Thousands Cheer Pro-Russia Rebels At Ukraine Rally

[Purveyor]

By Associated Press July 6 at 4:06 PM

DONETSK, Ukraine — Discouraged but defiant, pro-Russia separatists vowed to keep fighting the government in Kiev from the largest city in eastern Ukraine, where they regrouped Sunday after being driven out of a key stronghold.

At a rally in a central Donetsk square, the rebels were cheered on by thousands of supporters waving flags from Russia and the self-proclaimed independent Donetsk People’s Republic. Many urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to quickly come to their aid — but there was no comment Sunday from Russia.

While the rebel withdrawal Saturday from Slovyansk, a city of 100,000 they had held for months, was not a total victory, President Petro Poroshenko said purging the city of the insurgents had “incredible symbolic importance.” It was unclear whether the government — after abandoning a cease-fire last week and going back on the offensive — was now winning the fight that had sputtered for months.

Rebel fighters from Slovyansk could be seen walking through Donetsk on Sunday in groups of 10 to 15. Most were still wearing camouflage, but some sported identical new bright-colored shorts and shirts. It was an unsuccessful effort to blend in with the civilian population, since they still carried automatic weapons.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pro-russia-rebels-regroup-to-fight-on-in-ukraine/2014/07/06/9fd49be8-04f4-11e4-b062-5dc638f21c7d_story.html

[Duckhunter935]

1. Saw that on the webcam

square was never full but there were quite a few, I would say around a thousand at most. The tight shot makes it look fuller than I saw. Even at "several thousand" out of a population of almost a million, what awesome support the separatists seem to draw.

Rebel fighters from Slovyansk could be seen walking through Donetsk on Sunday in groups of 10 to 15. Most were still wearing camouflage, but some sported identical new bright-colored shorts and shirts. It was an unsuccessful effort to blend in with the civilian population, since they still carried automatic weapons.

Nothing wrong with armed fighters now dressing as civilians

Donetsk currently has a population of over 982,000 inhabitants (2010)[1] and has a metropolitan area of over 2,000,000 inhabitants (2011). According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Donetsk is the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk

webcam
http://velton.ua/ru/webcams/Wide2HQ.shtml

[Igel]

2. A thousand or even 3 out of a million isn't all that great.

Esp. when there are supposed to be over a thousand fighters, and those who left Slavyansk brought their families with them.

They closed down one of the main shopping centers in Donetsk. I wonder if the need for all kinds of stuff for the fighters and their families was the reason? (They've taken over a couple of dorms at the main university there; the students there were just told to get out with less than an hour's notice, but not told where to go.)

The Donetsk town council said that people should stay home. A few days ago three traffic cops were gunned down for reasons that I still haven't seen reported by men in camo with St. George ribbons. So today the police just decided to stay home.