15:34
23.4.2014
15:39
23.4.2014
And our service quoting Interior Ministry saying linchpin eastern city Svyatohorsk freed from separatists.
15:43
23.4.2014
15:47
23.4.2014
15:54
23.4.2014
Pro-Russian, self-styled Slovyansk "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomaryov was quoted by Gazeta.ru as saying militants nearby are "not preparing to release US journalist Simon Ostrovsky." Ponomaryov reportedly added that "we need captives; we need a bargaining chip."
16:30
23.4.2014
16:40
23.4.2014
Here's another update from our news desk:
Ukraine's Interior Ministry says security forces have "liberated" an eastern town that it said was controlled by armed pro-Russian separatists.
The ministry said today that an operation took place on the outskirts of the town of Sviatohirsk, and that no one was injured. It said police were now patrolling the streets.
It was not immediately clear how long gunmen may have been in control of the town, which is located not far from the rebel-held town of Slovyansk.
The announcement that the town had been recaptured came one day after Ukraine’s acting president announced the resumption of an “antiterrorist” operation against armed pro-Russian separatist groups in the east.
The ministry said today that an operation took place on the outskirts of the town of Sviatohirsk, and that no one was injured. It said police were now patrolling the streets.
It was not immediately clear how long gunmen may have been in control of the town, which is located not far from the rebel-held town of Slovyansk.
The announcement that the town had been recaptured came one day after Ukraine’s acting president announced the resumption of an “antiterrorist” operation against armed pro-Russian separatist groups in the east.
16:45
23.4.2014
16:59
23.4.2014
There seems to have been quite a decent turnout for a rally "for a United Ukraine" in Kharkiv today: