A man rides a bike past a Ukrainian armoured personnel carrier at a checkpoint in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine May 7, 2014. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
MARIUPOL Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces seized the rebel-held city hall in the eastern port city of Mariupol overnight, driving out pro-Russian activists, then withdrew, making no attempt to hold onto the building, witnesses said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's Channel 5 television said earlier the Ukrainian National Guard had seized the administrative centre in Mariupol, a mainly Russian-speaking city of half a million and key component in the self-declared breakaway People's Republic of Donetsk that will hold a referendum on secession this weekend.
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