kim vanel, al jazeera, donetske. >> treasury secretary jacob lew, says the u.s. will continue to hold russia accountable for its action he in the country. >> we are fully prepared to impose additional sanction he on russia, including apparently through support through a concerted campaign by armed militants in east ukraine. during the g-7 meetings that took place there was broad and strong unity on increasing there sanctions and cost in response to escalating action from russia. >> that u.s. loan guarantee will be part of an $18 billion aid package from the u.n. monetary fund. the pentagon calling action he made by russian action he over the weekend provocative. a fighter jet buzzing a navy ship. aircraft was unarmed and never posed a threat but called those action he unprofessional. >>> a deadly bombing during the morning rush hour in nigeria. happened at a bus station there. at least 70 people are dead, 124 injured. all happened on the outsecurities of abuja. yvonne ndege reports. >>> large numbers cordoned off the scene. if you look beyond the cordon, if i mov

from donetske, kim vanel reports. >> this is a celebration of independence. thousands of pro-russia demonstrators, listening to songs of the sof yes era, those inside by midday called donetske an independent republic. not only here today have they announced donetske is now an independent republic, they've also declared inside a resolution, passing on to vladimir putin asking for his help. their first demand, a referendum whether to join russia. >> translator: we are addressing you vladimir putin as the last hope for our future and the future of our children. in russia we see the last remaining defender of the cowltd culture of the russian world. s. >> responds with violence. ukraine's acting president though says russia is to blame, accusing it of sending provocateurs across the border. >> the second wave of the russian federation, the goal is to destabilize the situation in the country, topple ukrainian properties, and to tear our country apart. >> activists have spread across the city, at a local television station, sent activists running. at main sites pol

our kim vanel is on the ground in donetske. >> reporter: it is still not clear where they came from but at least six armored personnel carriers rolled into donetske. they were greeted with enthusiasm by some of the locals. defected to their side. >> translator: the ukrainian paratroopers switched to the people's side. you can count for yourself how many of us there are. >> reporter: occupying the regional headquarters in donetske. they took over the building ten days ago and declared a people's republic. the people are maintaining they are not separatists but locals from donetske who want more autonomy from kiev, are referendum on the sex-styled republic of donetske, and will picket if their demands are not met. armed but have not made any demands of the authorities. this man said we are not going to open fire first. if they make the first move it will be very bad for them. the capitol kiev ukraine's president accused russia of being behind donetske. >> russia has a new export. aside from oil and gas, russia is now exporting terrorism. sabotage groups are performing active terror in ukr

kim vanel in the region of donetske. >> this is the moment the protestersors in horlivka. this takeover was streamed online. like many others. the ukrainian president said the government would be coming in to credit quell the unrest. government buildings continue to fall. a few blocks away horlivka's toinl was also taken over. -- city council was also taken over. they were told to weigh the flag of donetske deaf ukraine. telling journalists to spread their demands. this video also said to be in horlivka claims to depict officers defecting to russia. pro-unity protesters say the government should be moving faster to quell tensions in the east and hold interior minister responsible. >> he has to force his employees in the donetske, kharkiv and slovyansk region. ,. >> backtrack on the earlier stance, oleksander turchynov says, divided allegiance he make it difficult. >> one of the problems is that police force were formed when ousted president viktor yanukovych held power. they are demonstrating an inability to defend citizens and the separatist movement. >> the government is

kim vanel, al jazeera, donetske. >> some refused to leave, among theme dutch priest. he stayed behind to help syrian christians. he was killed today in homs. shot by masked gunmen. >> for years, this had been a sarnght wear and for -- sanctuary. and for 50 years, father francis luck had built a community based on tolerance and compassion. we send soup to the elderly who are stuck at home alone or injured and can't leave their homes. a mosque a thousand years old. but today when the bell tolls faintly for the christians here, there's almost no one to hear it. this is the old city of homs, used to be 70,000 christians here. today fewer than 70 are left. more than 60 chumps were destroyed. in fact, nearly all of homs old city was destroyed. an antigovernment activist posted this video on youtube. the two sides fought brutally. and the opposition says the government cordoned the city off and choked its residents. this woman says she's had no medicine, flour, electricity since 2012. francis had the chance to leave. he refused. january he released a plea via youtube. it's i

al jazeera's kim vanel is in the city of h donetske. >> reporter: prorussian forces, hundreds are spied, others standing outside supporting them. bashebarbed wire, organized, fod being blawt in, severing breakfast. they are asking that representatives from around the region, to come here to donetske and declare a people's council. they then want to ask, rather, demand that the government in kiev give them autonomy and they amend the referendum, so they can choose their own futures, whether to go to moscow or not. ukraine's interior minister has come out and says it appears to be some conspiracy between yeung anyanukovych and putin. to help the pro-russian sentiment here to grow. interestingly, the polls would suggest that pro russian sentiment is actually falling in the region, perhaps indicating that while the sentiment may be falling, the people who do want to join moscow, look towards yanukovych is very much mobilized are making sure they're voicer are heard -- voices are being heard. >> oscar pistorius, through tears, he apologize to her family. the judge overseeing the trial, preve

buildings, buildings quickly fall to go protesters in the east, the use of force could be difficult t kim vanelle jazeera. >>> in terms of the u.s. response, vice president joe biden is heading to ukraine later on this week. secretary of state john kerry says there will be consequences if the russians don't stand down. u.n. ambassador samantha powers says there is no question that russian agents are behind the rebate attacks in eastern ukraine. >> it has the tell-tale signs of what we saw in crimea. it's professional, coordinated. nothing grassroots seeming about it. the forces are doing in each of the six or seven cities that they have been active in exactly the same thing. so certainly, it bears the tell-tale signs of moscow's involvement. >> barrels full of chemicals have been dropped on three grudges across syria, including on the outskirts of damascus. the assad regime points the finger at a group linked to al-qaeda while opposition says it's the work of the government. it sparked outrage from president obama as well as world leaders. this time around, it seems the international community ha

kim vanel, al jazeera, donetske. >>> armed groups in the east want to break the country apart. >> the government has firmedly stated that we have been and will continue protecting the right of national minorities, the right of russian-speaking citizens the right of every region and every citizen but unfortunately those terrorists who are taking action he in the east of the country are not defending the rights of the residents of donetske, luhansk or any other part of the country. >> confirmed ukraine is asking for support from u.n. >> its normal address from the state to the united nations asking for the assistance. we need this assistance because the threat is obvious. russian forces are still on the borders and they're secret officers operating around the ukraine. that's why we need this help. to gather peace keepers from the united nations we need the approval of the security council. if russian ambassador is going to support it. to have a local referendum a special law should be introduced if to follow the legal way. because still in our package there is no law on the -- any law o

kim vanel, al jazeera, donetske. >> we talked about ukraine's options. >> there is a bit of a no win situation. we don't know which response will work best. they can let the rioting and protests continue but then they're going to lose control of those regions. they can intervene with their own forces, but they risk russian intervention. they're in a very tough position because the west will give them moral support, give them advice, post sanction he on russia but they're not going to intervene in a countermilitary operation to save them. >> russia still might not intervene with its military. the instability gives moscow leverage over ukraine's government. stay with us, we'll have much more on the u.n. security council meeting on al jazeera america. >>> not everyone is happy with the government. thousands marched through moscow announcing a extreme clamp down on the press. >> the supporters of free speech were gathering in moscow at a time of real crisis. those here on sunday claim there is virtually no independent voice left. the media clamped down by president putin,. >> protest by

kim vanel has more from donetske. >>> this is the moment that protesters stormed the city, 100 men took part in the assault, which like many was streamed online. there's been no sign so far of any government operation in state buildings continue to fall. a few blocks away, horlivka's city council was also taken over in a brisk but peaceful operation. across the east are now being told to raise the flag of the republic of donetske as opposed to the russian flag. people have ousted the current mayor. checkpoints around the region. crowts outside cheer -- crowds outside cheer the military on. claims to show ukrainian officers who changed side. the video cannot be independently verified but the man giving orders says he's a russian lieutenant. in the capitol pro-unity protesters took their frustrations to the internal ministry. they say the government should be moving faster to quell unrest in the east. >> translator: he has to force his employees in the are donetske, kharkiv region in threat thing the international territorial integrity in the region. if he can't do that he should resign.

kim vanel, al jazeera, donetske. >> direct involvement in eastern ukraine. u.s. ambassador posted these flight images on twitter. our rosalyn jordan has more. >> perhaps the most significant development on wednesday was a face-to-face meeting should take place sometime in the next seven to ten days. who would be at that face-to-face meeting? russia, ukraine, the eu and the u.s. the idea would be to give the parties a chance to express their concerns and start hammering out some of the ways that they could possibly resolve this political and sometimes violent crisis. this is a situation that clearly has raised the stakes with the u.s. imposing economic sanctions on some former ukrainian government officials circulation on be some current -- some current russian officials but the u.s. is keen to see this situation resolved sooner rather than later. it's can concerned about the instability growing in eastern ukraine. russia for its part does have legitimate concerns and whenever this meeting is scheduled it is hoped on making a bit of progress on resolving some of t

kim vanel, al jazeera. >> that's it for europe. let's go back to adrian in de la. >> fiery football match in poland. erica >> all right time for ports here, farral. >> adrian thank you very much. threw a banana at a brazilian footballer. reaction from an anti-violence commission. will have his ticket revoked for life, lengthy stadium ban and fine. >>> responded after that game by saying we have suffered this in spain for some time. you have to take it with a dose of humor. we aren't going to change things easily if you don't give it importance they don't achieve their objective. >>> sport has gone viral. football stars posting pictures of themselves with bananas. the striker using the hashtag we are all monkeys. solidarity with brazil female player mar that. we say no to racism he tweeted. are pierre power, he is from the fair network that addresses races in football. from london. why does this continue to be such a problem not only in spain but across europe? >> well, i think there's a number of different factors. and actually in

so far, the group in donesk is refusing to budge and kim vanell is in donesk with more. >>> from inside their barricaded empire, protesters keep watch as reinforcements arrive. this, they say, is their domain, an independent republic representing the people. the offer of an amnesty quickly refused by those at the top who say they would rather face the use of force. >> there has been a lot of statements about storming buildings we are living from one statement to the next. what can we do? we are not ready to step aside. the people are not ready to either. the offer came, saying if they leave they won't face prosecution. as part of the deal, they could gain more regional control. >> we are ready to consider the issue of reform, of local government and expanding the rights of local coun sizzle including the creation of executive authorities for councils. we are ready to take that path to the regions. we will also be responsible for the situation in the country and not just refer to what's going on kiev. >> protesters say it's the authorities in kiev who should listen to their demands and n

kim vanell has the latest. >> this is the police station, usually a place for local officers, now in hands of pro-russian activists. more than a dozen gunmen, many with professional-grade weapons go in and out of the building. it's unclear how many more may be waiting inside. outside the building, local supporters gathers. hundreds chanting the records "referendum." they say they want the people to vote on autonomy from kiev. many believe the interim government is i will legitimate and not listening to the people in the east. >> our people want to live quietly and peacefully without the junta who seized power in kiev. we don't want to be their slaves. we want to be with russia. >> they took the building in the early hours of saturday morning. this video shot from across the road shows them preparing to enter through a window wi. within hours they had fortified their positions. >> just seen a truckload of reinforcements arrive. right now, as you can see, they are pulling out large tires to reinforce their barricades. people are arriving all the time bringing supplies, food, handing th