Pro-Russia separatists seized further government buildings in cities and towns in eastern Ukraine and defied a deadline from Kiev to surrender as western governments struggled to present a united front to Moscow over the crisis.
Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine’s acting president, appealed to Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, to deploy peacekeepers a day after Kiev promised to take military action against the separatists.In an attempt to placate anti-Kiev sentiment, and in a markedly more conciliatory line than on Sunday, he also said the authorities were “not against holding a referendum” to allow residents of the east a say in determining the country’s fate.
His offer came as pro-Russian demonstrators refused to leave government buildings from up to 10 cities and towns in eastern Ukraine despite the government’s threat to deploy the military against them.