BBC's coverage of the Ukraine crisis:
12:13 [today]: David Stern BBC News
writes from Donetsk: More and more police stations and government buildings are falling to unidentified gunmen - who carry Russian weapons and look very much like the Kremlin forces who took Crimea. Ukraine's government appears to not have a choice whether to use force. The choice, it seems, is being made for them.
14:29: Catherine Ashton EU High Representative
says: "I am gravely concerned about the surge of actions undertaken by armed individuals and separatist groups in various cities of Eastern Ukraine, who have seized in the last 24 hours police stations and branches of the Ministry of Interior, and erected check points around the city of Slavyansk. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission plays and must continue to play a crucial role in actively observing and reporting about these developments and thus contributing to prevent a further escalation of the situation."
14:31: Catherine Ashton EU High Representative
added: "I reiterate the EU's strong support for Ukraine's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity and call upon Russia to do so as well. To this end, the Russian Federation is urged to call back its troops from the Ukrainian border and to cease any further actions aimed at destabilising Ukraine."
14:54:
People with bats and wearing pro-Russian St George ribbons have attacked a pro-Kiev rally in Kharkiv, Interfax-Ukraine reports. Several hundred young men attacked the crowd of about 1,000 as the rally was ending, despite a police cordon.
Chuck Holmes Deputy Managing Editor, NPR News
tweets: House Intel Comm chair Mike Rogers tells @rachelnpr that Russian special forces, out of uniform, behind takeovers in eastern Ukraine. (1/2)
He adds: Rep. Rogers says "they're there to foment violence, to stir the pot, commit acts of sabotage" in Ukraine. Kremlin denies involvement. (2/2)
15:10:
Protesters have taken down the Ukrainian flag outside the mayor's office in Mariupol city on the Azov Sea and reportedly occupied the building. That's at least the fifth eastern city apparently targeted in the past 24 hours.
16:16:
In Moscow, a woman wears a scarf displaying the coat of arms of Ukraine, during a Russian opposition rally dubbed "The Truth March", to defend freedom of speech and independent Russian media.
16:45:
Mr Turchynov said Ukrainian security forces were starting a "wide-ranging anti-terrorist operation," although he also promised an amnesty for those who leave captured buildings by Monday.
17:20:
More than 10,000 people have turned out in Moscow for an anti-Kremlin rally denouncing Russian state TV news coverage, particularly of the Ukraine crisis. State television has portrayed Ukraine's new government as a "fascist junta" under US control, determined to oppress Russian speakers. Some of the participants carried Ukrainian flags.
17:32:
Republican Senator John McCain, appearing on CBS, said the Obama administration's failure to punish Russia over Crimea has emboldened President Putin. He repeated calls for tougher sanctions and for giving Ukrainians light weapons, to defend themselves.
17:46: The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus writes
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's warning is clear and to the point. Many of the groups involved in the take-over of buildings in eastern Ukraine look like professional military forces - exactly what was seen at the outset of Russia's Crimea operation. Many experts say that the weekend's events look neither spontaneous nor unplanned and the fear is that, just as in the Crimea, the Russian government is seeking to use the lack of clarity over who is involved to gain time to create "facts on the ground".
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