Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A pro-Russian separatist guards a checkpoint as tyres burn behind him, near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
The Ukrainian military offensive against the pro-Russian rebel held city of Slaviansk has largely stalled. Russia claimed that the offensive "destroyed" the two-week-old Geneva accord that was meant to calm the Ukraine crisis. Ukraine is in control of all the checkpoints surrounding Slaviansk, but has failed to take the center of the city.
The express intention of the offensive was to recapture administrative buildings that the separatists have overrun as well as to free captured foreign military observers from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe.
The Ukrainian government has been calling for locals to stay indoors. Ukrainian armed forces have orders not to fire on residential buildings.
The interim Ukrainian government and NATO have accused Russia of orchestrating the uprising. They also insist that at least some portion of the pro-Russian separatists are trained Russian soldiers. Russia routinely denies these claims.
Ukrainian soldiers began their assault on Slaviansk before dawn Friday morning.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A Ukrainian soldier stands guard near an armored personnel carrier at a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
But the Ukrainian offensive has made little headway over the course of the day amid allegations that pro-Russian forces are using civilians as human shields.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Ukrainian soldiers stand with an armored personnel carrier at a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
Two Ukrainian military helicopters were shot down during the offensive by surface-to-air missiles. The Ukrainian government has seized on this as proof that Russian forces were active in the city.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Ukrainian troops exit a military helicopter near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014
Two pilots were reportedly killed in the downed helicopters, and another was taken hostage.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A Ukrainian military helicopter flies near a Ukrainian checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
Acting President Oleksander Turchinov, citing events in the east, has signed a decree reinstating compulsory military service for men between the ages of 18 and 25.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Ukrainian soldiers stand near an armored personnel carrier at a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
Meanwhile, Putin's spokesman said that the assault was a "punitive operation" that had destroyed any hope of keeping alive the Geneva peace accord.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A pro-Russian separatist guards a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
Russia has also said it is "extremely worried" about the fate of Russians living in Ukraine.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
Pro-Russian men watch as a woman enters the mayor's office in the town of Slaviansk , east Ukraine May 1, 2014.
Russia has called an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to address the rising violence inside Ukraine.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A pro-Russian separatist guards a checkpoint while walking near burning tyres near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.
Violence has also spread to the Ukrainian port city of Odessa, where one protester has been killed.
Baz Ratner/REUTERS
A pro-Russian separatist stands guard on top of an armored personnel carrier in the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine May 2, 2014.