DONETSK, May 28. /ITAR-TASS/. Coalminers from the Donbass coalfields rallied in Donetsk on Wednesday to protest against Kiev’s punitive combat operation in the east of the country.

The rally gathered from 1,000 to 3,000 coalminers, according to various estimates.

The action started with a symbolic rally at the eternal flame, after which the demonstrators moved to the building of the Donetsk regional dministration, self-defense forces told ITAR-TASS.

Konstantin Kuzmin, First Deputy Coal Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said on Tuesday Donbass coalminers declared an indefinite strike and demanded the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military from the Donetsk Region.

“Donbass coalminers are starting an open-ended strike to demand an end to the military crackdown and the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the region,” he said.

Coalminers from the Skochinsky, Abakumov, Chelyuskintsev and Trudovskaya coalmines, as well as from two coalmines near the town of Makeyevka, joined the action, he said.

“We expect other coalmines to join our action soon,” Kuzmin said.