The mayor of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv,
is in serious condition after being shot in the back
while riding his bicycle.
Gennady Kernes, who is pro-Russian, was taking his
usual cycle route when it is believed someone
opened fire from nearby woods.
He was immediately rushed to hospital by his bodyguards.
Doctors say his life is still in danger.
Mykhailo Dobkin, Governor of Kharkiv Region said, "We don't want to
build a country where mayors are
shot, where it is unsafe to walk on the streets, and where violence is
escalating."
Ukraine's crisis has deepened with the uprising against Kyiv spreading
to the eastern city of
Kostyantynivka.
Here armed pro-Russian separatists have seized the police headquarters
and a government
administrative building, barricading themselves in the sandbags.
