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April 7, 2014: People gathered in front of a barricade at the regional administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Andrey Basevych)

Ukraine's Interior Minister said Tuesday that pro-Russian demonstrators had been ejected from the regional administration building in the country's second-largest city, and approximately 70 of them had been arrested.

Arsen Avakov said on his Facebook page that an "anti-terrorist operation" was launched in the city of Kharkiv early Tuesday. He did not specify what forces took part. The Interfax news agency cited the head of the region, Igor Baluta, as saying it included police and soldiers.

The protesters were calling for a referendum on seceding from Ukraine. A similar demonstration took place in the city of Donetsk, with protesters also seized the administration building there and calling for a referendum.

Both cities are in Ukraine's east, where hostility is strong toward the government that took power in February after the ouster of Kremlin-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych. The Donetsk and Kharkiv regions and a third Russian-speaking city besieged by pro-Moscow activists over the weekend, Luhansk have a combined population of nearly 10 million out of Ukraine's 46 million, and account for the bulk of the country's industrial output.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General called on Russia to pull back troops from its border with Ukraine.

According to Reuters, Anders Fogh Rasmussen called the ongoing unrest in Ukraine "a great concern ... Any further move to eastern Ukraine would represent a serious escalation rather than de-escalation."

The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of stirring up the unrest. Moscow, which has tens of thousands of troops massed along the border, has rejected the allegation but has also sternly warned Ukraine against using force.

In Washington Monday, the U.S. said any move by Russia into eastern Ukraine would be a "very serious escalation" that could bring further sanctions. White House spokesman Jay Carney said there was strong evidence that some of the pro-Russian protesters were hired and were not local residents.

At the same time, the U.S. announced that Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with top diplomats from Russia, Ukraine and the European Union in a new push to ease tensions. The meeting, the first such four-way talks since the crisis erupted, will take place in the next 10 days, the State Department said.

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Ukraine says gov't building recaptured from protesters

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) As top diplomats from Russia and the United States have met in Europe's capitals to decide Ukraine's fate in recent weeks, there's been a conspicuous absence: a representative from Ukraine.

Russia has refused to deal with Ukraine's new government since protests in February ousted the pro-Russian president. And while the West supports the fledgling leadership, it has left an impression that it's in charge of talks with the Kremlin.

Time and again through history, Ukraine has been caught in big power politics. Historians draw parallels between how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin divided Europe at Yalta after World War II trapping eastern European countries in the Soviet orbit. Now some Ukrainians fear history is repeating itself as they are shut out of negotiations and sit on the sidelines waiting for a verdict.

Ordinary Ukrainians are mostly grateful for Western efforts to mediate the crisis and more than anything are terrified by the prospect of war.

But officials have sought to stress that Ukraine's voice must be heard.

At a news conference last week, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Danylo Lubkivsky insisted that decisions regarding Ukraine's future must not be made without Kiev's input: "No real dialogue is possible without Ukraine," Lubkivsky said. That is why the announcement this week of high-level talks between the United States, the EU, Ukraine and Russia expected to take place in the next 10 days was met with hope in Kiev.

Despite angry rhetoric, the West has largely accepted the reality of Russia's takeover of Crimea. Diplomatic efforts are now focused on preventing Russia's military incursion into the Russian-speaking east and south of Ukraine, where Moscow claims it needs to protect Russian-speakers. With thousands of Russian troops amassed near the border with Ukraine, Moscow seeks to dictate conditions: It wants to turn Ukraine into a loose federation that it can control, and is pushing for Russian to become the second official state language, on par with Ukrainian.

Kiev has so far refused to cave to Moscow's demands as any step that dents Ukraine's hopes of integrating with the West will be met with fierce resistance from the Maidan, the pro-Western protest movement. More than 100 people were killed in the protesters' clashes with police.

But facing enormous military and economic pressure from Russia, there is little Ukraine can do on its own, some experts say so Kiev has to rely on Western patronage.

"During the Cold War, U.S. secretaries of state and Soviet foreign ministers routinely negotiated the outcome of crises and the fate of countries. It has been a long time since such talks have occurred, but last week a feeling of deja vu overcame me," George Freedman of Stratfor, a U.S. global intelligence think tank, wrote recently.

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Ukraine Feels Nervous As Big Powers Debate Fate

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) Ukrainian security forces on Tuesday drove pro-Russian protesters out of the regional government headquarters in Kharkiv that they had seized and arrested about 70 of them, the country's leader said.

Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov told lawmakers in parliament that security forces retook control even as the separatists used hand grenades and unspecified weapons against them. Some police were injured in the melee.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described the measure on his Facebook page as an "anti-terrorist operation."

Pro-Russia demonstrators, however, continued occupying the Donetsk regional administration in the nearby region and calling for a referendum on its status.

Both cities are in Ukraine's east, where hostility is strong toward the new government that took power in February after the ouster of Kremlin-friendly president Viktor Yanukovych.

The seizures of the buildings and calls for referenda were an echo of the events that led to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula last month. After Yanukovych fled to Russia, Russian troops took control of Crimea and the region soon voted to join Russia.

The West has not recognized the vote or the annexation and has retaliated with sanctions against Russia.

Even as the United States warned Russia of further sanctions if Moscow continues to seek to destabilize Ukraine, the White House announced a high-level meeting among U.S., EU, Ukrainian and Russian diplomats in the coming days to try to solve the crisis.

Russia has refused to deal with Ukraine's new government since Yanukovych's ouster and, according to NATO, still has tens of thousands of troops along its border with Ukraine, which the alliance has called a threat.

Meanwhile, a fistfight broke out in Ukraine's parliament Tuesday as tempers rose between opposing factions. Nationalist lawmakers scuffled with communists, after the Communist Party leader accused the government of cracking down on dissent.

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Ukraine Leader: Kharkiv Protesters Driven Out

A disturbing internet "game" has made it to Dayton.

The "Knockout Game" has become viral, where people record themselves punching complete and unaware strangers.

"I think that this is kind of a copycat thing they're seeing other people online, YouTube, doing this and they think it's cool," said Detective Nathan Curley of the Dayton Police Department.

The video above shows Ronald Baird using a cart to collect cans near East Fifth Street last month, then one of the teens suddenly runs up behind him and punches him in the head. He abandons his cart and runs.

His attacker keeps chasing him, striking him again in the head and demanding his wallet. They got the man's wallet and $3 cash.

This video was given to police by a teacher at Stivers School of the Arts who saw it on a student's cell phone.

Dayton police tracked down two teens, 15 and 17 years old, who are now they are facing felony robbery charges.

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Knockout game comes to Dayton, teens facing felony

Two Dayton teens are facing felony charges for allegedly attacking a homeless man and robbing him of $3 during the so-called Knockout Game.

The attacked happened March 7 in an alley near the Stivers School of the Arts on East Fifth Street, where the teens are students. Dayton police were alerted when a teacher at the school saw a video of the attack on a students cell phone, recorded it on her phone and reported it to administrators. From there, detectives were able to track down the two teens Monday, said Det. Nathan Curley of the Dayton polices east patrol division.

The kids admitted they started out by playing the Knockout Game, Curley said. Thats where you run up behind a victim who is not paying attention and you sucker-punch them, and try to knock them out.

Videos of teens playing the Knockout Game are on the Internet, but this is the first case Dayton police has investigated, Curley said.

The victim, 51-year-old Ronald Baird, is a known panhandler in Dayton and was collecting cans neighbors left for him in the alley, Curley said.

In the video obtained exclusively by The Dayton Daily News, a teen is seen following Baird as he pushes a cart, then suddenly runs up behind him and punches Baird in the back of the head. Baird yells out before abandoning his cart and fleeing. The teen chases Baird down, striking him in the head again and pushing him into a fence. The teen then demands Bairds wallet, which he hands over and says, I got three bucks. The teen takes the cash and the wallet, and demands Bairds cell phone, to which he says, I aint got no phone, Im poor.

The 17-year-old male who allegedly struck Baird and the 15-year-old male who assisted in the assault by recording it and verbally encouraging the attack have both been charged with robbery, a second-degree felony. Both were booked into the Montgomery County Juvenile Detention Center on Monday. Officials will pursue trying the teens as adults, Curley said.

Baird did suffer head injuries but its unknown if he sought medical attention. He called his brother, Bellbrook Mayor Bob Baird, and reported the attack, Curley said. The mayor could not be reached by phone Monday.

Police are trying to locate Baird, who is presumed homeless, to check his condition and get a statement regarding the attack. Anyone who can help officers locate him is asked to call (937) 222-7867.

Detectives hope the attack doesnt start a trend.

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Homeless man victim of knockout game, teens charged