Pro-Russian rebels erected new barricades on the streets of Donetsk yesterday, preparing to make a stand in the city of a million people after losing their bastion in Slaviansk in the worst defeat of their three-month uprising.

Occasional bursts of gunfire could be heard in the distance from the centre of Donetsk, where residents said they were now living in fear of a potential battle between government forces and the separatist gunmen now out in force.

Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Ahmetov, pleaded with the government yesterday not to bomb his home city. Local authorities say thousands of residents have left Donetsk. The Kiev government has said it will act quickly to seize back more territory from the rebels after re-taking Slaviansk over the weekend in what President Petro Poroshenko called a turning point in the conflict.

Rebels move WWII Soviet tank from museum

Rebels retreating from Slaviansk, some driving armoured vehicles flying Russian flags, drove 110 km south into Donetsk over the weekend. About 1,000 of them held a bellicose rally in the central square on Sunday, and yesterday many were visible on the streets, having established checkpoints to check the documents of drivers.

Their presence drew a warning from Donetsk’s local authorities. “There are men in camouflage and with weapons on the streets. We ask residents not to enter into arguments with these people and be extremely careful,” said a message from the town municipality.

Although most businesses were still open, some were shut. The rebels’ commander, a Muscovite using the name Igor Strelkov, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying his men would fight for the city, which was “much easier to defend than little Slaviansk”.

Armed men who appeared at Donetsk’s war museum with heavy lifting gear winched a World War II tank onto a flat-bed truck and drove it off. One of them said: “We have got an engine to go in it. We have got some experts. We have to add the engine, ease the turret and it will be a working battle tank.”

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