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(CNN) -- Ukraine released 67 people Sunday who were detained for participating in violent clashes after pro-Russian protesters stormed the police headquarters in Odessa, demanding they be let go.

"Based on the decision taken by Odessa's regional prosecutor's office and due to the demands of the protesters, 67 people previously detained for participating in mass disturbances on May 2nd in Odessa were released Sunday," said a statement on the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's website.

The local prosecutor's office immediately denied it was involved in the decision.

The choice to release the detainees, it said in a Sunday statement, was made by police after officers failed to fulfill their duties. The prosecutor's office said it has opened a criminal investigation into their actions.

Earlier, hundreds of pro-Russian activists shouting, "Odessa is a Russian city, one for all and all for one," attacked the police headquarters, forcing open its gate and breaking windows as they called for the release of their detained comrades. In a tense scene filled with arguments -- but with no shots fired -- the separatists took down the Ukrainian flag and persuaded the officers to release the detainees, according to a CNN team on the ground.

The crowd cheered as the detainees left the police compound, and many were embraced by friends and relatives.

Elsewhere in Odessa, hundreds of pro-Ukrainian supporters marched to a trade union building where a fire had previously broken out. They held a memorial there.

The protesters demanded an explanation for why the pro-Russian detainees were released. A pro-Ukrainian demonstrator replaced a Russian flag on the union building with a Ukrainian one. There were no reports of violence.

Prime Minister visits Odessa after bloodshed

Excerpt from:
Ukraine PM heads to Odessa after bloodshed

ODESSA, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine sent an elite national guard unit to re-establish control Monday over the southern port of Odessa and government troops fought pitched gunbattles with a pro-Russia militia around an eastern city.

The twin moves reflected an apparent escalation of efforts to bring both regions back under Kiev's control. The possible double loss of Odessa in the southwest and parts of eastern Ukraine could be catastrophic for the new government, leaving the country landlocked, cut off entirely from the Black Sea.

Ukraine already lost a significant part of its coastline in March, when its Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia.

Gunfire and multiple explosions rang out Monday in and around Slovyansk, a city of 125,000 that has become the focus of the armed insurgency against the new interim government in Kiev.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement that government troops were battling about 800 pro-Russia forces that were using large-caliber weapons and mortars. His agency said four officers were killed and 30 wounded in the fighting.

Pro-Russia militias said at least eight people, both insurgents and local residents, were killed. A militia spokesman three of 10 people admitted with gunshot wounds to a hospital in Slovyansk had died. Five more were killed during fighting in the village of Semenivka.

This nation of 46 million is facing its worst crisis in decades after its Russia-leaning president, who hails from Ukraine's industrial east, fled to Russia in February following months of street protests. Those eastern regions that favor closer links to Russia are now at odds with Ukraine's western and central areas, which seek closer ties with Europe and largely support the new interim government in Kiev.

The West has offered billions of dollars in loans to help the Kiev government stave off economic collapse. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Ukraine expects to receive more than $5 billion in May, according to a statement Monday. This includes $3 billion from the International Monetary Fund, $1 billion from the United States and up to 1 billion euros ($1.38 billion) from the European Union.

The goal of the pro-Russia insurgency is ostensibly geared toward pushing for broader autonomy for local regions, but some insurgents do favor seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia.

In the last few weeks, pro-Russia forces have stormed and seized government buildings and police stations in a dozen eastern Ukrainian cities. Authorities in Kiev accuse Moscow of backing the insurgents and since Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine's eastern border fear that Russia could try to invade and grab more territory.

Read the original here:
Ukraine Sends Elite Force To Key Port Of Odessa

ODESSA, Ukraine -- Ukraine sent an elite national guard unit to re-establish control over the southern port city of Odessa on Monday and troops fought pitched gunbattles with a pro-Russia militia that had seized an eastern city.

The twin moves reflected an apparent escalation of efforts to bring both regions back under Kiev's control. The possible loss of Odessa in the southwest and parts of eastern Ukraine could be catastrophic for the new government, leaving the country landlocked, cut off entirely from the Black Sea.

Ukraine already lost a significant part of its coastline in March, when its Black Sea peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia.

Gunfire and multiple explosions rang out Monday in and around Slovyansk, a city of 125,000 that has become the focus of the armed insurgency against the new interim government in Kiev.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement that government troops were battling about 800 pro-Russia forces, which were deploying large-caliber weapons and mortars. His agency reported four officers killed and 30 wounded in the fighting.

A pro-Russia militia spokesman in Slovyansk said an unspecified number of people were killed and wounded in the clashes, including a 20-year-old woman killed by a stray bullet.

Both sides indicated fighting was taking place at several sites around the city. An Associated Press crew saw at least four ambulances rushing injured people to a city hospital and one militiaman being carried in for medical treatment.

This nation of 46 million is facing its worst crisis in decades after its Russia-leaning president, who hails from Ukraine's industrial east, fled to Russia in February following months of street protests. Those eastern regions are now at odds with Ukraine's western and central areas, which seek closer ties with Europe and largely support the new interim government in Kiev.

The goal of the pro-Russia insurgency is ostensibly geared toward pushing for broader autonomy, but some insurgents do favor seceding from Ukraine and joining up with Russia.

In the last few weeks, pro-Russia forces have stormed and seized government buildings and police stations in a dozen eastern Ukrainian cities. Authorities in Kiev accuse Moscow of backing the insurgents and -- since Russia has kept tens of thousands of troops along Ukraine's eastern border -- fear that Russia could try to invade and grab more territory.

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Ukraine fights pitched battles in Slovyansk, sends elite troops to Odessa

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(RAW) Obama pokes fun at Congress at Correspondents Dinner - Video

President Obama mocks himself and Putin at correspondents #39; dinner
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President Obama mocks himself and Putin at correspondents' dinner - Video