World press on unrest in Eastern Ukraine (April 9, 2014)

The Christian Science Monitor published an article by Mike Eckel entitled "A new, pro-Russia 'Maidan' in Ukraine's east?" devoted to the recent developments in Ukrainian cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lugansk.

"Masked men armed with wooden and metal bats reinforced snaking barricades with sand bags, concertina wire, and tires outside the regional administration building in Donetsk Tuesday, while pro-Russian activists held a chaotic emergency meeting inside the ravaged building to declare a "people's republic" for the eastern Ukrainian region bordering Russia," the article begins.

"Two days after activists seized the Donetsk government headquarters, thousands of people gathered outside the building listening to speakers who denounced the central government in Kiev and whipped up the crowd with chants of “Russia! Russia!” and “Glory to the Donbass!” – the larger geographic region of which Donetsk is the center," the author of the article writes.

"The standoff at the administration building appears aimed at making a public case for independence and most likely unification with Russia. With thousands of Russian troops and weaponry deployed along the border with Ukraine, many in the West – and other parts of Ukraine – fear the Kremlin is seeking to repeat the events of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, whipping up pro-Russian sentiment in provinces like Donetsk and Kharkiv, goading authorities into a violent response and then using that as a pretext to invade, ostensibly to protect ethnic Russians, who are in the majority in some parts of eastern Ukraine,' the article reads.

"So far, it is unclear just how deep support is for the protests – though the eastern and southeastern Ukraine have historically backed Russian-allied politicians like ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, much of the rest of the city of 1 million appeared to be going about its own business on Monday and Tuesday. But the scene at the administration building, which bears some resemblance to the "EuroMaidan" protests that roiled Kiev for nearly three months, shows a level of grassroots commitment among the demonstrators trying to spark their own sort of "RussoMaidan," the author believes.