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Ukrainian soldiers arrive to reinforce a checkpoint that troops seized Friday, May 2, in Andreevka, a village near Slavyansk. Two helicopters were downed Friday as Ukrainian security forces tried to dislodge pro-Russian separatists from Slavyansk, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said. The operation appears to be the most significant yet by the Ukrainian military against pro-Russian militias that have taken control of swaths of eastern Ukraine.
Police take cover under shields as pro-Russian activists storm the prosecutor's office in Donetsk on Thursday, May 1. Many in the troubled eastern region view the interim government in Kiev as a junta that seized power. Eastern Ukraine was a heartland of support for pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February.
A pro-Russian activist is wounded after storming the prosecutor's office in Donetsk and clashing with riot police May 1.
Pro-Russian activists storm the prosecutor's office in Donetsk on May 1. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades in an effort to disperse the activists.
An injured Pro-Russian activist speaks with an armed protester during clashes with police in front of the regional administration building in Donetsk on May 1.
Pro-Russian activists storm an administration building in the center of Luhansk, Ukraine, on Tuesday, April 29.
Pro-Russia militants, armed with baseball bats and iron bars, hold flares as they attack people marching for national unity in Donetsk on Monday, April 28.
Detained observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe arrive to take part in a news conference Sunday, April 27, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-declared mayor of Slavyansk, referred to the observers as "prisoners of war."
Ukrainian troops stand guard behind a barricade made of sandbags at a checkpoint about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Slavyansk on April 27.
Relatives and friends of a man killed in a gunfight participate in his funeral ceremony in Slavyansk on Saturday, April 26.
U.S. troops arrive at an air force base near Siauliai Zuokniai, Lithuania, on April 26. The United States is conducting military exercises in Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The exercises are, in part, a response to the ongoing instability in Ukraine.
Ukrainian government troops in armored vehicles travel on a country road outside the town of Svyitohirsk in eastern Ukraine on April 26.
Pro-Russia armed militants inspect a truck near Slavyansk on Friday, April 25. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of plotting to control Ukraine, and he said the pro-Russia insurgents in the southeast would lay down their arms only if the Ukrainian government clears out the Maidan protest camp in the capital, Kiev.
Pro-Russia militants keep records of their duty in Slavyansk on April 25.
Ukrainian troops take position near burning tires at a pro-Russian checkpoint in Slavyansk on Thursday, April 24.
Ukrainian special forces take position at an abandoned roadblock in Slavyansk on April 24.
A Ukrainian special forces member takes position in Slavyansk.
Cossacks carry a coffin into a church in Slavyansk on Tuesday, April 22, during a funeral for men killed in a gunfight at a checkpoint two days before.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a meeting in Kiev on April 22.
An armed pro-Russian man stands on a street in Slavyansk on Monday, April 21.
Demonstrators attend a pro-Russian rally outside the secret service building in Luhansk on April 21.
Cars are burned out after an attack at a roadblock in Slavyansk on Sunday, April 20.
A resident inspects burnt-out cars at a roadblock on April 20.
A pro-Russian militant is seen at the roadblock near Slavyansk on April 20.
Armed pro-Russian militants stand guard at a roadblock near Slavyansk on April 20.
A masked man stands guard outside a regional administration building seized by pro-Russian separatists in Slavyansk on Friday, April 18.
People walk around barricades April 18 set up at the regional administration building that was seized earlier in Donetsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after a nationally televised question-and-answer session in Moscow on Thursday, April 17. Putin denied that Russian forces are involved in the unrest in eastern Ukraine, though he did say for the first time that Russians were active in Crimea before the peninsula voted to join the country.
Ukrainian riot police officers stand guard during a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Donetsk on April 17.
Masked pro-Russian protesters stand guard in front of the city hall in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 17.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaches out to shake hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of a bilateral meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The meeting took place April 17 in Geneva, Switzerland.
A masked gunman stands guard near tanks in Slavyansk on Wednesday, April 16.
A Ukrainian helicopter flies over a column of Ukrainian Army combat vehicles on the way to Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine, on April 16.
A masked pro-Russian gunman guards combat vehicles parked in downtown Slavyansk on April 16.
A man talks with Ukrainian soldiers as they are blocked by people on their way to Kramatorsk.
Ukrainian soldiers sit atop combat vehicles on their way to Kramatorsk.
Ukrainian Gen. Vasily Krutov is surrounded by protesters after addressing the crowd outside an airfield in Kramatorsk on Tuesday, April 15.
Pro-Russian activists guard a barricade April 15 outside the regional police building that they seized in Slavyansk.
Ukrainian troops receive munitions at a field on the outskirts of Izium, Ukraine, on April 15.
Armed pro-Russian activists stand guard on top of a Ukrainian regional administration building in Slavyansk on Monday, April 14.
A pro-Russian activist carries a shield during the mass storming of a police station in Horlivka, Ukraine, on April 14.
Russian supporters attend a rally in front of the security service building occupied by pro-Russian activists in Luhansk on April 14.
A man places a Russian flag over a police station after storming the building in Horlivka on April 14.
Men besiege the police station in Horlivka.
The Horlivka police station burns on April 14.
A Ukrainian police officer receives medical care after being attacked at the police station in Horlivka on April 14.
Pro-Russian supporters beat a pro-Ukrainian activist during a rally in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 13.
Pro-Russian activists escort a man outside the secret service building in Luhansk on April 13.
Pro-Russian protesters guard a barricade in Slavyansk on April 13 outside a regional police building seized by armed separatists the day before.
Armed pro-Russian activists carrying riot shields occupy a police station in Slavyansk on April 12.
A group of pro-Russian activists warm themselves by a fire Friday, April 11, in front of a Ukrainian Security Service office in Luhansk.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk speaks April 11 during his meeting with regional leaders in Donetsk, Ukraine. Yatsenyuk flew into Donetsk, where pro-Russian separatists occupied the regional administration building and called for a referendum.
Pro-Russian young men look over the fence of a military recruitment office in Donetsk on Thursday, April 10.
Armed pro-Russian protesters occupy the Security Service building in Luhansk on April 10.
Members of the self-proclaimed government the "Donetsk Republic" vote April 10 during a meeting at the seized regional administration building in Donetsk.
Ukrainian lawmakers from different parties scuffle during a Parliament session in Kiev on Tuesday, April 8.
Workers clean up on April 8 after pro-Russian separatists and police clashed overnight in Kharkiv.
Pro-Russian protesters burn tires near a regional administration building in Kharkiv after police cleared the building on Monday, April 7.
A masked man stands on top of a barricade at the regional administration building in Donetsk on April 7.
Protesters wave a Russian flag as they storm the regional administration building in Donetsk on Sunday, April 6. Protesters seized state buildings in several east Ukrainian cities, prompting accusations from Kiev that Moscow is trying to "dismember" the country.
Pro-Russian protesters clash with police as they try to occupy a regional administration building in Donetsk on April 6.
Pro-Russian activists hold a rally in front of a Ukrainian Security Service office in Luhansk on April 6.
A young demonstrator with his mouth covered by a Russian flag attends a pro-Russia rally outside the regional government administration building in Donetsk on Saturday, April 5.
A Ukrainian soldier guards a road not far from Prokhody, a village near the Russian border, on April 5. Ukrainian and Western officials have voiced alarm about Russia's reported military buildup on Ukraine's eastern border.
Ukrainian cadets at the Higher Naval School embrace a friend who has decided to stay in the school during a departure ceremony in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Friday, April 4. Some 120 cadets who refused to take Russian citizenship left the school to return to Ukraine.
Soviet military veterans take part in a flower-laying ceremony at the Soviet-era World War II memorial in Sevastopol on Thursday, April 3.
Ukrainian soldiers conduct a training session on the Desna military shooting range northeast of Kiev on Wednesday, April 2.
Russian soldiers prepare for diving training in front of a Tarantul-III class missile boat Tuesday, April 1, in Sevastopol.
People pass by barricades near the Dnipro Hotel in Kiev on April 1.
People walk past a train loaded with Russian tanks Monday, March 31, in the Gvardeyskoe railway station near Simferopol, Crimea.
A Russian solder sits in a tank at the Ostryakovo railway station, not far from Simferopol on March 31.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaks about the economic development of Crimea during a meeting March 31 in Simferopol.
Members of the Ukrainian National Guard take part in military exercises on a shooting range near Kiev on March 31.
A woman cries Sunday, March 30, during a gathering to honor those who were killed during protests in Kiev's Independence Square.
A woman and child walk past a line of police officers during a rally in Kharkiv on March 30.
Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise at a military base in Donetsk on Saturday, March 29.
Demonstrators protest Friday, March 28, in Kiev, displaying police vehicles they seized during earlier clashes with authorities.
recent killing of radical nationalist leader Oleksandr Muzychko, who died during a police operation to detain him. Muzychko and the Right Sector are credited with playing a lead role in the protests that toppled Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych." border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto0078" width="640"/>Members of the Right Sector group block the Ukrainian parliament building in Kiev on Thursday, March 27. Activists called for Interior Minister Arsen Avakov to step down after the recent killing of radical nationalist leader Oleksandr Muzychko, who died during a police operation to detain him. Muzychko and the Right Sector are credited with playing a lead role in the protests that toppled Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych.
Ukrainian tanks are transported from their base in Perevalne, Crimea, on Wednesday, March 26. After Russian troops seized most of Ukraine's bases in Crimea, interim Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov ordered the withdrawal of armed forces from the Black Sea peninsula, citing Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families.
Ukrainian marines wave as they leave a base in Feodosia, Crimea, on Tuesday, March 25.
Russian sailors stand on the deck of the corvette ship Suzdalets in the bay of Sevastopol on March 25.
Pro-Russian militia members remove a resident as Russian troops assault the Belbek air base, outside Sevastopol, on Saturday, March 22. After its annexation of Crimea, Russian forces have consolidated their control of the region.
Soldiers in unmarked uniforms sit atop an armored personnel carrier at the gate of the Belbek air base on March 22.
A Russian sailor holds the Russian Navy's St. Andrew's flag while standing on the bow of the surrendered Ukrainian submarine Zaporozhye on March 22 in Sevastopol.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signs the final decree completing the annexation of Crimea on Friday, March 21, as Upper House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, left, and State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin watch.
A Ukrainian serviceman leaves a Ukrainian military unit that Russian soldiers took control of in Perevalne on March 21.
Ukrainian border guards run during training at a military camp in Alekseyevka, Ukraine, on March 21.
Russian soldiers patrol the area surrounding a Ukrainian military unit in Perevalne on Thursday, March 20.
Pro-Russian protesters remove the gate to the Ukrainian navy headquarters as Russian troops stand guard in Sevastopol on Wednesday, March 19.
Pro-Russian forces walk inside the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 19.
A member of pro-Russian forces takes down a Ukrainian flag at the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 19.
Alexander Vitko, chief of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, leaves the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol after pro-Russian forces took it over on March 19.
A Russian flag waves as workers install a new sign on a parliament building in Simferopol, Crimea's capital, on March 19.
Russian military personnel surround a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on March 19.
Nameplates on the front of the Crimean parliament building get removed Tuesday, March 18, in Simferopol.
From left, Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov; Vladimir Konstantinov, speaker of the Crimean parliament; Russian President Vladimir Putin; and Alexei Chaly, the new de facto mayor of Sevastopol, join hands in Moscow on March 18 after signing a treaty to make Crimea part of Russia.
Demonstrators hold a Crimean flag at Lenin Square in Simferopol on March 18.
Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near Strilkove, Ukraine, close to Crimea on Monday, March 17.
Former boxer and Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko addresses reporters in Kiev on March 17.
Ukrainian troops stand guard in front of the Ukrainian Parliament building in Kiev on March 17.
A Ukrainian man applies for the National Guard at a mobile recruitment center in Kiev on March 17.
Civilians walk past riot police in Simferopol on March 17.
A Ukrainian soldier stands on top of an armored vehicle at a military camp near the village of Michurino, Ukraine, on March 17.
Policemen stand guard outside the regional state administration building in Donetsk during a rally by pro-Russia activists March 17.
Armed soldiers stand guard outside a Ukrainian military base in Perevalne on March 17.
A man holds a Crimean flag as he stands in front of the Crimean parliament building in Simferopol on March 17.
Crimeans holding Russian flags celebrate in front of the parliament building in Simferopol on Sunday, March 16.
A Ukrainian police officer tries to shield himself from a road block thrown by pro-Russia supporters in Kharkiv on March 16.
Pro-Russia demonstrators storm the prosecutor general's office during a rally in Donetsk on March 16.
See the crisis in Ukraine before Crimea voted" border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto00110" width="640"/>A woman leaves a voting booth in Sevastopol on March 16. See the crisis in Ukraine before Crimea voted
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- NEW: In Kramatorsk, security forces foil a move to seize a television station tower
- Two helicopters were downed, and a pilot held hostage, authorities say
- Ukraine alleges separatists are using human shields
- At least 31 people are dead following a fire in Odessa
Slavyansk, Ukraine (CNN) -- Pro-Russian separatists downed two helicopters in eastern Ukraine while clashes in the southern port city of Odessa sparked a fire that killed 31 people as fighting spread in the nation.
The escalating violence Friday raised the question of whether the country can stave off a possible civil war.
The violence pit pro-Russian separatists against Ukrainian forces and those who support the government in Kiev. It prompted an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, with Russia demanding an end to what it called Ukrainian aggression and Western powers accusing Moscow of funding the violence.
In eastern Ukraine, the crisis hit a boiling point with news Friday that security forces launched their most intensive effort yet to try to dislodge pro-Russian separatists who have reportedly seized government buildings in nearly a dozen cities and towns.
Helicopters downed
Thirty-one people died in a fire started at a trade union building amid clashes in the largely Russian-speaking Odessa, police said. Authorities initially reported 38 people had died, but they later revised it.
Video posted on YouTube appeared to show supporters of Kiev throwing Molotov cocktails at the building where pro-Russian separatists had reportedly taken up positions. The footage, which CNN could not independently confirm, showed people sitting on ledges trying to escape the fire and thick smoke.
CNN cannot independently confirm the casualty counts.
Two Ukrainian government helicopters were shot down in the flashpoint city of Slavyansk. The helicopters were brought down by fire from pro-Russian separatists, the Ukraine Ministry of Defense said.
Five pro-Russian separatists and two civilians were killed in Slavyansk in a Ukrainian military operation, the city's self-declared mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov.
Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed during an attack in the village of Andriyivka, near Slavyansk, defense ministry said. The gunmen also blocked a bridge in the area, using local residents, including women, as shields, according to the ministry.
In the eastern town of Kramatorsk, security forces foiled a move to seize a television station tower, Ukraine's interior ministry said. Officials said the move to secure towns held by pro-Russian separatists will resume Saturday.
Hundreds of miles away, in the Black Sea city of Odessa, at least four people were killed and 40 were wounded in fighting, according to the regional police administration.
The violence came the same day that U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to seek harsher sanctions against Russia if Ukraine doesn't stabilize in time for elections this month.
But the threat seemed to do little to waive off Russia, with its Foreign Ministry saying Ukraine's use of its military in Slavyansk is criminal.
Russia and the West squared off diplomatically over the fate of Ukraine after Moscow annexed Crimea in March following the ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. He was pushed from office after months of protests by people upset that he had turned away from Europe in favor of Russia.
'Nail in the coffin'
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told CNN the military operation was "the last nail in the coffin" for the deal agreed to last month in Geneva, Switzerland, which called for illegal militia groups in eastern Ukraine to disarm and vacate seized buildings.
Peskov said the Ukrainian operation also complicated ongoing negotiations to free seven Western observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, who have been held captive by separatists in Slavyansk for the past week.
As the diplomatic wrangling continued, residents of Slavyansk were warned Friday to stay home and avoid windows as the latest phase of the authorities' "anti-terrorist operation" got under way.
The two Mi24 helicopters were downed with mobile air defense systems, killing two military officers and injuring others, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry website. Another army helicopter, an Mi8, was damaged, but no one was hurt, it said.
Pro-Russian separatists took one badly injured pilot hostage after his helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing, the ministry said, and efforts to free him are ongoing.
Ukraine's security service, the SBU, said one helicopter that came under attack was carrying medics, one of whom was injured.
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CNN's Nick Paton Walsh reported from Slavyansk and Victoria Butenko from Kiev, while Chelsea J. Carter wrote and reported from Atlanta. CNN's Arwa Damon in Donetsk, Claudia Rebaza in Kiev, and Matthew Chance and Alla Eshchenko in Moscow contributed to this report. CNN's Laura Smith-Spark. Elise Labott, Richard Roth, Boriana Milanova and Yon Pomrenze also contributed.
