Residents of Ukraine's Donetsk and Kharkov rally to join Russia
6 April 2014, 11:56 -- About 500 people from pro-Russian political parties and organizations are holding a rally at Lenin Square in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk this Saturday. Many of the rally's participants are demanding that Donbass (a region in Ukraine, known for its coal production, where Donetsk is one of the largest cities) should become a part of Russia. Simultaneously, two rallies are being held in Kharkov's Liberty Square in support of a referendum on Ukraine's federalization.
Some are carrying Russian white-blue-and-red flags with 'The Donetsk Republic' written on them, Interfax-Ukraina news agency reports.
After the rally, the participants plan to march along Artyom Street (Donetsk's central street) to the city council's office, which is not far from Lenin Square.
Kharkov, Odessa, Donetsk regions demand autonomy for southeastern Ukraine
Demonstrators at a pro-Russian rally in central Kharkov on Sunday called for the establishment of an autonomous republic consisting of southeastern Ukrainian provinces. The meetings in Kharkov were followed by big Ukrainian cities such as Dotetsk, Odessa and Lugansk. The demonstrators urged the southeastern Ukrainian provinces to unite against Kiev.
'We are the successors of the republics of Donetsk-Krovoy Rog and Odessa. We are not the surviving remnants of the Bandera forces. We have been and will be the pillar of our country,' Yuri Apukhtin, a Civic Forum leader, told the demonstrators.
He urged the southeastern provinces to unite, create a coordination committee and campaign against the Kiev putschists as a single front.
'We see our place in Ukraine in a historically-shaped southeastern autonomy,' Apukhtin said.
An agreement has been reached with the leaders of similar protests in Donetsk and Lugansk to coordinate joint efforts, he said.
The protesters demanded the release of well-known activist Ignat Kromskoy, who had been put under house arrest 'on charges of organizing mass riots' for taking part in the March 1 action to drive away maidan supporters who had come from Kiev and other regions and seized the regional administration's office.
Participants in a similar rally in Luhansk demanded federalization and protested against the suspension of Russian TV channels in the Lugansk region. Several demonstrators wiped their boots on a Ukrainian national flag.
Rallies in Dnepropetrovsk
Ukrainian loyalists and pro-Russian residents held several minor rallies, attended by 200-300 participants, in Dnipropetrovsk on Sunday. Pro-Russian demonstrators gathered near the Opera House, as usual, to demand that a referendum be held on Ukraine's membership in the Customs Union.
They also chanted calls to boycott the presidential elections and burned a European Union flag. Others filled Lenin Square to discuss the presidential candidates. Children and adults drew a 10 by 5 meters yellow-and-blue map of Ukraine with Crimea and sang the national anthem. The regional police department reported that the rallies had proceeded without incident.
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