Pro-Russian rebels erected new barricades on the streets of Donetsk on Monday, preparing to make a stand in the city of a million people after losing their bastion in the town of Slaviansk in the worst defeat of their three-month uprising, according to The Associated Press.
The Kiev government has said it will act quickly to seize back more territory from the rebels after re-taking Slaviansk over the weekend in what President Petro Poroshenko called a turning point in the conflict, the AP reported.
Rebels retreating from Slaviansk, some driving armoured vehicles flying Russian flags, drove 65 miles south into Donetsk over the weekend, according to the AP. About 1,000 of them held a bellicose rally in the central square on Sunday, and on Monday many were visible on the streets, having established checkpoints to examine the documents of drivers.
"There are men in camouflage and with weapons on the streets. We ask residents not to enter into arguments with these people and be extremely careful," said a message from the Donetsk municipality, the AP reported.
The rebels' commander, a Muscovite using the name Igor Strelkov, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying his men would fight for the city, which was "much easier to defend than little Slaviansk," according to the AP.
Strelkov's whereabouts were not immediately clear, the AP reported. Rebel sources said two other prominent local separatist leaders, Alexander Boroday and Denis Pushilin, were in Russia.
Rebels in Ukraine and nationalists at home have called for the Kremlin to send in troops to protect the pro-Russia insurgents, but President Vladimir Putin, wary of more sanctions being imposed by the West, has resisted, according to the AP.
Battles between Ukrainian forces and the separatists have left over 400 people dead and thousands homeless since the uprising began in April, according to the AP. Ukraine's government ended a shaky, unilateral 10-day cease-fire last week, and has since stepped up its fight against the rebels.
