In the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk armed pro-Russian groups manned their own self-built checkpoints over night.<br /><br />The sudden appearance of men with specialised Russian weapons and identical uniforms without insignia has caused alarm back in Kyiv. Something similar happened before Russian troops seized Crimea.<br /><br />Sketchy reports of a car shooting in Slovyansk in the early hours of Monday morning which according to local sources left several wounded, reflect the raised tensions.<br /><br />The occupation of government buildings and police stations has taken place in several several cities across the Donetsk region. <br /><br />In Makyivka the city hall has been taken over by unarmed protesters and a new “peoples” mayor proclaimed. The action has support among Russian speakers:<br /><br />“Ukraine has been independent for 23 years, but independence from whom? What we see in this country is a mess, the biggest mess ever. Some live in luxury while others suffer from poverty,” said one protester. <br /><br />Many ethnic Russians in Ukraine’s east widely fear that the new pro-Western Ukrainian government will suppress them. The pro-Russian protesters claim to be fighting for a better future.
