Pro-Russian supporters surrounded several Ukrainian armoured vehicles near Ivanovka in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday blocking their path and disarming their occupants. <br /><br />In a direct challenge to Kyiv, locals literally stopped the military convoy in its tracks. <br /><br />It came as Ukraine’s defence ministry reported a series of similar incidents near the city of Slovyansk, in the east of the country, a day after the Ukrainian army began an anti-terrorist operation to remove pro-Russian militia from public buildings. That mission to reclaim towns now looks to be seriously jeopardised. <br /><br />Many in the industrial Donbass region of Ukraine have strong ties to Russia and have declared themselves independent from Kyiv. <br /><br />The latest military setbacks come on the eve of peace talks in Geneva between Russia and Ukraine with the EU and US, to find a way out of the crisis.
