Mayor of eastern Ukraine city shot in the back

The mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city was shot in the back today and pro-Russia insurgents seized yet another government building as tensions rose in eastern Ukraine ahead of a new round of US sanctions.
Armed insurgents tacitly backed by Moscow are seeking more autonomy in the region from the interim government in Kiev. In a bid to ratchet up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Barack Obama has promised to levy new sanctions on Russian individuals and companies in retaliation for Moscow's alleged provocations in eastern Ukraine.
Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back this morning, his office said. Kernes was said to be undergoing surgery and "doctors are fighting for his life," according to the city hall.

Officials have not commented on the circumstances of the shooting and it was not clear who was behind it. Kernes was a staunch opponent of the pro-West Maidan movement that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych in February and was widely viewed as the organiser of activists sent to Kiev from eastern Ukraine to harass those demonstrators.
But he has since softened his stance toward the new Kiev government and insisted that he does not support the pro-Russia insurgents or any annexation of Ukrainian territory.
Kharkiv is in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian gunmen have seized government buildings, set up roadblocks or staged protests to demand greater autonomy or outright annexation by Russia.

Ukraine's acting government and the West have accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest, which they fear Moscow could use as a pretext for an invasion. Last month, Russia annexed Crimea weeks after seizing control of the Black Sea peninsula.

Today, masked militants with automatic weapons seized another city hall building in eastern Ukraine, this time in Kostyantynivka, 160 kilometres from the Russian border.
After the seizure, about 15 armed men guarded the building. Some posed for pictures with residents while others distributed St George's ribbons, the symbol of the pro-Russia movement.
Kostyantynivka is just 35 kilometres south of Slovyansk, a major city in eastern Ukraine that has been in insurgents' hands for more than three weeks now.