You're reading: Regional governor accuses Ukraine protesters of trying to seize power

The governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region claimed on Saturday that the current purportedly pro-European Union demonstrations in the country are in actual fact attempts to seize power.

“The slogans of [initial pro-EU protests] are forgotten, no slogans of European integration are being put forward. There is only one slogan: We want power,” Andriy Shyshatsky told at a rally in Makiyivka, an industrial city in Donetsk region.

Asked by a reporter whether there was any possibility of protesters seizing control of the regional administration headquarters, Shyshatsky claimed that the situation in the region was quiet, and that anyone who might try to provoke forcible action would be punished and “reined in.”

The regional administration said in a statement that rallies in support of stability, law and order that took place in all districts of the region on Saturday had brought together about 300,000 people.