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DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian separatists have seized a police building in yet another city in Russian-leaning eastern Ukraine. They're defying government warnings that it's preparing to act against the insurgents.
Dozens of angry men hurled rocks, smashed the windows and broke into a police station in the city of Horlivka not far from the border with Russia, while hundreds of onlookers cheered them on. Thick white smoke rose from the entrance to the building.
The events in Horlivka are the latest sign of trouble in Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions, in which pro-Russian gunmen have seized a number of government buildings demanding more autonomy from the central government and closer ties with Russia.
Meanwhile, the Interfax news agency is reporting that an anti-terrorist operation is underway in the Donetsk region, which the local governor says is aimed at "protecting the peace and order on our land, which today is being taken away from us by armed, aggressive fanatics cynically and cold-bloodedly."
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