By James Marson
DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine--On a potholed road into this small industrial town, the authority of the country's pro-Western government ends abruptly at a stack of tires guarded by a grocery clerk, a teenager with a bulldog and a chemicals salesman.
They are part of a ragtag, local militia, some 30 people strong, that is eroding Kiev's already shaky grip in the east of the country. Residents here want more autonomy and closer ties with Russia, which is less than 100 miles away. They say they will fight off any effort by Kiev to impose its will, even if the acting president carries out a threat to send the military.
"We don't have guns, just a few sticks, but if the army comes we'll try to hold them off so the other towns can prepare," said Maksym Olinov, a Druzhkivka native with graying stubble who was standing near a few dozen Molotov cocktails fashioned from beer bottles.
The activism of people like Mr. Olinov and his companions is narrowing Kiev's choices in trying to halt pro-Russia protests that have spread since Saturday, when men in unmarked military-style uniforms with military weapons stormed the police station in nearby Slovyansk. Officials in Kiev and Western capitals say they were Russian agents, a claim Moscow denies.
The professional-looking forces had largely melted from view Monday in towns where they helped seize buildings, such as Slovyansk and nearby Kramatorsk, over the weekend, leaving men who say they are locals on patrol with sticks and, sometimes, guns.
In Druzhkivka, the local protesters said they set up the checkpoint themselves Sunday after the government announced it was sending forces to storm Slovyansk.
Ukraine's East may not end up part of Russia, as Crimea effectively did last month. But the broad autonomy from Kiev that many here want would go a long way to achieving Moscow's aim of blocking any turn westward by its neighbor and fellow former Soviet republic.
Authorities in Kiev blame Russia for instigating the protests, but many people in towns across eastern Ukraine are eager to oppose a government they say doesn't represent them and hasn't solved local problems such as unemployment, corruption and poor public services.
Many here express annoyance at being called separatists, saying that they want to stay part of Ukraine.
Polls show that less than a fifth of people in Donbas, the colloquial term for the coal-rich Donetsk Basin, want full independence from Kiev. But the protesters in Druzhkivka say they see joining Russia as an option if the capital ignores their demands for more local power.
Ukrainian officials warned again Sunday that they are ready to use the military against forces they have called terrorists. But that is unlikely to win back towns like Druzhkivka, which have largely slipped out of Kiev's control.
Protesters didn't even need to storm the police station here, which had raised a Russian flag as a sign of peace.
"We're not going to go and smash it up," said Mr. Olinov, who has two young children. "This is our town."
An armed assault against locals would only fuel the resentment that is already bubbling--and could provoke Russia into carrying through with its threat to send troops to defend ethnic Russians here.
"What sort of terrorists are we?" said Oksana Serevyanova, a 36-year-old in a woolen hat who'd taken a day off from work in a grocery store.
"They won't have enough iron to lock us all up," said Mr. Olinov. "They don't know Donbas."
With no sign of the promised military operation Monday, Kiev now appears resigned to negotiating with its restive east on terms for remaining part of Ukraine.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said Monday that the government could hold a nationwide referendum that could allow more autonomy to the regions, but gave few details. Many here don't trust the new government even to run a fair vote.
Resentment of Kiev runs deep in Donbas, where people say they have for years sent huge tax payments to the capital but seen little in return. Brought up on the belief that their factories and coal mines fuel the whole country, locals are demanding a greater voice in how Donbas is run.
Officials in Kiev say Donbas is a net budget recipient as it receives large government subsidies, particularly for coal mining.
When former President Viktor Yanukovych turned his back on a trade-and-political pact with the European Union in November, it incited massive street protests in Kiev that led to his ouster in late February.
But Mr. Yanukovych's aborted decision to instead tighten ties with Moscow had been greeted with relief here.
The town's machine-building factory, which employed thousands during Soviet times, cut its staff down to just over 1,000 after Russia stopped buying last year, as Mr. Yanukovych seemed set to sign the EU deal.
Now, the new government in Kiev wants to rekindle that deal, stoking resentment in the east amid fear it would plunge the region into years of recession and more unemployment.
The Kiev protesters "decided for 46 million," said Ms. Serevyanova, referring to the entire population of Ukraine. "But not the whole country agrees."
When lawmakers in Kiev recently moved to cancel a language law that allowed Russian to be used as a second official language, people here read that as a signal that their voices wouldn't be heard. The new government later stepped back from the legislation, but suspicion remains.
At the same time, few believe the new government will improve the sorry state of the town, where once-rumbling factory units lie deserted and cars swerve from side to side to avoid potholes.
"The government talks about general things--parliament, laws, party congresses--but things don't get better. We need concrete people to solve concrete problems here," said Mr. Olinov.
That chimes with a demand by Moscow that Ukraine adopt a federal structure, where each region can adopt its own economic, cultural and foreign relations.
Even though they fly a Russian flag at their small encampment, the militia members say it is just a sign of where people in the town have their closest economic and cultural ties, and where they look to for support, just as people in Kiev flew the EU's banner during the earlier protests.
"Let us be part of Ukraine, but we'll never turn away from Russia. They've woken up a giant--Donbas. Donbas is Donbas, and Russia is with us," said Mr. Olinov, before heading back to the piles of tires.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
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