Kiev

Ukrainian MP Oleг Tsarev, a presidential candidate, has been brutally beaten by radicals in Kiev and is now in critical condition, a spokesman for the candidate said Tuesday.

Putin and Obama urge each other to "use their influence"

WASHINGTON, MOSCOW -- U.S. President Barack Obama appealed on Russian President Vladimir Putin to convince "pro-Russian groups" in eastern Ukraine to lay down their arms.

As announced by the White House, Obama last night held a telephone conversation with Putin.

Turkish diplomat heads OSCE mission in Ukraine

UN asked to join "anti-terrorist" operation in east Ukraine

KIEV -- Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has invited the UN to deploy forces in eastern parts of the country.

Pro-Russian protesters have occupied public buildings in ten towns in that region of Ukraine.

Russian FM accuses West of hypocrisy

MOSCOW -- The hypocrisy of Western countries in response to the the crisis in Ukraine is "off the scale," says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

UN Security Council failed to decide on action regarding the unrest in Eastern Ukraine, at an emergency meeting on Sunday.

The latest developments come at a time of violence sparked by rebel groups in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk.

Four people have died since tensions heightened in Slaviansk over the weekend, Ukraine's UNIAN agency reported.

Pro-Russian separatists have retained control of key government buildings in eastern Ukraine despite PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk's promise to cede more power to the country's regions.

Pro-Russian fractions continue to occupy government buildings in the eastern Ukrainian cities Luhansk and Donetsk.

Friday is the deadline set by the authorities in Kiev for the demonstrators to leave the buildings, after which the government has vowed to use force.

Three EU member states proposed Thursday that the bloc deploy a police mission to Ukraine, according to unofficial Brussels sources.

The idea put forward by the UK, Poland and Sweden is aimed at providing assistance to Ukraine it re-building its own police structures, the EUObserver has reported, citing the EU sources.

Serbia abstains from voting on Ukraine resolution

STRASBOURG -- Serbian representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) abstained from voting on a resolution on the situation in Ukraine.