Eastern Ukraine: Separatists seize arms, administrative buildings, demand referendum
Groups of separatists have occupied the buildings of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) in Donetsk and Luhansk, Donbass People’s volunteer corps claims responsibility for these actions.
In Kharkiv the police manage to regain control over the building of the local administration.
What do the separatists want?
They demand to hold a referendum over two questions ‘Are you in favour of the merger of the Republic of Donetsk into the newly-formed federal Ukraine as a sub-federal entity?’ and ‘Are you in favour of the merger of the Republic of Donetsk into the Russian Federation as a sub-federal entity?’ At that, the people who barricaded themselves in the building have hung up Russian flags.
{movie}Separatists in Donetsk’s Rada (Council)|right|15744{/movie}
It is noteworthy that such state body as ‘the Republic of Donetsk’ does not exist, and ‘federal Ukraine’ has never been formed yet.
A number of secessionists name some Ukraine’s regions ‘Novorossiya’ (New Russia), with Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhye, Luhansk, Odessa, Kharkiv, Kherson. In Luhansk they got access to the SBU’s gun store, Ukrainian media report.
Minister of Interior: aggressiveness is going over the top
Thin groups of separatists are still maintaining hold upon administrative buildings in Luhansk and Donetsk. Admirers in social media are calling to take their part in this standoff.
Arsen Avakov, Ukraine’s Interior Minister, shifts the blame for the clashes on Russia and the ousted president. ‘Putin and Yanukovych ordered and paid for another round of separatists’ clashes in the east of the country – in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Not many people are drawn by them, but their aggressiveness is going over the top. In Donetsk women and children were take to the crowd of those who were storming [buildings]. Being eager to have victims and blood in the conflict, they are making provocative acts,’ he wrote in social media.
The Ministry of Interior intends to settle the conflict in an amicable way and is not going to shoot at people, Mr Avakov said.
