Kiev, April 15 (IANS): The Ukrainian government Tuesday launched an anti-terror operation against pro-Russia activists in the eastern city of Donetsk, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said.

"The main purpose of these actions is to protect Ukrainian citizens, to stop terror, crime and the attempts to tear apart our country," Turchynov told the parliament.

He pledged that the government would take a "balanced and responsible approach" to the operation to avoid grave consequences, Xinhua reported.

Turchynov again accused Russia of fomenting the unrest in Ukraine, saying the Kremlin planned "to set on fire the country's eastern and southern regions".

A police station and a state security building were seized Saturday by armed men dressed in camouflage fatigues in Sloviansk, a town about 100 km north of regional capital Donetsk near the Russian border.

The armed men initially occupied the police station, where they seized at least 400 handguns and 20 automatic weapons.

A deadline was set by Ukraine for pro-Russian activists to leave two government buildings they had seized expired at 6 a.m (GMT) Monday, which did not have any effect on the protestors.

The pro-Russian protestors who seized the buildings opened fire at the approaching troops, killing one security officer and injuring five others.

Rro-Russian protestors took over government buildings throughout the region earlier this month.

After seizing government buildings in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk, the protestors proclaimed the region's independence from Kiev last week.

Russia denies responsibility for the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine.