Militants raise Russian flag in Ukraine city

Armed pro-Russian militants raised the Russian flag in an eastern Ukrainian city on Saturday, deepening a stand-off with Moscow which, Kiev warned, was dragging Europe closer to a "gas war" that could disrupt supplies across the continent. At least 20 men armed with pistols and rifles took over the police and security services headquarters in Slaviansk, about 150 km from the border with Russia. Officials said the men had seized hundreds of pistols from arsenals in the buildings. The militants replaced the Ukrainian flag on one of the buildings with the red, white and blue Russian flag. Some local residents helped the militants build barricades out of tires in anticipation that police would try to force them out. But there was no sign that any police action was imminent, according to Reuters.