Armored vehicles flying Russian flags have rolled into Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine.<br /><br /> Pro-Russian militia already control the city’s government and administrative buildings.<br /><br /> It is believed the convoy is made up of troops from a Ukranian airborne division that have switched allegiance.<br /><br /> One unnamed soldier involved in the column elaborated: “These Ukranian paratroopers have switched to the people’s side. You can see how many of us there are, the self defence army of Donbas.”<br /><br /> The situation in the east of the country, the former heartland of ousted President Viktor Yanukovitch, is extremely tense.<br /><br /> Authorities in Kyiy and western allies claim tens of thousands of Russian troops are now massed along Ukraine’s border.<br /><br /> Many fear a Ukranian crackdown on pro-Moscow protesters will spark a full-scale Russian military intervention.
