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Separatists put Ukrainian captives on show in Donetsk - eyewitnesses

by Reuters
Sunday, 24 August 2014 11:49 GMT

A man shows pieces of shrapnel collected after what locals say, was recent shelling by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk, Ukraine, August 23, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

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DONETSK, Ukraine, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatist rebels force-marched dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war along a main street of the rebel-held Ukrainian town of Donetsk on Sunday.

People shouted "fascists" at the group, who walked with heads bowed. They were largely unshaven and dishevelled and dressed either in combat fatigues or civilian clothes.

A voice over a loudspeaker announced their arrival saying: "We are now able to watch passing people who were sent to kill us."

"We are Russians," the voice said.

A Reuters correspondent on the scene said that some people threw projectiles including bottles. Some shouted "Fascists!" and "Get on your knees!"

In a gesture intended to show that the captives were sullied, street cleaning vehicles moved behind them to cleanse where they had walked.

(Reporting by Anton Zverev and Thomas Grove in Donetsk; Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Lynne O'Donnell)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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