Protesters seize police department in Kostiantynivka of Donetsk region

Unidentified people have seized the building of a police department in Kostiantynivka of Ukraine’s Donetsk Region on Monday.
Local TV reports that protesters have also gathered on the street near the town hall.
According to media reports, town hall staff does not enter the office. Public transport is restricted, and buses are forwarded to bypass routes.
The protesters do not make any demands. They say that they are launching preparations for the referendum on independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic scheduled for May 11.

Preparations ahead of May 11 referendum
April 25, Ukrainian media reported that in Sloviansk of the Donetsk region, preparations ahead of the May 11 referendum on the region’s status started. According to reports, the question “Do you support the act on state independence of Donetsk People’s Republic?” was put on the vote and adopted by members of regional representatives, political parties and public organizations of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Media report that in Donetsk People’s Republic, in order to hold a referendum, the central election committee has been set up April 16. The committee should issue invitations and voting ballots until May 6, as well as to determine the main goals of creating the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Earlier, Donetsk mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko suggested postponing the referendum from May 11 to May 25 and matching it with presidential elections. “Then it would be held under control of multiple international observers, and its legitimacy would be hard to doubt,” Donetsk mayor emphasized. Protesters in Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine demand to hold local referendums on May 11. The current Ukrainian Constitution does not envisage the possibility of holding local referendums on the secession of any region. In accordance with the main law, such issues might be solved only at the level of a national plebiscite.