Donetsk Residents Angry Over Kyiv Threat

DONETSK— Citizens of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk say they did not ask for pro-Moscow separatists to take over their city and they should not be punished for the breakaway insurgency by the Ukrainian government in Kyiv, which will end the funding of all public services in rebel areas by this weekend.

On a misty and bitingly frigid Tuesday morning here in central Donetsk more than 200 mainly elderly people, wrapped up against the sharp cold, start queuing up for food handouts donated by a local business oligarch. They say without the aid they would starve.

"The aid is crucial," says Aleysa, 43, a widow and mother of two. "A lot of people don’t have anything to eat. Old people aren’t getting their pensions unless they are able to drive outside separatist-controlled areas to register and then collect their allowances," she says. "Most of the elderly and infirm don’t have the means to do so."

The aid center in Kalininsky District is open every day and hands out bags containing basic foodstuffs, from butter to cooking oil and grains as well as processed and canned food. Each bag contains enough food for two weeks and recipients can return twice a month for supplies. The center is funded by one of the eastern city’s biggest business oligarchs, Rinat Akhmetov, who has fled to Kyiv.

There is a surreal aspect to daily life in the city.  The growl of artillery and rocket exchanges can be heard on the outskirts of Donetsk, mainly from heavy fighting around the wrecked airport to the north and in sharp skirmishes to the east.................................http://www.voanews.com/content/donetsk-residents-angry-over-kyiv-threat/2524340.html
18/11/14
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