Ukraine: Anti-Kiev protest held in Donetsk on Ukrainian Independence Day

Thousands of Donetsk residents staged an anti-Kiev protest on the same days as Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations on Monday. They marched through the centre of the city calling for an end to the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) which perceive as one of the reasons the city continues to be shelled. Protesters brandished placards with slogans such as “Poroshenko in the dock” and “stop killing us” on them. Participants also wrote letters to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko calling on him to put an end to the shelling. The letters were then were placed inside a giant envelope which was taken to the post office. According to local authorities the Petrovsky and Kirovsky District of the city were bombarded overnight from Sunday to Monday, without casualties. It is the latest incident in a rising tide of hostilities that have claimed dozens of lives. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission points to a military build-up on both sides of the contact line. Elsewhere the majority of Ukraine marked the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union that was announced on August 24, 1991.