During the Euromaidan protests in Odessa, a photo (above) was
circulated of a lone veteran with a Ukrainian flag. He could hardly move along
Odessa’s Soborna square. Odessa volunteers and other Odessites found out who he
was, he is Konstantin Plotnykov, a WWII veteran. A campaign began for gathering
donations to buy him an electronic wheelchair and today it was announced that
he has been given his present.
Turchynov announced today that compulsory
military service would be re-instated for men aged 18 to 25.
In Donetsk and Luhansk, the situation
continues to be very dangerous. Young Ukrainians who are serving the army
remain in outposts trying to protect the Ukrainian administrative buildings.
According to one twenty year old serviceman, they, the Ukrainian military, are
regularly targeted; they are beaten up and humiliated. The separatists have
more weapons than the Ukrainian troops. Many Ukrainian military groups have no
money for food and rely on locals, as well as donations from abroad and from
other Oblasts (other Ukrainian regional governments, such as Dnipropetrovsk
whose governor has been personally supporting Ukrainian troops with food and
medical supplies), to be fed.
The ‘People's
Republic of Donetsk’ have called for a referendum on secession to be held on
May 11. This undercuts the Ukrainian presidential election to be held May 25th.
The Donbass belt provides about a third of the country's industrial output
(coal and steel).
A May Day parade in the Red Square in
Moscow celebrated support for Vladimir Putin after the
seizure of Crimea. It is the first time since the Soviet era that such a May
Day parade has been held. Putin has also, since last year, revived another
tradition from the Stalinist Soviet era, which is to award ‘Hero of Labour’
medals to five workers at a ceremony in the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, seven people apparently marched through the
central streets singing the Ukrainian anthem and carrying a giant flag of
Ukraine. Within minutes of them unfurling the flag, four of these people
were arrested/carried away by police.
In St. Petersburg, however, an anti-war, democratic rally was
held.
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