Hundreds of mourners attend the funeral of a young nurse killed during a Ukrainian military assault in eastern city of Kramatorsk. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
AN AUSTRALIAN journalist has been held by armed pro-Russians after being caught up in a flashpoint town at the centre of the Ukraine crisis.
Channel Nine reporter Peter Stefanovic said the situation was "very tense" after he and his crew were held by armed men on the outskirts of rebel-held town of Slovyansk, Ukraine.
The death toll from a military offensive in Slovyansk has risen to at least 34, amid fresh warnings of civil war and the shutdown of a major airport in the region.
"Chaos and the risk of civil war" are now looming in Ukraine, said French President Francois Hollande, reflecting a frantic European push under way for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Violence ... Ukrainian soldiers man a checkpoint near the eastern city of Slavyansk, where the death toll from a military offensive rose to at least 34 amid fresh fears of a civil war. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
There are fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin could yet order an invasion into his ex-Soviet neighbour under the guise of a "peacekeeping" mission.
But the US general commanding NATO's military operations, Philip Breedlove, said Russian special forces the West believes are already deployed covertly "may be able to accomplish his (Putin's) objectives in eastern Ukraine" without the need to send in troops.
Kiev and its Western backers see Moscow's main aims as making sure Ukraine's east holds a planned "referendum" on Sunday calling for autonomy, and sabotaging all possibility of a nationwide presidential election two weeks later.
Bloodshed ... An armed Cossack attends the funeral ceremony for a pro-Russian activist killed during combat with Ukrainian troops in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
With those deadlines ticking closer, Ukraine's authorities on Monday stepped up their offensive to crush rebels holed up in Slavyansk, a flashpoint town of more than 110,000 people that is the epicentre of the insurgency.
"Four of our fighters were killed and 20 were wounded" in fierce fighting on Monday, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on his official Facebook page.
"According to our estimates over 30 terrorists were killed and dozens were wounded," he said.
In a sign of how well-armed and trained the pro-Russian fighters are, on Monday they shot down a helicopter gunship near the town — their third since the assault began last week.
Brink of war ... A pro-Russian gunman holds his weapon while guarding the local administration building in the centre of Slovyansk. Picture: AP Source: AP
Fighting had reportedly not yet reached the centre of town, but basic foodstuffs and other items were running increasingly short. Locals hostile to Kiev's government have strewed tree trunks and tyres across the streets to slow any army advance.
Ukraine's interim president Oleksandr Turchynov, meanwhile, appointed his acting army chief permanently to the post. He has already put his armed forces on combat alert and brought back conscription in preparation for a possible Russian invasion.
He has said that Moscow's meddling means "war is in effect being waged against us".
Separately on Tuesday, all flights in and out of Donetsk — a regional industrial hub of more than one million people — were suspended, according to airport authorities, who gave no reason for the action.
Fighting. Pro-Russian fighters take position by railway tracks on May 6, 2014, a day after heavy fightings between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian troops killed at least 34 people. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
Russia, which belatedly owned up to deploying its military to Crimea ahead of that region's own hastily organised independence referendum, continues to deny its special forces are active in east Ukraine.
Instead it says the insurgency there is a spontaneous rejection of the Ukrainian government that came to power in February, after Kiev street protests forced out the pro-Kremlin president.
Russia accuses the Ukrainian authorities of "waging war on their own people".
Russian state media, seen in east Ukraine, constantly refer to the new administration as being run by "fascists" who embrace a Nazi-style ideology.
That propaganda has struck a nerve in the southern port city of Odessa, where dozens of pro-Russian activists died in a horrific fire last Friday started during clashes with pro-Ukrainian militants, some of whom were ultranationalist extremists.
Turmoil ... Ukraine Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia (L) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) shake hands next to Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz (R) on the sidelines of a Council of Europe meeting in Vienna, which is focused on the Ukraine crisis. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
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