In Ukraine’s troubled east, hundreds of demonstrators have stormed an administration building in Luhansk.<br /><br />The Ukrainian government said local police did not oppose the move.<br /><br />Some protesters reportedly ripped up a portrait of Ukraine’s interim president Oleksandr Turchynov.<br /><br />The so-called people’s government in Luhansk had proposed that the Kyiv authorities hold a peaceful referendum on giving greater power to Ukraine’s regions.<br /><br />One masked activist said the lack of response confirms that they don’t want peace: “Today we seized the main regional government administration building in order to hold a referendum on May 11,” he said. “We are hoping it will take place.”<br /><br />Activists then took control of the regional prosecutor’s office and the television centre in Luhansk.<br /><br />Meanwhile Turchynov demanded the dismissal of police chiefs in Luhansk and Donetsk. <br /><br />The interim president said much of the police in the east of the country had proven incapable of fulfilling their duties.
