白宫派副总统拜登正在前往乌克兰的途中，他将与乌克兰代总统及总理举行会谈。尽管签署了一项缓解危机的协议，乌克兰东部的局势仍然充满暴力。

 

白宫发官员说，与乌克兰领导人讨论国际社会如何帮助乌克兰推行宪法改革以及在5月25日举行的总统选举。奥巴马政府的官员说，这将是一次自由公正的选举。

 

在会谈期间，双方还将重点讨论乌克兰东部地区的局势。乌克兰东部在星期日复活节实行停火，但停火仅维持了几小时，之后亲俄罗斯的乌克兰城镇斯洛文斯克的一个检查站爆发了枪战。三人被打死，目前还不清楚到底发生了什么。

 

乌克兰指责袭击是俄罗斯特种部队发动的。不过，俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫指责乌克兰政府不想对极端分子加以控制，他说极端分子对手无寸铁的平民开枪。

 

拉夫罗夫星期一说，乌克兰“残暴地”违反了上星期在日内瓦签署的协议。该协议要求乌克兰东部的所有非法武装分子缴械，并离开该地区。该协议还要求，向乌克兰东部派出一个欧洲监督团。

 

但在乌克兰东部十多个城市，亲俄罗斯示威者继续占领政府建筑，迄今没有退却的迹象。

 

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is on his way to Ukraine for talks with the acting president and prime minister as the situation in east remains violent despite a deal aimed at easing the crisis.

White House officials say Biden will discuss the international community's efforts to help Ukraine move forward on constitutional reform, and for what Obama administration officials say will be a free and fair presidential election on May 25.

The talks will also focus on the situation in eastern Ukraine where an Easter Sunday truce barely lasted a few hours before it was shattered by a gunfight at a checkpoint in the pro-Russian city of Slavyansk. Three people were killed. It is not clear exactly what happened.

Ukraine blames the attack on Russian special forces.  But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accuses the Ukrainian government of not wanting to control extremists who he says are shooting unarmed civilians.

Lavrov said Monday Ukraine is "crudely" violating last week's Geneva agreement calling on all armed illegal groups in the east to disarm and leave. The agreement also calls for a mission by European monitors.

However, pro-Russian demonstrators who have taken over government buildings in about a dozen eastern Ukrainian cities have so far showed no sign of backing down.