More violence shakes Ukraine

Local residents look at burnt cars near a checkpoint that was the scene of a gunfight overnight near the city of Slaviansk, April 20, 2014.

Gunfire erupted near a makeshift checkpoint manned by pro-Russian separatists near Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine early on Sunday, killing at least two people.

Kiev

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (L) shakes hands with Ukrainian and U.S. officials upon his arrival at Boryspil International airport outside Kiev, April 21, 2014.

Biden will announce a package of technical assistance focused on energy and economic aid distribution during a two day visit to Kiev, a senior administration official said on Monday.

Luhansk

Pro-Russian supporters shout slogans during a meeting at the seized office of the SBU state security service in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine, April 21, 2014.

An agreement reached last week to avert wider conflict in Ukraine was faltering as the new week began, with pro-Moscow separatist gunmen showing no sign of surrendering government buildings they have seized.

Slaviansk

Religious icons are seen at barricades at the police headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk, April 21, 2014.

Pro-Russian armed men walk past activists hanging up a "Donetsk Republic" flag outside the mayor's office in Slaviansk, April 21, 2014.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused Ukraine of violating an accord reached in Geneva last week aimed at averting a wider conflict.

Slaviansk

A pro-Russian protester stands at barricades at the police headquarters in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slaviansk, April 21, 2014.

Slaviansk

An armored personnel carrier (APC) with a Russian flag drives outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, April 21, 2014.

Slaviansk

An armed man in military fatigues guards a barricade outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, April 21, 2014.

Lugansk

Women sing the Russian national anthem during a pro-Russia rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk, April 21, 2014.

Slaviansk

A local boy looks through the scope on a machine gun as a pro-Russian armed man stands guard outside the mayor's office in Slaviansk, April 20, 2014.

Pro-Russian authorities in eastern Ukraine presented identity documents, maps and a business card to support their view that Ukrainian far-right nationalists had carried out a deadly attack early on Sunday.

The nationalists and authorities in Kiev said it was a staged display to conceal the hand of Russian secret services in the gunfight, in which at least three people were killed.

Donetsk

A masked pro-Russia protester stands guard at a park outside a regional government building in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, April 20, 2014.

Slaviansk

A local resident reacts after looking at the bodies of victims of a gunfight overnight near the city of Slaviansk, April 20, 2014.

Slaviansk

The leader of the separatist rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov (R) holds a press-conference, April 20, 2014.

Pro-Moscow rebels in the east Ukraine town of Slaviansk declared a curfew there Sunday, after a gun battle with unidentified attackers killed two militants. Ponomaryov told reporters that "the curfew comes into effect today."

Slaviansk

The leader of the separatist rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov (R), escorted by an armed man, arrives to attend a press-conference, April 20, 2014. P

Slaviansk

An armed pro-Russian militiant looks for ammunition casings as he stands guard at a check-point outside the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, April 20, 2014.

Donetsk

A pro-Russian activist on guard outside of the Donetsk Regional Administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine, April 19, 2014.

The group of activists who are occupying the building have surrounded it with a barricade of tires and barbed wire and are prepared to defend it with caches of Molotov cocktails strategically placed within the barricade.

Activist leader, Denis Pushilin, who is co-head of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, said yesterday that they will not surrender until there is a change of leadership in Ukraine. Several bands of separatists, similar to those in Donetsk, have been occupying government buildings in other eastern Ukraine cities in recent weeks.

Donetsk

A masked pro-Russia protester stands guard at a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, April 19, 2014.

A day after an international deal in Geneva to defuse the East-West crisis in Ukraine, pro-Russian separatists vowed not to end their occupation of public buildings and Washington threatened further sanctions on Moscow if the stalemate continued.

Donetsk

Pro-Russian protesters play soccer in front of a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, April 19, 2014.

Lugansk

People draped in Ukrainian flags attend a pro-Ukrainian rally in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk, April 19, 2014.

Donetsk

Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko (C) speaks to journalists during a news conference in Donetsk, April 18, 2014.

Donetsk

A pro-Russian separatists walk past a map a regional government building in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, April 18, 2014.

Slaviansk

A flag in the colours of the Ribbon of Saint George, which has become a symbol of Pro-Russian sentiment, flutters as pro-Russian supporters gather outside the mayor's office in Slaviansk, April 18, 2014.

Slaviansk

Pro-Russian activists hold up a flag of the soc-alled "Donetsk republic" as they take part in a rally in front of the regional state building seized by pro-Russian separatists, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, April 18, 2014.

Slaviansk

An armed pro-Russian activist stands guard at a barricade outside the regional state building seized by the separatists, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk, April 18, 2014.

Donetsk

Ukrainian riot police officers stand guard as a pro-Kiev protester walks past draped in a Ukranian flag during a rally in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, April 17, 2014.