Ukraine makes first contact with Russia

Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says his government has made the first "timid" contacts with Russian leaders aimed at resolving the crisis in his ex-Soviet state.

The dramatic announcement came four days after President Vladimir Putin won parliament's authorisation to use force against Russia's neighbour in response to three months of protests that swept pro-Kremlin leaders from power and installed a new Western-backed team in charge.

There was no immediate response from Russia to Yatsenyuk's comments and the Ukranian premier himself stood firmly behind his government's decision to distance itself from Moscow's rule.

But the contacts came in the midst of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of State John Kerry and appeared to reflect combined efforts by Washington and its European allies to prevent an all-out confrontation from flaring up on Europe's eastern edge.

"So far, (the talks) have been rather timid. But the first steps have been made," Yatsenyuk said in a statement issued after he and interim president Oleksandr Turchynov met Kerry during the US diplomat's first visit to Ukraine since the political crisis first erupted in November.

Yatsenyuk also reaffirmed his government's commitment to signing a key EU trade deal that ousted president Viktor Yanukovych rejected in November in favour of closer ties with Kiev's historic masters in Moscow.

The shock decision sparked three months of protests against his rule that culminated in a week of carnage in which nearly 100 died and led to his exile in Russia.

Putin had earlier appeared to leave little room for negotiations in his first extensive remarks on the crisis since winning parliamentary approval to use force against the culturally splintered nation of 46 million.

"Are today's authorities legitimate? The parliament - partially yes. All the others - no,' Putin said.

"And at the highest level, I have no partner there. There is no president there," he said in reference to Turchynov -- an interim leader approved by Ukraine's parliament and recognised both by EU nations and the United States.

Yatsenyuk said the consultations with Moscow mainly concerned the status of a $US15 billion ($A17 billion) loan package that Putin promised to Yanukovych in December as a reward for his decision to put the EU deal on hold.

"We would like to understand Russia's position about the signed agreement on extending a number of financial instruments to Ukraine, and on extending credits to Ukraine," Yatsenyuk said.