PHOTOS: Violence spikes in Ukraine as vote nears
May 23, 2014
A Pro-Russian militia man poses aiming his sniper rifle in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, May 23, 2014. At least three people died when Ukrainian national guard unit and pro-Russian militiamen fought in the village of Karlivka early Friday. (AP Photo/Alexander Ermochenko) ( Ukraine )
Members of the pro-Russia Vostok Battalion assemble along the side of the road following early morning clashes with pro-Ukraine fighters on May 23, 2014 in Pisky, Ukraine. At least eight people between the two sides, including one civilian, were killed in an early morning firefight when the Donbass Battalion, a pro-Ukraine militia, attacked a Vostok Battalion checkpoint in the nearby town of Karlivka. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) ( 493307067 )
Members of the pro-Russia Vostok Battalion assemble along the side of the road following early morning clashes with pro-Ukraine fighters on May 23, 2014 in Pisky, Ukraine. A (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) ( 493307095 )
Two Ukrainian policemen look at a deserted car after a fight between pro-Russian militiamen and Ukrainian forces in the eastern Ukrainian town of Karlivka on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images ( 530067077 )
A journalist films a destroyed house following a mortar attack in Semyonovka village, outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. The village on the outskirts of Slovyansk, a city which has been the epicenter of clashes for weeks, has seen continuous shelling by the Ukrainian government forces, who have retaliated to the rebel fire. On Friday, the private house was destroyed by mortar fire that came from the Ukrainian side. There were no casualties, as the family living there had left the previous day, according to local residents. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) ( Ukraine )
Mizan Mazasheva, 50, cries at her house destroyed during a night combat between Ukrainian troops and armed pro-Russian militants in the village of Semenovka, near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530063330 )
The body of a pro-Ukraine militia fighter lies along the road following early morning clashes with the Vostok Battalion, a pro-Russia militia, on May 23, 2014 in Karlivka, Ukraine. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) ( 493307345 )
A car is riddled with bullet holes at the scene of an early morning firefight between the pro-Ukraine Donbass Battalion and the pro-Russia Vostok Battalion militias on May 23, 2014 in Karlivka, Ukraine. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images) ( 493307347 )
Mizan Mazasheva, a local citizen, walks next to her destroyed house after a mortar bomb, foreground, landed following an attack from Ukrainian government forces in Semyonovka village near the major highway which links Kharkiv, outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) ( Ukraine )
A destroyed house, following a motor attack, is seen in Semyonovka village, outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. The village on the outskirts of Slovyansk, a city which has been the epicenter of clashes for weeks, has seen continuous shelling by the Ukrainian government forces, who have retaliated to the rebel fire. On Friday, a private house was destroyed by mortar fire that came from the Ukrainian side. There were no casualties, as the family living there had left the previous day, according to local residents. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) ( Ukraine )
A Pro-Russian activist carries a ballot box away from a polling station preparing to smash it, in Donetsk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. Ukraine's acting government has admitted that authorities will not be able to organize the voting in parts of eastern Ukraine, overrun by pro-Russian insurgents. (AP Photo/Photomig) ( Ukraine )
Local residents look at a car destroyed during a gunfight, in the village of Karlivka, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the city of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on Friday, May 23, 2014. At least three people died when Ukrainian national guard unit and pro-Russian militiamen fought in the village of Karlivka early Friday.(AP Photo/Alexander Ermochenko) ( Ukraine )
The body of a man, who was killed during fighting, lies on the ground in the village of Karlivka, west of Donetsk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) ( Ukraine )
A local woman walks past a broken car inside her yard, after a shelling from Ukrainian government forces in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Friday, May 23, 2014. The village of Semenovka on the outskirts of Slovyansk, a city that has been the epicenter of clashes for weeks, has seen continuous shelling by the Ukrainian government forces retaliating to rebel fire. Shelling continued later in the day, targeting Slovyansk, where several other buildings were also damaged. There was no word of casualties. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) ( Ukraine )
Pro-Russian armed militants stand guard at a barricade facing a position manned by Ukrainian army soldiers, near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, on May 23, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the crisis in Ukraine had evolved into a full-scale civil war, blaming Washington for backing the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530069358 )
Local residents walk near a house destroyed during a night combat between Ukrainian troops and armed pro-Russian militants in the village of Semenovka, near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530063355 )
A local resident walks by a house destroyed during a night combat between Ukrainian troops and armed pro-Russian militants in the village of Semenovka, near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO/ VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530063484 )
A handout picture taken on May 22, 2014 released by the Yulia Tymoshenko's press office shows Ukrainian presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko greeting her supporters during an election campaign trip to the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv. Ukraine's glamorous but polarising ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko was triumphantly released from prison during the pro-Western uprising in Kiev but is now a longshot in on May 25, 2014 presidential ballot due to mistrust of the corruption-stained old guard.The most influential female politician to have emerged from the former Soviet Union appears to retain an unquenched thirst for office despite nearly three years behind bars on abuse of power charges drawn up by allies of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian who narrowly beat her in the 2010 vote and whose regime was toppled after bloody street fighting in February. ALEXANDER PROKOPENKO/AFP/Getty Images ( 530064154 )
A pro-Russian armed militant stands guard at a barricade which faces a position manned by Ukrainian army soldiers, near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, on May 23, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the crisis in Ukraine had evolved into a full-scale civil war, blaming Washington for backing the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530069295 )
A pro-Russian gunman touches the body of his friend in a truck at a checkpoint outside of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF /AFP/Getty Images ( 530066825 )
Pro-Russian gunmen stand at a checkpoint outside of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF /AFP/Getty Images ( 530066923 )
A picture shows a bullet hole in a window of destroyed car after a fight between pro-Russian militiamen and Ukrainian forces in the eastern Ukrainian town of Karlivka on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images ( 530067401 )
A man holds a a fired cartridge of a bullet next a destroyed car after a fight between pro-Russian militiamen and Ukrainian forces in the eastern Ukrainian town of Karlivka near Donetsk on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images ( 530067186 )
Pro-Russian gunmen stand at a checkpoint outside of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKOFF /AFP/Getty Images ( 530067257 )
Gunmen from the Vostok Battalion, a pro-Russia militia, stand guard at a checkpoint in Pisky, some 15 km from Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, on the road between Donetsk and Krasnoarmiisk, on May 23, 2014. AFP PHOTO / FABIO BUCCIARELLI/AFP/Getty Images ( 530068848 )
A grenade explodes next to a position manned by pro-Russian militants near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, on May 23, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the crisis in Ukraine had evolved into a full-scale civil war, blaming Washington for backing the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530069158 )
Pro-Russian armed militants point at a position manned by Ukrainian army soldiers near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, on May 23, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the crisis in Ukraine had evolved into a full-scale civil war, blaming Washington for backing the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530069341 )
Pro-Russian armed militants stand guard at a barricade which faces a position manned by Ukrainian army soldiers near the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, on May 23, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the crisis in Ukraine had evolved into a full-scale civil war, blaming Washington for backing the overthrow of former president Viktor Yanukovych. AFP PHOTO / VIKTOR DRACHEV/AFP/Getty Images ( 530069275 )
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