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50 injured in clashes in Kharkov - Ukraine's Interior Ministry

13 April 2014, 17:18 -- At least 50 people were injured Sunday in clashes in east Ukraina's Kharkov between pro-federalization activists and forces loyal to the government, the local Interior Ministry has said, RIA Novosti reports.

Medics said most victims sustained light and moderately severe injuries. One police officer was also among those injured. Earlier reports said protesters, heading to the pre-trial detention center in Kharkov to support the detained activists, clashed with forces loyal to the Kiev authorities.

After the 'provocation,' federalists returned to the Independence Square, in downtown Kharkov. Several thousand people are currently near the monument to Lenin on the square, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported.

The Kharkov administration building has been cordoned off by police. Beginning last month, protests in east Ukrainian cities have been held each weekend, with citizens refusing to accept their newly-appointed governors as legitimate, as they were installed by the government that seized power in a coup in February. Residents of the country's east, where many are Russian speakers, fear the rise of ultranationalist forces in the country's central government and demand greater autonomy, including in issues of official language and regional government.

The rallies intensified last weekend, with protesters in Donetsk, Lugansk and Kharkov seizing regional government buildings. Pro-federalization activists declared creation of the People's Republic of Kharkov and Donetsk People's Republic on Monday.

Federalization supporters rally in Ukraine's Kharkov

A rally in support of federalization kicked off in Ukraine's eastern city Kharkov around Sunday noon, a RIA Novosti correspondent has reported. Demonstrators have gathered near the Lenin monument where a podium has been set up ahead of the event. A local South-East movement's coordinator Yuri Apukhtin made a statement, marking the official start of the rally.

Several thousand people, waving Russian tricolors, Belarusian and Soviet flags, are participating in the event, the correspondent said.

Similar rallies have been sparking off in Kharkov, Donetsk and Luhansk since early March when the Kiev regime attempted to outlaw the language of Russian minority across Ukraine's east and replaced the majority of governors.

Protesters are demanding that Ukraine become a federal state. Last Monday, pro-federalization activists in Kharkov and Donetsk declared the creation of the People's Republic of Kharkov and Donetsk People's Republic.

People in Donetsk region's towns of Slaviansk, Krasny Liman and Kramatorsk have occupied administration buildings.

The independence drive in eastern Ukraine was inspired by the referendum in Crimea on March 16, when over 96 percent voted for reunification with Russia.

The West condemned the move and blamed Moscow for destabilizing the situation in Ukraine. Russia insists on reconciliation dialogue involving all regions and constitutional reforms to make Ukraine a federation.

Source: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_13/Ten- injured-in-clashes-in-Kharkiv-reports-7783/