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                 Donetsk Russians Say Only Putin Can Save Them

   by Jamie Dettmer

   It is a frigid evening in Donetsk's Lenin Square, but the cold has not
   deterred a small crowd from maintaining a weeks-long protest against
   the new Ukraine government in Kyiv. They say they want to follow Crimea
   and break with Ukraine and join the Russian Federation.
   Denis, 70, says the new government in Kyiv is making everyone poorer
   and the people of eastern Ukraine can't live with the politicians of
   the capital anymore.
   Vera, 62, says she'd like Donetsk to stay in Ukraine but that ethnic
   Russians are being forced to ask Putin to help because the politicians
   in Kyiv don't care about the east of Ukraine and they just think of
   themselves.
   Donetsk is in the heart of the Donbass coalfield and is one of
   Ukraine's major industrial cities. The activists in Lenin Square are
   demanding the release of an activist who briefly proclaimed himself
   "people's governor" of the region this month.
   And they praise the actions of Russian separatists in Crimea, who
   stormed Wednesday a Ukrainian naval base in the Crimean city of
   Sevastopol. This is a day after Crimean leaders signed a treaty with
   Russia absorbing the peninsula into the Russian Federation after a
   disputed referendum.
   Ukraine's new leaders are becoming increasingly anxious about the
   protests in the eastern Ukraine cities that are home to large numbers
   of ethnic Russians. Protests have mounted, and over the weekend
   violence flared when more than 5,000 pro-Russian protesters roamed
   central Donetsk smashing doors and windows and forcing entry to
   government buildings.
   Three have died in the recent protests in eastern Ukraine.
   Kyiv's politicians claim Moscow has been infiltrating Russian
   provocateurs to incite much of the agitation - an allegation also
   leveled by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.  The Kremlin denies this
   and has warned it is ready to send forces massed on the border to
   protect ethnic Russians - the initial reason given for seizing Crimea.
   Pro-Russian activists deny the claims, flashing their Ukrainian
   passports to show they come from Donetsk.
   The country's new leaders, who replaced President Viktor Yanukovych
   ousted in February after months of street protests against his rule,
   are trying to dampen ethnic Russian agitation by offering reforms.
   They are promising greater decentralization while preserving the unity
   of Ukraine, which will give the regions, cities, and districts broad
   powers and the funding needed for their development.
   But one of the first moves by Ukraine's parliament after Yanukovych
   fled to Russia still rankles here. The lawmakers passed legislation
   abolishing a law that allows regions to use Russian as a second
   official language. The acting president vetoed that abolition but
   ethnic Russians point to it as evidence showing what Kyiv really thinks
   of them.
   Artyom, a 36-year-old small businessman, says it is too late for
   reforms. Donetsk should be part of the Russian Federation and says that
   would be best.
   Despite President Putin's indication Tuesday that he has no more
   designs on Ukrainian territory, Ukrainians fear that he may now be
   preparing more land-grabs of ethnic Russian-dominated areas.
   Images from Ukraine
   ''''
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/donetsk-russians-say-putin-only-one-t
   o-save-them/1874365.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/donetsk-russians-say-putin-only-one-to-save-them/1874365.html