An insurgent leader's fighters in Ukraine are holding four observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Vladimir Putin says Russia will recognise the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential vote.

Russia has accused the West of triggering the Ukrainian crisis with its “megalomania”, as fighting continued in Ukraine’s east between pro-Russia insurgents and government forces two days before a presidential election.

Russia claims it has ordered several trains carrying weapons and planeloads of troops out of its regions near Ukraine.

Sustained gunfire was heard throughout the night near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk, the stronghold of pro-Russia fighters, ahead of a second round of European-brokered talks today aimed at resolving the crisis.

Ukraine must pay in advance for Russian gas supplies starting from next month, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Pro-Moscow rebels expressed confidence that eastern Ukraine had chosen self-rule in a referendum yesterday, with some saying that meant independence and others eventual union with Russia as fighting flared.

Authorities in Ukraine say government forces have reclaimed a television tower during a security operation to quell pro-Russian rebel activity in the eastern town of Kramatorsk.

The military observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe who were held for more than a week have been released, the leader of pro-Russia insurgents in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk has said.

Ukraine has launched its first major offensive against the insurgency sweeping the east of the country, killing and wounding a number of militants.

Gunfire and blasts have been heard around an eastern city in Ukraine that has become the focus of an armed pro-Russian insurgency.

The mayor of Ukraine’s second-largest city has been shot in the back and pro-Russian insurgents have seized more government buildings in the country as unrest continued.

A group of eight European military observers detained by pro-Russia insurgents in Ukraine has appeared in public and given assurances that they are not being mistreated.

The United States and other nations in the Group of Seven have agreed to “move swiftly” – as early as Monday – to impose additional economic sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

Russia’s defence minister has announced new military exercises along the Ukrainian border just hours after Ukrainian troops killed at least two pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s foreign minister has promised a firm response if its citizens or interests come under attack in Ukraine – a vow that came after Ukraine announced a renewal of its “anti-terror” campaign against those occupying buildings in its troubled east.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for a shoot-out at a checkpoint manned by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine that left one person dead and others in hospital with gunshot wounds.

Pro-Russian insurgents commandeered six Ukrainian armoured vehicles and hoisted Russian flags over them, dampening the government’s hopes of re-establishing control over restive eastern Ukraine.

Pro-Russian insurgents dug in across eastern Ukraine, fortifying their positions around seized buildings and erecting fresh barricades even as Ukrainian tanks took up positions outside one eastern city now controlled by armed men.

Ukraine’s acting president Oleksandr Turchynov has called for the deployment of United Nations peacekeeping troops in the east of the country, where pro-Russian insurgents have occupied buildings in nearly 10 cities.

Ukraine is launching a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” to resist attacks by armed pro-Russian forces, President Oleksandr Turchynov said in a televised address yesterday.

Ukraine is launching a “large-scale anti-terrorist operation” to resist attacks of armed pro-Russian forces, Ukraine’s President Oleksandr Turchynov said in a televised address.

At least a dozen armed men have seized a police station in a small town in eastern Ukraine as tensions in the country’s Russian-speaking regions intensify.