A group of European monitors detained by pro-Russia insurgents in eastern Ukraine appeared in public Sunday to give assurances they are not being mistreated, even as negotiations began to secure their release.
With armed rebels watching as they spoke, the leader of the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, German Colonel Axel Schneider, assured reporters in Slovyansk they were in good health.
The insurgents called the eight military observers "prisoners of war."
The OSCE sent a team of negotiators to eastern Ukraine to meet with the self-proclaimed mayor of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, about freeing the military monitors, and one Swedish observer was released.
The rebels also displayed three bloodied and blindfolded officers from Ukraine's Security Service it captured. The officers were shown with heads bowed, and stripped of their pants and shoes.
In Donetsk, armed fighters seized the headquarters of regional television and ordered it to start broadcasting a Russian state channel.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in Malaysia, U.S. President Barack Obama warned economic sanctions against Russia will be stiffened because he said Moscow is encouraging unrest in the largely Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
"There is strong evidence that they have been encouraging the kinds of activities that taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine and so, collectively, us and the Europeans have said that so long as Russia continues down the path of provocation rather than try to resolve this issue peacefully and de-escalating, there are going to be consequences. And those consequences will continue to grow."
In Washington, a national sercurity official said new sanctions this week will target Russia's defense industry and companies with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a joint statement late Friday, the Group of Seven major economies announced it had agreed to "move swiftly" on new sanctions against Russia because of its interference in Ukraine.
Mr. Obama says the United States and Europe must act together in levying sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine that he says threaten that country's independence and sovereignty.
The American leader said a deal had been reached with Russia to de-escalate the crisis, but "Russia has not lifted a finger to help."
Meanwhile, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, VOA correspondent Brian Padden says he was confronted by an angry mob Saturday as he tried to cover a rally in front of an occupied building. He says protesters accused him of supporting a "fascist" U.S. government.
Armed pro-Russian gunmen have seized government facilities in about 10 cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, and are demanding a referendum on whether to secede from the country and join Russia.
With armed rebels watching as they spoke, the leader of the monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, German Colonel Axel Schneider, assured reporters in Slovyansk they were in good health.
The insurgents called the eight military observers "prisoners of war."
The OSCE sent a team of negotiators to eastern Ukraine to meet with the self-proclaimed mayor of Slovyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, about freeing the military monitors, and one Swedish observer was released.
The rebels also displayed three bloodied and blindfolded officers from Ukraine's Security Service it captured. The officers were shown with heads bowed, and stripped of their pants and shoes.
In Donetsk, armed fighters seized the headquarters of regional television and ordered it to start broadcasting a Russian state channel.
Meanwhile, at a news conference in Malaysia, U.S. President Barack Obama warned economic sanctions against Russia will be stiffened because he said Moscow is encouraging unrest in the largely Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
"There is strong evidence that they have been encouraging the kinds of activities that taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine and so, collectively, us and the Europeans have said that so long as Russia continues down the path of provocation rather than try to resolve this issue peacefully and de-escalating, there are going to be consequences. And those consequences will continue to grow."
In Washington, a national sercurity official said new sanctions this week will target Russia's defense industry and companies with close links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a joint statement late Friday, the Group of Seven major economies announced it had agreed to "move swiftly" on new sanctions against Russia because of its interference in Ukraine.
Mr. Obama says the United States and Europe must act together in levying sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine that he says threaten that country's independence and sovereignty.
The American leader said a deal had been reached with Russia to de-escalate the crisis, but "Russia has not lifted a finger to help."
Meanwhile, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, VOA correspondent Brian Padden says he was confronted by an angry mob Saturday as he tried to cover a rally in front of an occupied building. He says protesters accused him of supporting a "fascist" U.S. government.
Armed pro-Russian gunmen have seized government facilities in about 10 cities in eastern and southern Ukraine, and are demanding a referendum on whether to secede from the country and join Russia.