Ukraine says won't charge separatists if buildings surrendered

LUHANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine will not prosecute pro-Russian separatists who seized government buildings if they surrender their weapons and disperse, the country's president said on Thursday, in a bid to ease a crisis that stoked fears of the country's break-up.

But the armed men, who strengthened barricades around the buildings with barbed wire and sandbags overnight, said they would not leave unless the government also agreed to hold a referendum to boost the regions' independence.