Thread by @doctoradmiral

#OTD: March 5th, 2014
- Pro-Ukrainian unity demonstration that began yesterday continues, with attendance at around 10,000 people, reportedly more than yesterday. Not only students show up, but people 40 and older - unusual for Donetsk politics
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Oleksandr Sobol, an activist from Donetsk, recounts: "When the Euromaidan happened, not many people showed up here. You have to understand, this isn't Kyiv. It's hard to gather people together here. But on March 5th, we saw that it really was possible."
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Meanwhile, pro-Russian protests continue near the Oblast Administration building. The crowd is estimated at about 2000 people (TASS claim🫠). Similarly to the simultaneous other such protests in Russophone cities, the crowd is split into nostalgic pensioners and violent youth.
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Similar dynamic has been developing in various other south-eastern cities, notable today being a large pro-unity demonstration in Kherson. The people here neighbor Crimea and are furious at Putin for his desecration of peace. Today, Kherson Oblast Council condemns separatism.
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Russian forces surround several more Ukrainian military facilities in Crimea, including an artillery unit based in Eupatoria, where on a clip that went viral civilians & wives of the soldiers leave a Russian major there speechless.
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Returning to Donetsk, finally fighting between the two crowds erupts around 6PM when some 500 separatists attack the UA demonstration. The police cordon seperating them is thin and prone to breakthroughs, and local police routinely ignores violence toward pro-unity protestors.
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Ukraine begins Operation Kordon, where it scrambles to reinforce the border crossings out of Crimea with disparate DPSU, SBU and Interior Ministry units. Until now, the border has been more or less open.
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Oh, make sure to read the alts now, I try to add context to the images