`` Donetsk is a Russian city . '' The chant rang out in the eastern Ukrainian city on Saturday , as thousands of pro-Russia demonstrators rallied beneath a towering statue of Soviet revolutionary Vladimir Lenin in the city 's main square . They waved Russian flags and red flags emblazoned with the iconic image of Argentinian Marxist Che Guevara . There was not a single Ukrainian flag to be seen . `` They are frightened , '' said local journalist Denis Kazansky of pro-Ukraine protestors . `` They will not come out and demonstrate . '' That 's because just three days earlier , Lenin Square was the scene of violent clashes that left a 22-year-old , pro-Ukrainian activist dead . A floral tribute is the only evidence that remains of the bloodshed that unfolded Thursday night when a police cordon that stood between rival groups was breached . The tribute appeared a lonely site on Saturday as thousands of pro-Russia protesters stood with their backs to it . Their focus turned to a platform beneath the Lenin statue , where men and women took turns making their case for a referendum on the right to self-determination . Among the demonstrators was Vladimir Kosolapov , a local leader for the Communist Party in Ukraine . He told us that people in this eastern pocket of Ukraine supported the idea of federalism . `` We need more independence from Kiev for our region . Most people here do n't think that power in Kiev is legitimate . '' In the region , 48 % are ethnic Russians and 46 % are ethnic Ukrainian . Most speak Russian as their first language and feel closer historic ties to Moscow than Kiev . `` I am a citizen of Ukraine , '' said Kosolapov . `` I have the opportunity to leave Ukraine and go to Russia to my friends and relations but I do n't want to go . I will not leave here because this is my home . My family is here . This is my parents ' native land . '' While those who support the new government in Kiev have only been holding sporadic rallies in Donetsk , pro-Russian demonstrators have a more permanent presence in Lenin Square . They have set up red tents from where they call for volunteers to join self-defense units and invite people to sign a petition and answer three questions . People queue to have their say beneath the Russian flags . Do you support a Customs Union ? Yes . This is a trade agreement between Russia and some of the former Soviet republics . Do you want Russian to be an official language ? Yes . Should Ukraine be a member of NATO ? No . The local council had tried to ban any further demonstrations this weekend following the bloodshed on Thursday , but the Donetsk District Court rejected the request , saying there was no evidence of any danger to the public . Indeed , the rally in Lenin Square was peaceful on Saturday , though the demonstrators did bring traffic to a standstill when they decided to march through the streets and take their protest to the offices of the SBU , the Ukraine Security Services , which is loyal to Kiev . As riot police stood guard at the building entrance , the demonstrators called for the release of Pavel Gubarev , one of the leaders of the pro-Moscow protest movement who was arrested by the SBU on March 6 , for leading a blockade at the regional administration building . There were reports of some property damage , but the demonstration did not escalate further . But it wo n't be an end to the pro-Russian fervor in Donetsk . Police were poised for more of the same with another major rally planned on Sunday in a show of support for the referendum in Crimea . Many in Donetsk want the same .
were mainly pro - Russian in Donetsk , and in eastern Ukraine . At Independence Square , one pro - Ukrainian man was reported shooting . Tension remain between pro - Russian and pro - Ukraine demonstrators .