Disorder in Odessa

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Mourners grieve at the coffin of Vyacheslav Markin, a regional parliament deputy who died in a fire at the trade union building, May 5, 2014.

Pro-Russian militants stormed a Ukrainian police station in Odessa on Sunday and freed nearly 70 fellow activists as the country's leaders lamented a police force they said was widely undermined by graft or collaboration with separatists.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A man holds carnations through a broken window of a burnt trade union building, the site of recent street battles between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian supporters, in the Black Sea port of Odessa, May 4, 2014.

Passions ran high in Odessa before local soccer team Chornomorets was due to play Kharkiv's Metalist. Fans who joined together to sing support for Ukraine's new leaders knew they might attract some trouble in the Russian-speaking city, but no one expected the chain of events that ended in the death of over 40 people.

Odessa, Ukraine

Andrew Kravchenko/Reuters

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk (L) visits a local hospital in the Black Sea port of Odessa, May 4, 2014.

Yatseniuk accused Russia on Sunday of engineering clashes in Odessa that led to the deaths of more than 40 pro-Russian activists in a blazing building and pushed the country closer to civil war.

Yatseniuk, speaking in Odessa, attacked police forces in the Black Sea port city, suggesting they were more interested in the fruits of corruption than maintaining order.

Odessa, Ukraine

Yevgeny Volokin/Reuters

A protester throws a petrol bomb at the trade union building in Odessa, May 2, 2014.

More than 40 people were killed in a fire on Friday in the trade union building in the centre of Ukraine's southern port city of Odessa.

Odessa, Ukraine

Yevgeny Volokin/Reuters

People wait to be rescued on an upper-story ledge during a fire at the trade union building, May 2, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Yevgeny Volokin/Reuters

A protester walks past a burning pro-Russian tent camp near the trade union building, May 2, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A man, wearing a black and orange ribbon of St. George, a symbol widely associated with pro-Russian protests in Ukraine, reacts outside a trade union building, where a deadly fire occurred, with members from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry security forces seen in the background, May 3, 2014.

Donetsk, Ukraine

Marko Djurica/Reuters

A man who is accused by pro-Russia protesters of being a "provokator", stands outside the district council building, May 4, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A woman argues with Ukrainian Interior Ministry security forces members during a rally outside a trade union building, May 3, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Participants of a rally welcome a man who was just released from a city police department and who was earlier arrested in recent street battles between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian supporters in the Black Sea port of Odessa, May 4, 2014.

Police in Ukraine's southern port town of Odessa started on Sunday to release pro-Russian activists detained in clashes two days ago.

Odessa, Ukraine

Yevgeny Volokin/Reuters

Women bring flowers in memory of people killed in recent street battles outside a trade union building, where a deadly fire occurred, May 3, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

A steward holds a portrait of Vyacheslav Markin, a regional parliament deputy who died in a fire at the trade union building on Friday, May 5, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Mourners grieve at the coffin of Vyacheslav Markin, May 5, 2014.

Odessa, Ukraine

Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Pro-Russian supporters shout slogans during a rally after a funeral ceremony of Vyacheslav Markin, May 5, 2014.