Ben Brown reports from the Sevastopol rally, where pro-Ukraine activists were beaten up. Photo: BBC

The activists were attacked with whips, a BBC reporter at the scene says, describing the scenes as very ugly.

Russian troops and allied militias are now in de-facto control of Ukraine's autonomous region ahead of a referendum, which Kiev says is illegal.

The US has warned Moscow that any moves to annex Crimea, an autonomous region, would close the door to diplomacy.

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At the scene

Ben BrownBBC News, Sevastopol

It started peacefully. Ukrainians - many of them middle-aged women - waved flags and sang songs to celebrate the birth 200 years ago of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. They see him as the father of the Ukrainian language.

But by the end of the rally, pro-Russian demonstrators had turned up to gatecrash the celebrations. A line of young men and Cossacks with whips stood and glared at the rally menacingly - tension rose, and arguments broke out, both sides telling each other that Crimea is "our country".

Then it turned nasty, very nasty. The pro-Russians chased a group into a nearby car park. First, they set upon the driver of a white van, smashing his windscreen. He tried to drive through the mob to get away but crashed into another vehicle and was attacked again.

Another person was dragged into some bushes, kicked, beaten and lashed with a Cossack's whip.

We were threatened, too, by the pro-Russians and ran away before they set upon us as well. It was a terrifying moment, and a glimpse into the abyss that Crimea now teeters over.

The violence erupted when pro-Russian groups attacked dozens of people guarding a rally to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Ukrainian poet and national hero Taras Shevchenko.

The crowd threw missiles at a car as the activists tried to flee the scene, smashing windows.

Some of the attackers were Russian Cossacks.

The rally was attended by about 200 people.

A rival pro-Russian demonstration was also staged in the city - the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

In other developments on Sunday:

• Thousands of people attend a meeting to commemorate Taras Shevchenko in Kiev, with Ukrainian PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk pledging not to give a "single centimetre" of Ukrainian land to Russia
• Pro-Russian supporters hold a rally in the eastern city of Donetsk; there have been no reports of any violence so far

'Geopolitical reasons'

On Friday, US Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Crimea was part of Ukraine and Moscow should avoid military escalation.

 

 

Ukraine's Border Guard Service says footage from its plane shows Russian troops digging in

The exchange between Mr Kerry and Mr Lavrov came in a telephone conversation on Saturday, a US state department official said.

"He [John Kerry] made clear that continued military escalation and provocation in Crimea or elsewhere in Ukraine, along with steps to annex Crimea to Russia would close any available space for diplomacy, and he urged utmost restraint," the official said.

Mr Lavrov had earlier said that the crisis in Ukraine was "created artificially for purely geopolitical reasons".

Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted he has the right to protect Russian interests and the rights of ethnic Russians in Crimea.

Moscow has been tightening its military grip on the Crimean peninsula.

The pro-Russian authorities there have called the 16 March referendum to vote on whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

Ukraine and the leading Western nations have called the planned vote illegitimate.

Unrest in Ukraine erupted in November, following former President Viktor Yanukovych's last-minute rejection of a landmark EU deal in favour of a bailout from Russia.

Mr Yanukovych was ousted last month, and a new government has been voted in by the Ukrainian parliament.

Presidential elections are scheduled for 25 May.