves from attackers.
Protesters are reported to have shouted "fascists" as they forced their way into the building, forcing the police to leave.
Celebrations in the town began peacefully with hundreds of communists marching through the city singing Soviet era anthems.
Separatists are also reported to have seized the council of Amvrosievka, also in the
Donetsk
region.Donetsk
prosecutor's officeUkraine's acting President
Olexander Turchynov
has reinstated military conscription to deal with deteriorating security in the east of the country.Ukraine blames Russia for organising the seizures of a number of offices in the east, a claim Moscow denies.
Some 40,000 Russian troops are stationed near the Ukrainian border.
Vladimir Putin has called for Ukrainian troops to pull out of the south-east of the country, in a conversation with Angela Merkel on Thursday.
The Russian president said military withdrawal, an end to violence and a national dialogue were the key issues in Ukraine, according to a Kremlin briefing on the phone conversation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday to urge him to use his influence with pro-Russia militants holding seven European military observers hostage in eastern Ukraine, official sources in Berlin and Moscow said.
But the Kremlin press service account of the phone call said Putin told Merkel that "the main thing" that needs to be done is for Ukraine's interim government to withdraw its forces from the southeast regions of the country.
May Day in one of Ukraine's largest cities & not a single Ukrainian flag in sight. #Donetsk today pic.twitter.com/futv7zp9n4
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) 1. Mai 2014Ukraine has detained Russia's military attaché to Kiev on suspicion of spying and ordered the diplomat to leave the country, as the former Soviet republic wrestles with a pro-Russian armed uprising in the east.
The unnamed diplomat was detained on Wednesday while undertaking "intelligence activities", according to reports.
Ukraine accuses Russia of orchestrating the fall of towns and cities across its industrial east to pro-Russian separatists over the past month, spearheaded by well-organised gunmen in masks and military fatigues.
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Pro-Russian protesters have stormed a prosecutor's office in the separatist-held city of Donetsk in Ukraine lobbing petrol bombs and stones, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported.
The violence broke out when protesters gathered outside the office accusing the prosecutors of working for the pro-Western government in Kiev, which Donetsk is threatening to break from in a referendum on 11 May.
Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov told a ministerial meeting: "Our armed forces are on full combat alert. The threat of Russia starting a war against mainland Ukraine is real."
Turchynov has admitted his government has practically lost control of the east of the country, with his security forces "helpless" to stop a rolling takeover by pro-Russia gunmen.
On April 29th, a large crowd of pro-Russian separatists has stormed the regional administration's headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk.
A few dozen men, some reportedly armed with metal bars, smashed windows and doors to break into the building.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, was fighting for his life on Monday after unidentified gunmen shot him in the back while he was on his way for his regular morning swim in a lake in the city.
Violence escalated in Kharkiv as well where unidentified gunmen shot the mayor of Ukraine's second largest city in the back on April 28th.
Gennady Kernes, 54, was later flown to Israel for treatment, his office said. It was unclear who was behind the apparent assassination attempt.
Pro-Russians insurgents have taken a number of people hostage in Slovyansk on April 25th, including journalists and pro-Ukraine activists, as they strengthen their control in the east of the country in defiance of the interim government in Kiev and its Western supporters.
Pro-Russian activists are continuing to hold some 40 people, including seven military observers linked to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Arseniy Yatsenyuk: "The world has not yet forgotten World War Two, but Russia already wants to start World War Three."
Vladimir Putin: "It's all nonsense, there are no special units, special forces or instructors in the east of Ukraine."
Yulia Tymoshenko: "I dream about victory... but the victory for Ukraine."