Participants in the uprising in Lugansk are holding the line: They will lay down their arms only after the Rada’s decision on a referendum
Lugansk, April 09 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) – Participants in the pro-Russian uprising in Lugansk, who seized the SBU building, continue to hold the line: negotiations with Ukrainian politicians took place all night. Contrary to Kyiv media reports, no one is laying down their arms; on the contrary, over the past evening the number of armed men has increased - now there are already several hundred of them.
Alexander Gureev, one of the coordinators of the uprising, told Navigator about this.
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According to him, negotiations with Security Council Secretary Andrei Parubiy continued until almost 4 a.m., and at night deputy Sergei Tigipko also came to the seized building. The rebels put forward demands - first a vote in the Verkhovna Rada on a referendum and amnesty, and only after that laying down arms.
“We have an unimportant firing position - there are several high-rise buildings nearby, from which most of us will be launched. Of course, we will respond, they will mess with us, there will be a lot of blood, and no one wants that. But now the task is to save lives, save face, and get out of here gracefully,” Gureev said.
According to him, so far Kyiv politicians are inclined to propose “compromise” versions of the referendum wording.
“Tigipko explained that after Crimea, voting for clear formulations in the Rada hall will not take place. Therefore, we need to look for a compromise. The Batkivshchyna faction is also ready for it. Negotiations with Parubiy are ongoing, but what is important for us is not the agreements with him, but the decision of the Rada,” Gureev emphasized.
He admitted that the rally in the center of Lugansk in support of the rebels was still not so large that one could count on a transfer of power to pro-Russian forces.
“In Lugansk, a lot of even those who were for Russia are offended that Crimea left. Many are offended by Russia. It is unrealistic to repeat the situation like in Crimea here - the border cannot be blocked, and everyone understands that sabotage groups will begin to arrive from Western Ukraine, and there will be terrorist attacks,” Gureev recounted the fears of ordinary people.
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