Pro-Russian activists rallied in the eastern heartland of Ukraine’s ousted leader on Saturday after Moscow threatened to cut off gas to its ex-Soviet neighbor following its tilt toward the West.

Pro-Russian activists rallied in the eastern heartland of Ukraine's ousted leader on Saturday after Moscow threatened to cut off gas to its ex-Soviet neighbor following its tilt toward the West.

Rallies took place in industrial cities that rely on Russia for trade and whose cultural roots lie close to` Moscow.

The predominantly Russian-speaking southern and eastern swathes of Ukraine have been in upheaval since three months of deadly protests brought new pro-European leaders to power in Kiev whom they view with disdain and mistrust.

The Kremlin says the new rulers have fomented a lawless atmosphere of intimidation against ethnic Russians that President Vladimir Putin says prompted him to threaten to use force in Ukraine.

Now activists who have set up a round-the-clock picket on Donetsk's central Lenin Square under a red Soviet flag with the golden hammer and sickle are calling for a secession referendum just like the one planned in Crimea on March 16.

"Only Russia can help us so that our rights are not dragged through the mud!" said one protester named Natalia who works at a local beauty salon in the eastern city.
"There needs to be a referendum," she said.

Similar protests have hit nearby Russian-speaking cities such as Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk.