Russian President Vladimir Putin is ‘outraged’ by the violence in Ukraine and is under huge pressure to send in tanks as the country lurches towards civil war, the Kremlin warned last night.

Amid the deepening violence and bloodshed, Moscow flexed its muscles by demanding that presidential elections scheduled for May 25 be postponed.

The government in Kiev declared two days of mourning for Ukrainian troops killed in the eastern city of Slaviansk and for victims of protests in Odessa – including pro-Russian activists killed in attacks by Ukrainian extremist groups.