the corresponding bill was read at the council ’s republic .
pro - russian activists with russian national flags storm the ukrainian regional office of the security service in luhansk , ukraine , sunday , april 6 , 2014 .
all three cities are part of a plan to destabilize ukraine and bring in russian troops , prime minister arseny yatseniuk said on monday .
protesters also later seized the regional administrative building in kharkiv , ukraine 's second largest city , interfax news agency reported .
the actions in donetsk , in eastern ukraine , declared on monday that they were forming an independent republic and urged president vladimir v. putin to send troops to the region as a peacekeeping force , even though there was no imminent threat to peace .
the protesters stormed regional government buildings in the industrial hub of donetsk and security service offices in nearby luhansk , waving russian flags and demanding a crimea - style referendum on joining russia .
in luhansk , 30 kilometers ( 20 miles ) west of the ... ( associated press ) the interfax news agency said the activists demanded that a referendum be held no later than may 11 on the breaking away of the donetsk region , which borders russia .
saying russian troops were within a 30 km ( 19 mile ) zone from the ukrainian border , yatseniuk told a government meeting : “ an anti - ukrainian plan is being put into operation ... under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize the territory of the country .
pro - russian protesters in the east seized official buildings in three cities - kiev , ukraine ( ap ) — pro - russian separatists who seized a provincial administration building in the eastern ukrainian city of donetsk on monday proclaimed the region an independent republic in a move echoing the run - up to russia 's annexation of crimea .