Separatists seize town police HQ in east Ukraine: Ministry

KIEV (Reuters/AFP) - Pro-Russian separatists have seized the local police headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Monday.

"At 6am about 30 separatists came to the local police headquarters and occupied the ground floor. Negotiations are underway with the local police chief. We do not know what their demands are," said Ms Laryssa Volkova, an Interior Ministry spokesman.

An AFP reporter saw the separatists putting up barricades in the building.

Kostyantynivka has 80,000 inhabitants and is located mid-way between the flashpoint town of Slavyansk and the regional hub city of Donetsk, both of which are also under the control of insurgents.

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