01:15Ukraine: Pro-Russia rally draws crowd of thousands in Lugansk
Ukraine: Pro-Russia rally draws crowd of thousands in Lugansk
Thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators gathered at the Heroes of the Great Patriotic War Square in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on Sunday. Demonstrators collected signatures in favour of a referendum that would allow citizens to choose between further regional autonomy and joining the Russian Federation.
The demonstration comes on the day when Crimean authorities conducted a referendum on acceding to the Russian Federation. Crimea first became part of the Russian Empire in 1783. It became part of Ukraine SSR in 1954, when the Ukrainian-born Nikita Khrushchev was First Secretary of the Soviet Union.
01:15Ukraine: Pro-Russia rally draws crowd of thousands in Lugansk
Thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators gathered at the Heroes of the Great Patriotic War Square in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on Sunday. Demonstrators collected signatures in favour of a referendum that would allow citizens to choose between further regional autonomy and joining the Russian Federation.
The demonstration comes on the day when Crimean authorities conducted a referendum on acceding to the Russian Federation. Crimea first became part of the Russian Empire in 1783. It became part of Ukraine SSR in 1954, when the Ukrainian-born Nikita Khrushchev was First Secretary of the Soviet Union.