New Ukrainian rebel leader gives Moscow distance from insurgency

DONETSK, Ukraine — A Ukrainian has replaced a Russian at the helm of the insurgency in eastern Ukraine and declared that he wants “only moral support” from Moscow, as the Kremlin apparently tries to rebut Western claims that it is calling the shots among the rebels.

Many in the rebel ranks decry what they call Russia’s betrayal of their cause, but most vow to keep on fighting even as Ukrainian government troops close in on the main rebel stronghold, the eastern city of Donetsk.

In an ominous sign that the fighting may escalate further, the new leader of the insurgency has boasted of hundreds of new recruits and says a lot of rocket launchers and tanks have been seized from a Ukrainian unit.

Alexander Zakharchenko, a native of mostly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, took over late Thursday as prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, which has declared independence from the central government in Kiev.

He succeeded Alexander Borodai, a Moscow political consultant who reportedly played a role in Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March before moving into eastern Ukraine. Borodai has worked for a nationalist tycoon with alleged connections to the Kremlin.

Ukraine’s eastern regions have strong ties to Russia, and much of its population was alarmed when a new pro-Western government came to power in Kiev with support from Ukrainian nationalists. The change of government was the result of months of street protests that ousted the pro-Moscow president in February.

In another sign that the rebellion may be losing steam, several other rebel leaders with links to Russia have quietly left the region in the past few weeks.

The Russian commanders “are fleeing like rats,” said Andrei, a 27-year-old rebel in Donetsk.