Pro-Russia Protesters Storm Government Buildings In Eastern Cities
KYIV — Pro-Russia Ukrainian protesters have stormed the main government building in the eastern city of Donetsk. Meanwhile in Luhansk, also in the east of the country, protesters broke into the headquarters of Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU.
In Donetsk, some 2,000 protesters rallied outside the regional administration building earlier on April 6, before a group of protesters broke into the building and raised the Russian flag.
“I came to support my people,” Lyubov, a female protester, told the Reuters news agency. “We are against that gang [in Kyiv], we are against fascism. I want Customs Union [with Russia]. Kyiv is not listening to us, the European Union is not listening to us. I would be happy for talks with the EU — let them come to Donetsk, to Donbas, and listen to us. No, they are only listening to those in Kyiv instead.”
Reports from the scene said police did not take action against the protesters.
Local media reports later said some 200 protesters threatening to set up a “people’s administration” later barricaded themselves inside the regional administration building.
Ukraine’s independent UNIAN news agency says a female protester and a law enforcement officer were hurt during the storming of the security service’s headquarters in Luhansk.
Pro-Russian rallies were also held in Kharkiv, yet another eastern city. Protesters called for an independence referendum like the one that led to the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by Russia last month.
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A rally against separatist tendencies and in support of preserving Ukraine’s unity was also held in Kharkiv on April 6.
Ukrainian media reported scuffles between pro-Russia and a group of pro-European protesters, with police trying to keep the two groups apart.
Ukraine’s mostly Russian-speaking southern and eastern regions have been hit by protests following the ouster of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in February.
The pro-Russia protests come with Russian troops massed near Ukraine’s eastern border.
On April 5, Ukraine’s SBU security service said it had detained 15 people on suspicion of plotting to overthrow authorities in the Luhansk region.
In a statement, the SBU said the group “planned to carry out an armed seizure of power on April 10 in the Luhansk region through the intimidation of the peaceful population and the use of weapons and explosives.”
It said a large cache of weapons was seized. No names or additional details about the alleged plot were provided.
The announcement came after Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said earlier this week that it had detained 25 Ukrainians on suspicion of planning attacks in Russia.
Also on April 5, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of “economic aggression” following recent price hikes for natural-gas supplies.
Russia twice this last week raised the price of gas for Kyiv, taking the cost for Ukraine from $285.5 per 1,000 cubic meters at the start of last week to $485.5 by the end of the week.