WASHINGTON, D.C.
The U.S. has warned Russia again there would be "additional consequences" if it fails in taking steps to de-escalate tension in Ukraine.
U.S. State Secretary John Kerry had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Saturday to express "strong concern" over developments in Ukraine's Russian-speaking regions.
Kerry was concerned that the attacks in eastern Ukraine were "orchestrated," according to Twitter posts from the State Department's official account.
On Saturday, unidentified gunmen seized a district police station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk. Similar attempts took place in Krasny Liman, Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka.
"Militants in eastern Ukraine were equipped with Russian weapons and the same uniforms as those worn by Russian forces that invaded Crimea," one of the tweets cited Kerry as saying.
Late February, pro-Russian armed men seized government buildings in Crimea, in rejection of the Kiev administration that saw the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych.
In a referendum held March 16, the peninsula voted to secede from Ukraine in favor of joining Russia, whose Putin signed the bill on March 21 that officially annexed Crimea.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday that further escalation of tensions in eastern Ukraine would not serve the interests of any side.
A statement published on U.N.'s official website said Ban appealed "to all sides to work towards calming the situation, adhere to the rule of law and exercise maximum restraint."
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