Vladimir Putin has said he is "very worried" about events in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian militants are occupying government buildings in defiance of a warning from Kiev to stand down.
The Kremlin has responded to a request for help from a separatist leader in Slavyansk, where at least two people were killed in clashes with Ukrainian forces on Sunday.
Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "Unfortunately, there are a great many such appeals coming from the eastern Ukrainian regions addressed directly to Putin to intervene in this or that form.
"The president is watching the developments in eastern Ukraine with great concern."
The comment echoes language used ahead of the annexation of Crimea last month, when the Kremlin said appeals from ethnic Russians "would not be ignored" after key buildings were seized by pro-Moscow "self-defence" forces.
Pro-Russian forces detain a man in eastern Ukraine Armed men are occupying numerous government buildings across eastern Ukraine despite the passing of a deadline set by acting president Oleksandr Turchynov for protesters to lay down their weapons.
The President also threatened a "large-scale anti-terrorist operation" to reclaim the east, although there is no sign of that as yet.
The eastern city of Horlivka became the latest city to be targeted on Monday, when at least 100 armed men entered a police station and forced riot officers to withdraw from the area.
They were seen smashing windows, ransacking the building and setting up barricades in footage beamed around the world via a live stream online.
Pro-Russian forces have asked Vladimir Putin to help them Protesters in Ukraine's east, which has a large ethnic Russian population, hope to follow in the footsteps of the Crimean Peninsula and force a referendum on joining the Russian Federation.
The area was a strong bastion of support for ousted President and Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych and many residents fear they will be suppressed under the new Western-friendly interim government in Kiev.
In the eastern city of Mariupol, Sky News Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard said militants occupying a council building have had assurances that police in the city are "on their side".
She said: "They are reinforcing their barricades, bringing more tyres, more sandbags. They are telling us that they are appealing to Russia for help and saying they will stay in that building until victory.
"They are paying no heed whatsoever to this deadline from the acting president."
Militants have seized buildings in key eastern cities President Turchynov earlier claimed he had no objection to holding a referendum as he was confident the majority of Ukrainians would support an "independent, democratic and unitary Ukraine".
However his office has asked the United Nations to send peacekeepers to help the carry conduct a "joint anti-terrorist operation in the east."
A peacekeeper deployment would have to be authorised by the UN Security Council, in which Russia holds a veto.
But the interim government in Kiev did receive a boost when the US signed a $1bn loan guarantee designed to help Ukraine's ailing economy.
World leaders warned the violent seizure of the government buildings was a "dangerous escalation" in the crisis.
David Cameron spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the pair agreed that the building occupations should be condemned and foreign secretaries in Luxembourg should discuss how work on sanctions can be accelerated.
Foreign Secretary William Hague said denials of Russian involvement did not have "a shred of credibility".
Burning tyres at a checkpoint in Slaviansk He said: "What has happened in eastern Ukraine over the last 48 hours is clearly a further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine and it is a very dangerous one because of course it could lead to other measures being taken on both sides.
"There can't be any real doubt that this is something that has been planned and brought about by Russia. The forces involved are well-armed, well-trained, well-equipped, well-coordinated, behaving exactly the same way as what turned out to be Russian forces behaved in Crimea before the full Russian military takeover of Crimea.
"So it has all the appearances of a further gross, deliberate and premeditated violation of the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine."
The UK's ambassador to the UN, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, told the Security Council that satellite images show between 35,000 and 40,000 Russian troops are massed near the Ukraine border, in addition to the 25,000 "illegally" in Crimea.
Pro-Russian protesters detain a man in Luhansk Sir Mark said there were increasing signs of Russian involvement in orchestrating the violence.
"We want to use this Security Council meeting to expose that but also warn Russia against using events in eastern Ukraine as a pretext for further military escalation in the region," he said.
Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the meeting he is alarmed by Ukraine's announcement of a "full-scale anti-terror operation" to seize back occupied areas.
He denied Western claims that Moscow is behind the violence, and said Kiev has been using neo-Nazi forces to destabilise its eastern region.
"It is the West that will determine the opportunity to avoid civil war in Ukraine," he said.
Hundreds of civilians have come out in support of the activists "Some people, including in this chamber, do not want to see the real reasons for what is happening in Ukraine and are constantly seeing the hand of Moscow in what is going on. Enough. That is enough."
He said Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine are "concerned about their future" and "don't want radicals to impose their will on them".
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov later demanded explanations after claiming there were reports the head of the CIA was visiting Ukraine.
European Union foreign ministers are holding talks later today to discuss how to toughen sanctions against Russia without losing the support of EU governments worried about Moscow switching off the gas to Europe.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a statement: "The Russian Federation is urged to call back its troops from the Ukrainian border and to cease any further actions aimed at destabilising Ukraine."
Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK would "press for a firm and united response".
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