Ukraine crisis: Crunch talks due in Geneva

Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine are due to meet in Geneva to try to reduce escalating tensions over eastern Ukraine.

Deep disagreement over the issue has led to the worst crisis between the US and Russia since the Cold War.

Three pro-Russian separatists have been shot dead in a clash with Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, near the Azov Sea, Ukraine's interior minister says.

The West says Russia is aiding the pro-Russian activists occupying buildings.

Separatists attacked a military unit in Mariupol overnight and troops opened fire, killing three, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

Reinforcements

The operation is continuing - Ukraine has sent in reinforcements including helicopters. There was no independent confirmation of his statement.

According to Mr Avakov, 13 of the attackers were wounded and so far 63 have been detained. He said none of the interior ministry troops had been killed.

Mariupol is in the far south of Donetsk region, where separatists have seized dozens of official buildings.

US President Barack Obama has warned Russia against support for further action by armed pro-Russian groups.

Analysis

Ukraine's 'anti-terrorist' operation is looking more and more a non-event - or worse, an outright fiasco.

Kiev officials have admitted they have no time to lose to extinguish the growing insurrection in the country's east.

But the decision to send the army in has so far backfired terribly.

The soldiers have been helpless and obviously unhappy with being deployed against crowds of civilians.

Ukraine's new leaders are under a great amount of pressure - not just from the Kremlin and the pro-Russian activists, but from their own supporters, outraged at their government's inability to stem the separatist tide.

Right now, everything has been thrown into doubt - even the future of this government and of Ukraine itself.

The biggest question is what will follow.

'What I have said consistently is that each time Russia takes these kinds of steps that are designed to destabilize Ukraine and violate their sovereignty, that there are going to be consequences,' he said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military operation against separatists has hit obstacles.

Called an 'anti-terrorist' operation by the Kiev government, it started on Tuesday and is designed to dislodge pro-Russia gunmen from local authority buildings in a swathe of cities and towns in eastern Ukraine.

Pro-Russian activists want referendums on greater autonomy for the south-east or the right to join the Russian Federation.

But in several districts, Ukrainian troops met vehement opposition on Wednesday from pro-Russia supporters, who object to the new government in Kiev.

In the city of Kramatorsk, six military vehicles were commandeered on Wednesday by gunmen, who disarmed the Ukrainian soldiers and sent some of them home on buses.

One Ukrainian officer said he had not 'come to fight' and would never obey orders to shoot his 'own people'.

In another incident, several hundred residents of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded a column of 14 Ukrainian military vehicles.

After the crowd was reinforced by pro-Russian gunmen, negotiations ensued and the troops were allowed to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender the magazines from their assault rifles.

Ukraine's 'anti-terrorist' operation is looking more and more a non-event - or worse, an outright fiasco, reports the BBC's David Stern in Donetsk.

The Geneva meeting is the first time that foreign ministers from the US, the EU, Ukraine and Russia will sit down for talks since the crisis began.

The US and the EU want an end to the occupations in eastern Ukraine and for the estimated 40,000-strong Russian forces massed near the Ukrainian border to pull back.

A US official, speaking as Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva, stressed that Russia must 'take this opportunity to de-escalate' or face a tightening of sanctions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andriy Deshchytsya, called on Russia 'not to support terrorist activities in eastern Ukraine.'

As if to further illustrate the gulf between the West and Russia over the crisis, Russia's foreign ministry accused Washington of 'the persistent unwillingness or inability to see reality as it is in fact, and in a striving to impose on the rest of the world a distorted perception of what is happening in southeast Ukraine.'

Analysis

Nato's announcement is about reassuring worried allies in the Baltic republics and central Europe, as well as signalling to Moscow that when it comes to the alliance's core business - the defence of its members' territory - Nato is as vigilant as ever.

Air patrols over the Baltic republics are to be stepped up; Nato warships will deploy to the eastern Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea.

And on land, staff officers will be dispatched to oversee an enhanced programme of exercises and preparedness in the countries most concerned.

Nato will also review and reinforce its defence plans. In the longer term additional deployments may well be made. Nato sources indicate that this is only the first step of several that could be taken if the relationship with Russia sours further.

Russia, which strongly opposed the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych in February, has proposed a new constitution which devolves more power to the regions.

Expectations for the talks are low, says the BBC's Gavin Hewitt in Geneva.

Russia's stance over eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea in March continue to cause concern in Nato member countries with large Russian-speaking minorities, such as Latvia and Estonia.

So Nato announced on Wednesday that it was beefing up its eastern members' defences.

In Brussels, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen promised 'more planes in the air, more ships on the water, more readiness on the land'.

He called on Russia to make clear it did not 'support the violent actions of well-armed militias or pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine'.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his annual televised phone-in, taking calls from people across the country. This year, he will also be taking questions from residents of Crimea.

Are you in eastern Ukraine? What is the situation like where you are? You can email your experiences to haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Eastern Ukraine'.