People in Donetsk rally in support of pro-Russians
A huge demonstration has been held in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk in support of pro-Russian forces.
Thousands of pro-Russian supporters demonstrated in the city on Sunday.
The protest rally came after Ukrainian troops claimed to have forced the pro-Russia forces out of Slavyansk on Saturday.
This also came after anti-Kyiv fighters left the city for the town of Kramatorsk following Ukrainian security forces’ overnight attacks.
Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko ordered the Ukrainian flag to be hoisted all across the flashpoint city.
However, opposition leader, Andrei Purgin, claimed that his men only left Slavyansk to protect the civilian population.
Violence in Ukraine intensified after the Donetsk and Lugansk regions declared independence on May 12 following local referendums, in which their residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence from Kyiv. Ukrainian authorities dismissed the referendums as “null and void”.
Hundreds of people have so far lost their lives as a result of the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, which has also forced tens of thousands to escape to Russia.
MOL/MAM/AS