Pro-Russian separatists seize Ukrainian armoured vehicles. [View all]

Source: Guardian

Pro-Russian armed separatists have seized five armoured personnel carriers and a tank from the Ukrainian army, which they then drove in a victory lap through the centre of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's east, where government forces are attempting to wrest back control of the city.

About 100 heavily armed men, some in balaclavas and wearing military fatigues, rode on top of the seized armoured vehicles, the first of which was flying a Russian tricolor. Several hundred locals gathered around the convoy, cheering, tooting their car horns and waving in support as it rolled passed the Kramatorsk's railway station, not far from the airfield where Ukrainian soldiers clashed with separatists on Tuesday.

Ukrainian military helicopters hovered above the dramatic scenes in central Kramatorsk but there seemed to be no attempt by government forces to try and wrest back control of the situation.

The seized armoured personnel carriers were driven to Savyansk, where a Russian flag had been raised above a checkpoint at the city entrance. Separately, there were unconfirmed reports that armed men have captured the city administration building in nearby Donetsk.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/16/pro-russian-separatists-seize-ukrainian-armoured-vehicles