Participants from a large pro-Russian rally seized control of the state administration building in Donetsk on Sunday. <br /><br />They’re demanding a referendum on the region, similar to the one that led to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.<br /><br />They’re also angry at the arrests of high-profile pro-Russian activists.<br /><br />One protester felt the West ignored Russian sympathisers in Ukraine:<br />“I want to support my people. We are against the Kiev government, we are against fascism. I want a customs union with Russia. Kiev doesn’t hear us, the European Union doesn’t hear us. I want to appeal to the EU – let them come to Donetsk, to Donbas, and hear our voices. They only hear voices in Kiev.”<br /><br />Many pro-Russian Ukrainians simply believe the current government does not represent their interests. <br /><br />Aysa, another protester, told euronews:<br />“I care about what will happen tomorrow to our country. I’m not against separation but I do not recognise the current government because we now have oligarchs in charge again.”<br /><br />Elsewhere, Russian flags were also carried, and Russian songs sung in the eastern city of Kharkiv. The security agency headquarters in Luhansk were occupied. <br /><br />Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking southern and eastern regions have been emboldened by Russian troops, which are still stationed near Ukraine’s eastern border.
