FIVE are dead after a gun battle at a Pro-Russian checkpoint in eastern Ukraine, it has been reported.
DEVASTATING: It is thought five were killed in the eastern Ukraine shooting [REUTERS]
Gunmen attacked the post in the city of Slavyansk – which is under separatist control – at 2am, according to state-run TV station Rossiya 24.
Separatist fighter Vladimir told Reuters News Agency: "We had three dead, four wounded”.
But there are conflicting accounts, as Kiev’s interior ministry said one person was dead and three injured.
Reporters on the ground have also reported inconsistencies in the separatists’ accounts. 
PROTESTS; Pro-Russian separatists make an example of a man who is reportedly a member of the Right Sector [AP] 
WORRYING: A masked pro-Russia protester looks at a dog playing near a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk [REUTERS] The attackers were a member of Right Sector, a far-right fringe group that are anti-Russia, according to separatists.
Their protests in Kiev were part of the demonstrations that made the former president leave office.
But Right Sector have denied any involvement and are blaming Russian special forces.
It is feared It is feared that any violence in the region could be used by Russia as an excuse for further military action.
Russia’s foreign ministry described the shooting as “provocation”.
An international deal was signed last week demanding separatists leave, but the groups still have a hold over may towns in eastern Ukraine. 
ESCALATION: The West is worried that Russia will use any violence as a form of provocation [REUTERS] Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine signed the deal on Thursday as part of a de-escalation process.
It was agreed to suspend military operations until after Easter to give the rebels time to move.
But the deadline runs out today.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having "a dream to restore the Soviet Union".
And today Vladimir Putin approved legal amendments to make it simpler for Russian speakers in the former Soviet Union to acquire Russian citizenship.
The changes follow Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
DEVASTATING: It is thought five were killed in the eastern Ukraine shooting [REUTERS] Separatist fighter Vladimir told Reuters News Agency: "We had three dead, four wounded”.
But there are conflicting accounts, as Kiev’s interior ministry said one person was dead and three injured.
Reporters on the ground have also reported inconsistencies in the separatists’ accounts.
PROTESTS; Pro-Russian separatists make an example of a man who is reportedly a member of the Right Sector [AP] WORRYING: A masked pro-Russia protester looks at a dog playing near a barricade outside a regional government building in Donetsk [REUTERS] Their protests in Kiev were part of the demonstrations that made the former president leave office.
But Right Sector have denied any involvement and are blaming Russian special forces.
It is feared It is feared that any violence in the region could be used by Russia as an excuse for further military action.
Russia’s foreign ministry described the shooting as “provocation”.
An international deal was signed last week demanding separatists leave, but the groups still have a hold over may towns in eastern Ukraine.
ESCALATION: The West is worried that Russia will use any violence as a form of provocation [REUTERS] It was agreed to suspend military operations until after Easter to give the rebels time to move.
But the deadline runs out today.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having "a dream to restore the Soviet Union".
And today Vladimir Putin approved legal amendments to make it simpler for Russian speakers in the former Soviet Union to acquire Russian citizenship.
The changes follow Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula.
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