Pro-Russian gunmen stormed city hall in Donetsk, a large city in west Ukraine, on Wednesday. Apparenty, the Urkranian troops that were originally meant to be restoring order and peace to Ukraine have now sided with the separatists. Accoriding to the Washington Post this has not been immediately verified and it is unclear whether the troops defected or are acting at their own free will.

In the meantime, NATO announced Wednesday they will be increasing their presence in Baltic and the eastern Mediterranean by implementing air patrols and warships. The action comes at the effort to reassure European EU member states and to heat up pressure on Moscow before international talks on the Ukrainian crisis on Thursday in Geneva. John Kerry stated that his main goal is to persuade Moscow to call publicly for separatist groups to disarm and stand down. 

Read: Apparent Ukrainian Troop Defections Escalate

Read: NATO To Step Up Pressure Near Russian Borders

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