Pope Tells Mafia: Repent Or Prepare For Hell

Pope Francis has warned members of the mafia that they will go to hell if they do not repent and renounce evil.

Speaking at a prayer vigil for relatives of victims of organised crime, the Pontiff said: "The power, the money, that you have now coming from so many dirty businesses, so many Mafiosi crimes, it's blood-stained money, blood-stained power, you can't bring it with you to your next life. Repent.

"There's still time to not end up in hell, which is what awaits you if you continue on this path."

His appearance marked the first time a pope has attended the annual event - now in its 19th year - which is held on the first day of spring.

At the vigil held in Rome's San Gregorio church, Francis met around 900 relatives of people murdered by the mafia.

After expressing his solidarity with the family members, he said that he could not leave the service without speaking to those not present: the "protagonists" of mafia violence.

The Pope shakes hands with victims' families as he leaves the church

"I feel that I cannot finish without addressing those who are greatly absent today, the protagonists who are not here, the men and women who are part of the mafia. Please, change your lifestyle, convert, stop doing evil," he said.

"Convert, you still have time not to end up in hell, that is what awaits you if you continue on this path. You too had a father and a mother, think of them, cry a little and convert."

The brutality of Italy's gangsters was highlighted this week following the death of Domenico Petruzzelli, a two-year-old killed along with his mother and her companion in a suspected mob hit in the southern city of Taranto in which assailants opened fire on their car. 

In January, after the charred body of a three-year-old boy was found in a burned car alongside his grandfather and another woman, Francis urged the suspected mafia killers to "repent and convert to the Lord".

The Pope has spoken out frequently about the evils of corruption, and wrote a short booklet on corruption and sin in 2005 when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

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Monitoring Mission Agreed As Crimea Annexed

Russia has consented to the deployment of scores of civilian observers to monitor the political and security situation in Ukraine.

The 57 member countries of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have agreed for an initial deployment of 100 monitors to regions in the east, south and west.

Up to 400 more could be added "as necessary and according to the situation", diplomats said.

Western countries have been pushing hard for an observer mission as a way of preventing an escalation of tensions in Ukraine following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

Russia had blocked the plan on previous occasions.

OSCE vice-chairperson Thomas Greminger welcomed the decision as a "very meaningful contribution to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine".

While US ambassador Daniel Baer remained optimistic that the mission would have access throughout Ukraine, including Crimea, Russia maintained the observers would not be welcome in the Black Sea peninsula.

Pro-Russia supporters celebrate the annexation in Simferopol, Crimea

Russian Federation ambassador Andrei Kelin said observers have "no mandate over there ... Crimea is a part of the Russian Federation".

Mr Baer said OSCE teams would start deploying within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign affairs minister said that a political association agreement signed between the European Union and Ukraine was the choice of the Ukrainian people.

Speaking in Brussels, Andrii Deshchytsia said the agreement had been on the table for years.

The highly symbolic piece of paper is part of the same EU deal that touched off Ukraine's political crisis when then-President Viktor Yanukovych rejected it in November and chose a bailout from Russia instead.

At the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed parliamentary legislation incorporating Crimea into Russia, hailing it as a "remarkable event".

Moscow celebrates the annexation of Crimea with a fireworks display

Prime Minister David Cameron and other EU leaders imposed sanctions on 12 more people to punish Moscow for its takeover of the Ukrainian territory.

The EU also agreed to step up moves to reduce the bloc's reliance on Russian energy. Mr Cameron said EU members needed to do more to develop their own reserves, as well as their ability to use gas from overseas producers, including the US.

The Prime Minister said: "Our message to Russia is clear: choose the path to diplomacy and de-escalation or face increasing isolation and tighter and tighter sanctions."

Mr Cameron also refused to rule out further sanctions against several oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

The White House announced US President Barack Obama would be embarking on a six-day trip to Europe on Monday, including The Hague for a nuclear security summit and a meeting of the G7, then to Brussels for a summit of European leaders and a meeting with the Nato secretary general.

He will also be going to Rome and the Vatican to meet Pope Francis, before leaving the continent to head to Saudi Arabia.

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US-Russia Spat: Faces At The Heart Of The Feud

The fresh wave of US sanctions against Russia include banning some of the country's richest and most influential businessmen - and President Vladimir Putin's closest friends - from entering America.

Among the individuals targeted with and travel bans and freezing of US assets are billionaire brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.

The co-owners of SMP Bank and SGM Group, a major supplier of construction services to Russian gas giant Gazprom, were judo sparring partners with Mr Putin.

The pair - friends of Mr Putin since childhood - also made billions in Sochi Olympics-related contracts.

Financier Yuri Kovalchuk, the largest shareholder of Bank Rossiya, is a personal banker for senior Russian officials - including, reportedly, Mr Putin. He is another close friend - and a neighbour - of the president.

They have known each other since the early 1990s when Mr Kovalchuk was deputy mayor of St Petersburg.

The bank - also on the hit list - serves some of the country's wealthiest officials and controls two big insurance firms - Sogas and SK Transneft.

Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko

High-level Kremlin officials including Mr Putin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and deputy chief of staff Alexei Gromov are also targeted, as well as Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the board of the Russian state-owned company Russian Railways and a close confidant of the president.

Gennady Timchenko, a prominent businessman and owner of the private investment group, Volga Group, which specialises in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets is also named by the US.

President Putin's spokesman said some of the names on the list caused "nothing but extreme bewilderment" - and Russia immediately responded with its own list of sanctions on American officials.

These included Obama aides Caroline Atkinson (deputy assistant and deputy national security adviser for international economics), Daniel Pfeiffer (senior adviser and assistant ), and Benjamin Rhodes (assistant and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting), as well as senators Mary Landrieu, John McCain and Daniel Coats.

Mr McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, and Mr Putin have long been engaged in a bitter personal feud.

During their last war of words in September 2013, the US senator accused Mr Putin of corruption, repression and self-serving rule in an opinion piece for a Russian website in response to a letter Mr Putin wrote in The New York Times, urging America not to use military force in Syria.

White House staff Daniel Pfeiffer and Caroline Atkinson

In an opinion piece headlined "Russians Deserve Better Than Putin", Mr McCain also accused the president of being "a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed" for siding with Syria's President Bashar al Assad.

Back in December 2011, Mr Putin let his views be known on Mr McCain after the US politician tweeted "Dear Vlad, The #ArabSpring is coming to a neighbourhood near you" at a time of huge protests across Moscow.

When pressed about the tweet during a televised phone-in, the Russian president hit back, calling the senator "nuts".

"Mr McCain fought in Vietnam. I think he has enough blood of peaceful citizens on his hands. It must be impossible for him to live without these disgusting scenes anymore," he said.

Mr Putin added: "Mr McCain was captured and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years. Anyone [in his place] would go nuts."

Earlier this month, Speaker of the House John Boehner, also on the Russian list, called Mr Putin a "thug" over its actions in Crimea, according to The Enquirer.

The Republican told the Cincinnati newspaper it was "time to stand up to Putin", adding: "At what point do you say enough is enough? We are at that point."

He, and Senators Landrieu, McCain and Coats hailed their inclusion on the Russian list as a "badge of honour", while the White House refused to comment.

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Ukraine Crisis: EU Sanctions For More Russians

Faces Caught In The Middle Of US-Russia Spat

Updated: 8:45pm UK, Thursday 20 March 2014

The fresh wave of US sanctions against Russia include banning some of the country's richest and most influential businessmen - and President Vladimir Putin's closest friends - from entering America.

Among the individuals targeted with and travel bans and freezing of US assets are billionaire brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.

The co-owners of SMP Bank and SGM Group, a major supplier of construction services to Russian gas giant Gazprom, were judo sparring partners with Mr Putin.

The pair - friends of Mr Putin since childhood - also made billions in Sochi Olympics-related contracts.

Financier Yuri Kovalchuk, the largest shareholder of Bank Rossiya, is a personal banker for senior Russian officials - including, reportedly, Mr Putin. He is another close friend - and a neighbour - of the president.

They have known each other since the early 1990s when Mr Kovalchuk was deputy mayor of St Petersburg.

The bank - also on the hit list - serves some of the country's wealthiest officials and controls two big insurance firms - Sogas and SK Transneft.

High-level Kremlin officials including Mr Putin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and deputy chief of staff Alexei Gromov are also targeted, as well as Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the board of the Russian state-owned company Russian Railways and a close confidant of the president.

Gennady Timchenko, a prominent businessman and owner of the private investment group, Volga Group, which specialises in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets is also named by the US.

President Putin's spokesman said some of the names on the list caused "nothing but extreme bewilderment" - and Russia immediately responded with its own list of sanctions on American officials.

These included Obama aides Caroline Atkinson (deputy assistant and deputy national security adviser for international economics), Daniel Pfeiffer (senior adviser and assistant ), and Benjamin Rhodes (assistant and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting), as well as senators Mary Landrieu, John McCain and Daniel Coats.

Mr McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, and Mr Putin have long been engaged in a bitter personal feud.

During their last war of words in September 2013, the US senator accused Mr Putin of corruption, repression and self-serving rule in an opinion piece for a Russian website in response to a letter Mr Putin wrote in The New York Times, urging America not to use military force in Syria.

In an opinion piece headlined "Russians Deserve Better Than Putin", Mr McCain also accused the president of being "a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed" for siding with Syria's President Bashar al Assad.

Back in December 2011, Mr Putin let his views be known on Mr McCain after the US politician tweeted "Dear Vlad, The #ArabSpring is coming to a neighbourhood near you" at a time of huge protests across Moscow.

When pressed about the tweet during a televised phone-in, the Russian president hit back, calling the senator "nuts".

"Mr McCain fought in Vietnam. I think he has enough blood of peaceful citizens on his hands. It must be impossible for him to live without these disgusting scenes anymore," he said.

Mr Putin added: "Mr McCain was captured and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years. Anyone [in his place] would go nuts."

Earlier this month, Speaker of the House John Boehner, also on the Russian list, called Mr Putin a "thug" over its actions in Crimea, according to The Enquirer.

The Republican told the Cincinnati newspaper it was "time to stand up to Putin", adding: "At what point do you say enough is enough? We are at that point."

He, and Senators Landrieu, McCain and Coats hailed their inclusion on the Russian list as a "badge of honour", while the White House refused to comment.

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Ukraine Moves to Pull Troops Out Of Crimea

Plans to withdraw Ukrainian troops from the Crimea are being drawn up by the Kiev government after pro-Russian forces tightened their grip on the region.

The move to pull-out the heavily outnumbered service personnel stranded on the peninsula followed the seizing of military bases, including the Ukrainian navy's headquarters in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol.

In the seemingly tense but peaceful takeover by militia backed by masked gunmen, the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Admiral Sergei Haiduk, was detained by troops thought to be Russian special forces.

Authorities in Kiev have demanded Crimea's pro-Moscow leaders release him or face "an adequate response".

In other developments, Ukraine is to introduce visas for Russians visiting the country, and announced it is to hold joint military exercises with the US and UK.

Armed troops - believed to be Russian servicemen - guard the naval base

It is also quitting a Russian-dominated alliance of former Soviet nations.

At the same time, President Barack Obama has ruled out US military involvement in Ukraine, and instead stressed the diplomatic pressure that could be brought to bear.

Joe Biden's mission to Eastern Europe aimed to reassure US allies

He told American TV: "We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine.

"There is a better path, but I think even the Ukrainians would acknowledge that for us to engage Russia militarily would not be appropriate and would not be good for Ukraine either."

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has warned it will respond "in kind" to US sanctions, and in a new worrying escalation to the tense stand-off, Moscow said it may change its stance in the Iranian nuclear talks.

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov is reported as saying Russia did not want to use the nuclear negotiations to "raise stakes", but may have to do so in response to the actions by the US and European Union.

The statement is the most serious threat of retaliation by Moscow after the West announced sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis.

Tensions in the region remain high after troops stormed an army base in the Crimean capital Simferopol on Tuesday, killing a Ukrainian soldier.

Crimea has voted in a referendum to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex the peninsula to Russia, and other states in the region have been looking warily at the escalating crisis.

Ukrainians leaving the base were cheered by people waving Russian flags

Issuing a warning to Moscow, US Vice President Joe Biden said, during a trip to Lithuania, that the US will respond to any aggression against its Nato allies.

"Russia cannot escape the fact that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behaviour," Mr Biden said, after meeting the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia.

The Baltic states, unlike Ukraine, are Nato members.

Nato's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russia's intervention in Ukraine posed the most serious threat to Europe's security since the end of the Cold War, and warned Moscow it faced international isolation.

And UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is heading to Russia and Ukraine to seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

A Ukrainian naval officer leaves his base in Sevastopol

Mr Ban will meet with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday, and with Ukraine's interim leaders in Kiev on Friday.

But in the divided east of Ukraine, masked members of a pro-Russian self-defence unit manned checkpoints at entrances to Donetsk to protect the city from "Western forces".

Russia has also announced it is to pay off Crimea's estimated budget deficit, put at an estimated £900m.

And Mr Putin announced plans to build a rail and road bridge from Crimea to southern Russia, and so avoiding the need to go through mainland Ukraine.

At the same time, a US guided-missile destroyer the USS Truxtun started a one-day military exercise in the Black Sea with the Bulgarian and Romanian navy and the Russian military launched large-scale aviation exercises in western regions.

Leading members of the US Congress are also demanding that international observers are sent to eastern and southern Ukraine.

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Missing Plane: 'Objects May Be MH370 Debris'

Two objects possibly related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have been spotted, the Australian Prime Minister has said.

Tony Abbott said potential debris from the Boeing 777 had been spotted on satellite imagery in the south Indian Ocean.

There is no indication of what the objects might be, although an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said the objects were of a "reasonable size", with one about 25 metres in length.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Abbott said a Royal Australian Air Force jet and three further aircraft have been "tasked with a more intensive follow-up search".

Mr Abbott briefs MPs about the sighting of two potential objects from MH370

He described the reported sighting, about 1,550 miles (2,500km) southwest of Perth, as "credible" and a "potentially important development".

But he warned: "The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to search for MH370."

The search for the missing plane has been focussed on two specific corridors, one of which extends towards the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

Military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand have been scouring the vast area, which was halved in size to 118,000 sq miles (305,000 sq km) on Wednesday.

Australian search teams have been scouring the Indian Ocean

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

Investigators believe two vital pieces of communication equipment were intentionally switched off and the aircraft deliberately diverted, potentially taking it thousands of miles off course.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours after it was turned back across Malaysia towards the Strait of Malacca.

Aviation expert Captain Jon Cox told Sky News that if the objects are confirmed as debris from flight MH370, they are likely to include seat cushions and items of baggage that would float for a considerable amount of time.

Relatives of missing passengers are led away by Malaysian officials

The development comes after a news conference was interrupted by relatives frustrated at a lack of information from officials.

There were chaotic scenes as two women were bundled out and shut in another room before being led away.

Investigators are considering a number of theories about what happened to the aircraft, including hijacking, sabotage and terrorism.

However, background checks on all foreign passengers bar three from Ukraine and Russia have yielded "no information of significance", Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Files from a flight simulator used by the plane's captain, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, are being examined by experts at the FBI, after it was revealed data was deleted last month.

The pilot is considered innocent until proven guilty and members of his family are co-operating with the the investigation, Mr Hishammuddin said.

More follows...

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Missing Plane: No Pilot Suicide Notes Found

Police searching the homes of the pilots of flight MH370 have not found any suicide notes, officials have revealed.

The men at the controls of the Boeing 777 - Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah and first officer Fariq Abdul Hamid - have been one of the focuses of the investigation into the missing plane.

"The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is always hope," Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference.

The home of Mr Zaharie has been searched by police

Mr Hamid is believed to have made the last communication from the flight, speaking to air traffic control before the plane vanished 10 days ago.  

Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said at the news conference that initial investigations into a recording of the exchange suggested the first officer was the one who calmly said: "All right, good night" as the plane passed into Vietnamese air space.

The plane's transponder - which relays the plane's location - was switched off just two minutes after the voice message.

Both pilots' homes have been searched and a flight simulator belonging to Mr Zaharie is now in police hands, officials said.

The missing plane could have landed at hundreds of locations. Pic: WNYC

Authorities stressed that the backgrounds of all the passengers and crew were being checked - as well as ground staff who may have worked on the plane before takeoff.

However, officials at Monday's news conference did not comment on reports that police were investigating a passenger who had aviation experience.

Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat said on social media sites he was a flight engineer working for a Swiss-based private jet charter company.

The 29-year-old's apparent experience means he would have a knowledge of in-flight computer systems and be able to carry out repairs.

A senior police official with knowledge of the investigation said: "The focus is on anyone who might have had aviation skills on that plane."

However, as an engineer specialising in executive jets, he would not necessarily have had the skills required to divert and fly a Boeing 777.

And Mr Selamat's father has told Sky News police had not approached anyone in the family about his son.

Mr Selamat's father, Selamat Omar, told Sky News there was no reason to suspect him.

Mr Hamid, left, and Mr Zaharie were the pilots on the missing jet

He said: "Since he was young, my son has always been a very good boy. He's obedient, and as he grew older, it gets easier because my son became like my friend."

He added: "I am very confident that this plane and its passengers are safe because this confidence came when the government announced that the plane could be detected."

The search for the plane has dramatically widened as satellite data suggests the Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board, flew for at least seven hours - more than six hours after it lost contact with air traffic control.

It has been claimed it could have landed at one of 634 runways spread across at least a dozen countries.

Researchers at WNYC searched for runways with a length of at least 0.95 miles (1.52km) within a radius of 2,530 miles (4,070km) from the aircraft's last known position.

The number of countries involved in the search for the plane has nearly doubled over the past two days to 26, after satellite and military radar data projected two large corridors the plane might have flown through.

The northern corridor stretches in an arc over south and central Asia, while the other swoops deep into the southern Indian Ocean towards Australia.

Malaysia announced that it was deploying its naval and air force assets to the southern corridor, with Australia vowing substantial assistance.

But on Monday a US defence official said the USS Kidd, which had been searching the Indian Ocean, will now return to normal duties.

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Ukrainians 'Ready To Fight Russia In War'

West Targets Putin's Senior Aides

Updated: 7:54pm UK, Monday 17 March 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor, Moscow

He had roared out his displeasure: There would be "severe costs" over Russia's invasion of the Crimea.

Then America's president bleated.

Meanwhile in Europe foreign ministers did what they often do at a time of crisis, they reached for the paperwork.

The result of this two-pronged attack must have left the targets of their displeasure, 11 named by Russia and 21 as yet unnamed by Brussels, feeling as if they had been savaged by a teddy.

While Russian troops armed with the latest surface-to-surface missiles tore up the earth on the borders with Ukraine, and more were securing the Crimea's widely condemned secession, the West went one up from sending a strongly-worded letter of complaint.

Visa bans and assets seizures are to be imposed by Washington and London. The people picked out for this treatment are close to Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

They include Vladislav Surkov, a senior aide to Putin. Sergey Glazyev is a member of Russian Academy of Science. He's a former minister and a founder of the Rodina Party.

Valentina Matviyenko is the highest-ranking female politician in Russia, the former governor of Saint Petersburg and the current chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

Dmitry Rogozin is Russia's deputy Prime Minister. Elena Mizulina is a member of the Duma has been a leading light of efforts to instil "family values", which include campaigning against gay rights.

They are all Putin's political intimates. But few are thought to be holders of vast fortunes in overseas bank accounts.

Rogozin tweeted: "@BarackObama, what should do those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or U didn't think about it?)".

Others in the two "hit lists" agreed.

Mr Putin is unlikely to be rattled. Nor will he be, according to Dr Andrei Piontkovsky, a senior fellow at the Russian Academy of Sciences, until those much closer to him are hit in their pockets.

"Sanctions should not hit 140 million Russians. They should be targeted at 140 oligarchs. The corrupt businessmen who have profited from Putin's rule should he hit so that they create friction for him, they start asking what the hell he is up to and telling him to stop," he said.

This may yet happen. But it's puzzling as to why it was that Mr Putin's wealthiest intimates were sanctioned before those who are mere political functionaries of the Kremlin, men and women who reflect and carry out his views, not who shape them.

It may be that the oligarchs are too big to bash. After all the City thrives on Russian capital, London's estate agents suckle at their gilded cashpoints and public schools do a passable job at turning their offspring into acceptable Sloanes.

But one should, perhaps, give Washington and Brussels some credit for a little wisdom.

The West's relationship with Russia is being reset, reluctantly. If it must be done, though, Foreign Secretary William Hague hinted as much, then it will take time.

He said after the council of ministers meeting that Europe had begun to rethink its dependency on Russian fuel.

Such moves require finding new markets and delivery systems. The US has yet to finish building its natural gas export terminal, for example.

Other economic shifts will be less perceptible. Europe will want to keep Russia as an export market - but restrict its access to strategic technologies.

Economic integration has not limited Russian aggression, it has enabled it. Unpicking that conundrum without starting a war is going to take some doing.

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Ukraine Accuses Russia Of 'Military Invasion'

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of carrying out a "military invasion" after reportedly deploying troops in an area bordering Crimea.

It is claimed 120 soldiers, supported by helicopters and armoured personnel carriers, have landed near the village of Strelkovoye on Arbatskaya Strelka, and seized a gas distribution station.

The move is being seen as significant as the split of land, is outside the troubled southern region of Crimea, and signals an extension of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine.

Russian forces apparently tried to enter Arbatsyka Strelka

It had initially been reported Ukrainian forces had repelled an attempt by Russian forces to enter the area, which is about 70 miles long and runs parallel to the east of Crimea.

The Ukrainian foreign ministry is demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.

Thousands of anti-war protesters have gathered in central Moscow

It said in a statement: "Ukraine reserves the right to use all necessary measures to stop the military invasion by Russia."

Washington's UN representative has branded any new Russian troop movement in south Ukraine an "outrageous escalation".

Tensions are running high ahead of Sunday's controversial referendum on whether Crimea should break away from Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers pictured taking part in a miiltary drill

There were reports of advanced Russian surface-to-air missiles being mobilised in the east of the Crimean peninsula.

And earlier, two people were shot dead in clashes between pro-Kiev and pro-Moscow activists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

Speakers at the pro-Putin rally denounced Ukrainian "fascists"

Ukraine's interim interior minister said the two men, aged 20 and 31, were killed and several others wounded during the late-night gun battle.

Arsen Avakov claimed around 30 people "from both sides" were arrested, and he accused Russian activists of provoking the clashes.

A pro-Russian rally in Donetsk also turned violent with demonstrators storming the offices of the national security service, taking down the Ukrainian flag, and raising the Russian one.

Ukraine has accused "Kremlin agents" of stoking violence in Russian-speaking cities and urged people not to be goaded into fighting back they could be used by Moscow as a precursor for further incursions.

Ukraine's east has seen regular clashes between rival groups in recent days

The unrest has escalated in the Russian-speaking east of the country since Moscow's military invention in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula following the ousting of Kremlin ally, President Viktor Yanukoych last month.

The referendum on Crimea joining the Russian Federation further ratcheted up the tensions.

Russia has vetoed a Western-backed resolution at the UN condemning the Crimea referendum but China abstained, isolating Moscow further on the crisis.

The UK's ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant responded by accusing Russia of "military adventurism".

He said: "This resolution was designed to prevent further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine.

Mr Lavrov and Mr Kerry could find no common ground on the Crimean vote

"It was about sending a clear signal that holding a referendum in Crimea would take us further away from a diplomatic solution.

"The resounding message from today's vote is that Russia stands isolated in this Council, and in the international community."

A day ahead of the planned referendum in Crimea, tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Moscow to protest against Russian intervention.

Protesters, waving Ukrainian flags, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Crimea.

Ballots are already being counted ahead of Sunday's referendum

An estimated 15,000 people staged a rival rally nearby in support of Mr Putin.

The clashes in Kharkiv were the second to turn fatal this week, after one person was killed and at least 17 wounded in the eastern city of Donetsk on Thursday.

Friday's gun battle reportedly broke out after pro-Russian activists attempted to storm the headquarters of a Ukrainian nationalist group.

Russian state news agency Itar Tass said the shots were fired from the offices of the far-right group, Right Sector.

It said the nationalists later surrendered.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's special representative for human rights, Konstantin Dolgov, responded to the fatalities by calling on Ukraine to outlaw all ultra-nationalist groups.

Using the Russian spelling of Kharkiv, Mr Dolgov wrote on Twitter: "Arresting neo-fascists in Kharkov should mark the beginning of large-scale activities to neutralise and punish the extremists who are getting out of hand."

Russian media is increasingly referring to nationalist groups such as Right Sector to illustrate an apparent fascist threat to Russians in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow justified last week's military occupation of Crimea by saying it wished to protect ethnic Russians and has not ruled out moving its troops further afield to protect its compatriots.

America and the European Union have warned Russia of sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans unless the vote is called off.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said such measures would be a "counter-productive instrument".

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Crimea Referendum Strains East-West Relations

By Nick Martin, News Correspondent in Simferopol

The Crimean people will vote in an referendum widely expected to transfer control of the Black Sea region from Ukraine to Moscow, despite an outcry and threat of sanctions from the West.

The vote, dismissed by Kiev and Western governments as illegal, has triggered the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War and marks a new peak in turmoil in Ukraine.

It follows events in November when the now ousted President Viktor Yanukovych walked out on a trade deal with the European Union sparking violent protests in Kiev.

More than 2000 polling stations and two million ballot cards have been hastily printed since the referendum was announced more than two weeks ago.

But the vote has split even the closest-knit families many of whom say they want their peninsula to be governed in different ways.

Election commission officials count ballots ahead of the referendum

Elena Kruglova, 26, said Crimea should remain part of Ukraine while her mother Lyna Losyeva is staunchly pro-Russian.

She said: "Two weeks to organise a referendum doesn't give people the chance to make a proper decision.

"At the moment, the way the referendum works their are two choices, Russia, or Russia.

"We are not being given the option to stay the way we are."

But her mother, who remembers being part of the former Soviet Union until Ukraine gained independence in 1991, disagrees.

She said: "I was born in a time when there was no difference between Russia and Ukraine and in the Soviet Union we didn't feel any differences.

"But my daughter was born in a different time.

"What do I expect from Russia? I expect that Russia will listen to us, to Crimean people because for 23 years Ukraine didn't listen to us."

Earlier this week Crimea's new Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov told Crimeans to "be calm and hopeful" and told reporters the referendum would be "open and transparent".

Polling booths are readied for the crucial breakaway vote

International observers were finally allowed into the region on Saturday having been prevented from crossing the border for several weeks.

More than 20,000 Russian troops are now stationed within Crimea whilst Ukrainian television channels have been taken off air and replaced by programmes operated by Moscow.

Flights from Kiev in the north have been cancelled in the run up to the election with the promise of them being reinstated after the vote.

Despite Russian's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry talking daily since the crisis began a diplomatic solution has not been reached.

Johannes Anderson, an expert in Crimean affairs, believes Russia has a "grand plan" for Crimea.

He said: "I think there's been a long-time dream for Russia to reincorporate Crimea into the Greater Russian empire.

"This is a broader trend of Russia pushing its imperial ambitions.

"Ukraine has been growing and emerging as an economy in recent years and this is Russia attempting to destabilise that growth and stamp its authority on the region."

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