Donetsk: miners give Kiev 48h ultimatum “stop war or we will take up arms”

AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka

Yesterday we reported about the anti-war demonstration by miners in Donetsk. Further information puts the number of miners taking place at several thousand. The miners gave Kiev a two-day ultimatum to stop the war or else they would take up arms “to defend their land, wives and children”

RT photo / Roman Kosarev

The rally on Donetsk’s central Lenin Square initially attracted about 1,000 people. “But the miners from all major coal pits nearby Donetsk: Gorlovka, Enakievo, Snezhnoe, Topaz and Donetsk itself continued to arrive and finally the number of protesters reached estimated 10,000” Itar-Tass reported.

The same report quotes deputy coal industry minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Konstantin Kuznetsov as saying: “Miners have given (the Kiev authorities) two days to stop the so-called antiterrorism operation. Unless that happens, they are taking up arms and are going to defend their land, wives and children.”
The miners chanted anti-war slogans: “No to war!” “Fascism won’t get through!” “Donbass!” and“Slavyansk is a hero city!”