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Thursday 01 May 2014 17.48

Ukraine is bringing back military conscription with immediate effect to deal with a spreading pro-Russia insurgency in its east.

A decree announcing the measure was issued this afternoon by interim president Oleksander Turchynov.

The measure was being taken "given the deteriorating situation in the east and the south ... the rising force of armed pro-Russian units and the taking of public administration buildings ... which threaten territorial integrity," Mr Turchynov's office said.

Ukraine's parliament voted on 17 April to "recommend to the acting president to restart conscription into the Ukraine armed forces without delay".

It said the action was needed in order to "bolster Ukraine's defence capabilities in connection with aggression from the Russian Federation".

Ukraine scrapped compulsory military service for young men only this year, under a law introduced in 2013 by Viktor Yanukovych, the Kremlin-friendly president who ended up fleeing mass pro-Western demonstrations two months ago.

Ukraine currently has 130,000 personnel in its armed forces.

With reserves, this could be boosted to around 1,000,000.

The move came after Mr Turchynov said the Western-backed authorities in Kiev were "powerless" to stop pro-Russian separatists in the east from taking over public buildings.

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Ukraine to reintroduce military conscription