Tensions in Donetsk are running high following the bloodiest day of the uprising that saw Ukrainian forces kill as many 50 pro-Russian rebels during a raid at Donetsk airport.<br /><br />Pro-Moscow supporters are bolstering defences amid fears government troops are to launch a full-scale military assault on the city.<br /><br />The streets are deserted and civilians are living in fear: “ We are all worried. How can they bomb us, unarmed people. We have no weapons and they bomb us with rockets. They should have thought just a little bit. We are not attacking them, we’re just defending ourselves,” said one woman in the city. <br /><br />Donetsk is the seat of Ukraine’s mining industry and as a result of the unrest all mines have been closed. <br /><br />The battle at Donetsk airport marked the first time the government had unleashed aircraft and troops directly at the rebels in Donetsk. <br /><br />The separatists have repeatedly asked Moscow to send Russian troops to aid them.<br /><br />Russia has called on Ukraine to stop “punitive actions” in the region and criticised new president, Petro Poroshenko for not instigating dialogue.
