Armed pro-Russian separatists have reportedly seized a police headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian town of Konstantinovka.
According to the Ukrainian press, dozens of uniformed and masked people occupied a floor at the police headquarters in the early hours on Monday and blocked the building's entrance and exit.
Interior Ministry spokeswoman Laryssa Volkova said: "About 30 separatists came to the local police headquarters and occupied the ground floor."
"Negotiations are under way with the local police chief. We do not know what their demands are."
- 'Critical condition'
Konstantinovka, a town with a population of about 100,000 people, is located 60km from Donetsk, where armed pro-Russian separatists have seized a number of administrative buildings since early April.
Meanwhile, the mayor of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Gennady Kernes - a leading businessman in the city - was shot in the back by unidentified gunmen midday on Monday, according to the Kharkiv municipality officials.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was reported to be in critical condition.
Kharkiv is the second-largest city in Ukraine and is part of a region where pro-Russian gunmen have either seized government buildings or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or annexation by Russia.
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