Ukraine crisis: Ukraine in bid to retake buildings

The Ukraine authorities say they have seized back control of the regional administration building in the eastern city of Kharkiv  from pro-Russia separatists.

They say they hope buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk will be freed shortly as well.

On monday, pro-Russia demonstrators seized goverment buildings in the three cities.

Russia recently annexed the peninsula of Crimea following a referendum.

Kiev and the West say the referendum in the territory, where the majority of people are Russian speakers, was illegal.

Moscow has thousands of troops massed along its border with eastern Ukraine.

Although it insists it has no intentionof invading Ukraine, it says it reserves the right to defend ethnic Russians in the country.