Pro-Russia forces seize Ukrainian police station

Various sources are reporting that several dozen men took over a police station in eastern Ukraine this morning, raising a Russian flag and barricading the building:

Ukrainian police say the point of the takeover was the station's gun cache; Kiev claims the militants seized at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons to distribute to pro-Russia protesters. A Reuters photographer on the scene, however, said he had not yet seen any guns distributed.

"(We have) only one demand — a referendum and joining Russia," a militant who gave his name as Sergei told The Associated Press. "We don’t want to be slaves of America and the West. We want to live with Russia."

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While the militants appear to be Ukrainian, the headquarters takeover comes in the wake of a buildup of Russian troops along Ukraine's border, which Russian President Vladimir Putin maintains is part of a military training exercise.