Slovyansk locals shelled by Kiev government forces

Several houses have been seriously damaged in Slovyansk after being bombed during the overnight battle. Locals are angry at the government forces whom they consider responsible for the damage and for not being able to hold the situation under control.

People have grown tired of the fighting and have turned against the self-proclaimed mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, although some had supported him recently. He responded emotionally to the local outrage: 'I expected and needed your support in this. And now you only care about your own matters. I’ll say it again, I will never leave you.' He also promised compensation for the damage resulted from the fights.

However, what the people truly want is 'peace', said local Lina Sydorenko. 'We want peace. They must stop this banditry, so that there can be peace. How much longer can this go on? We had a united country and now look what’s happened. We became enemies. When will our government be able to unite the country? And if they can’t achieve that, they’ll have to let the east go.'

Slovyansk has been the center of the separatist rebellion and, as a consequence, the Kiev government has halted pension payments to the town so that rebels cannot attack the cash deliveries.