Pro-Russian separatists will vote to set up a breakaway regional leadership in the eastern Ukraine region of Donetsk and Luhansk aiming to take their war-torn region closer to Russia and defying Kiev and the West as the big guns still boom across the territory.
The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is to meet in Strasbourg, following violent protests in eastern Ukraine. According to Reuters, the Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatseniuk is to address PACE on the second day of its session.
Acting President Oleksander Turchinov called an emergency meeting of security chiefs in the capital Kiev yesterday and took personal control of the situation, the parliamentary press service said.
The Assembly is due to hold an urgent debate later this week over threats to the democratic institutions in Ukraine, and take a decision on a motion to reconsider the credentials of the Russian delegation over the situation in Crimea.
Ukraine's curiously named Internet Party has come up with an offbeat campaign gimmick to lure voters - dressing as Star Wars characters.
Tensions remain high in eastern Ukraine after at least three died in a day of shooting during what was supposed to be an Easter truce.
In an exclusive interview with NBC News, the Ukrainian Prime Minister warns of the dangers of unchecked Russian expansion and aggression.