Pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine fight among themselves
Mr Donia, a slender figure in a well-worn brown leather jacket, told The
Telegraph that he fled after threats on his life. “I had to go away because
I was being followed and somebody took a potshot at my car,” he said via
telephone. “There are Fascists in Donetsk and people on our side that are
willing to kill.”
Even before disappearing, Mr Donia saw the anger of his followers turn on him
as he orchestrated the violent storming of three buildings in central
Donetsk. When he then asked his followers to leave peacefully, saying “We
have made our point,” they spat in disgust and accused him of being weak.
The demonstrators have called on the local administration to dispatch a formal
letter to Kyiv demanding a referendum on Donetsk’s status within Ukraine.
They also want the release of Pavel Gubarev, a 30-year old businessman, who
was detained after declaring himself the “popular governor” of Donetsk and
seizing the main government building for three days.
However, it was Mr Gubarev’s wife, Katya, who triggered the revolt against Mr
Donia. In a video message, she accused Mr Donia of sabotaging what had been
a growing movement when her husband was arrested. “Donia has taken over and
destroyed us,” she said.
In the midst of the splits, Kyiv-appointed officials in Donetsk have pursued a
robust crackdown on ringleaders of the protests. After releasing photographs
of the “most wanted” from the demonstrations, the authorities have carried
out a series of arrests. Andrei Khudyakov, a notorious activist from Moscow,
has fled the city, and at least three Russian citizens have been denied
entry. Andrei Pirgin, the man behind a shadowy outfit called Donetsk
Republic that advocates violent action, is also on the run.
Military stand guard in Lenin Square, Donetsk (Romain Carre/ Rex)
“We will get them,” said Sergei Taruta, the Kyiv appointed governor of
Donetsk. “It’s a matter of time now.”
The fall-off in support for pro-Russian rallies has led to suspicions that the
powerful business elite of Donetsk has taken behind- the-scenes action to
put limits on the protest movement. “What happens in the corridors of
political and commercial power in the regions and on the streets is
intimately connected,” said Adam Swain, a University of Nottingham lecturer
who is an expert on the city.
The governor, Mr Taruta, a tycoon himself, has issued his own demands to Kyiv
following the crackdown on pro-Russian agitators.
“We want decentralisation of power and this region should have more rights,”
he told EU ambassadors last week.
Pro-Russian protests have also fizzled out in nearby Kharkiv and the southern
province of Luhansk. The failure to mobilise more decisively has dismayed
the rank-and-file Russian-speaking activists, who now see Mr Putin as a hero
for annexing Ukraine. “We are standing up against Fascists who want Ukraine
without the Russians,” said Lilila Kardasheva, a housewife. “If Vladimir
Putin came on this stage in Donetsk, we would be with him to the end of our
days.”