Ukraine fails to break stalemate with pro-Russian protesters in east.
Ukraine's interim prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, attempted and failed on Friday to break a tense deadlock in the country's east, where armed pro-Russian protesters have barricaded themselves inside government buildings and demanded independence from Kiev.
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Yatsenyuk met officials from the eastern regions in Donetsk and promised to expand the powers of local government bodies and preserve the status of Russian as a second official language. But he did not meet representatives of the protesters who have declared a "people's republic" from a Donetsk administrative building and demanded that a referendum on independence be held by 11 May
A 48-hour deadline to clear the occupied buildings announced by Ukraine's interior minister came and went without incident, despite persistent rumours of an impending assault by government forces. Protest leaders said negotiations to clear the building had come to a standstill.
In Luhansk, further east, dozens of men remained barricaded inside the state security service headquarters, armed with Kalashnikovs. They demand a referendum on federalising Ukraine.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/11/ukraine-interim-prime-minister-fail-break-stalemate-east