DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) - 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. Like other locals who have joined the separatist cause, he gave only his first name out of fear of retribution either from the rebel leadership for speaking freely or from the Ukrainian authorities for taking up arms.
"We had hoped for help from Moscow, we had expected Russian troops, but Russia betrayed us," Andrei said. "Many fighters are beginning to think about their future and also are escaping to Russia."
Oleg, a 34-year-old member of a different rebel battalion, said his unit is running out of food, clothes and medicine.
"But we are ready to fight to the end and to die," he said. "Russia left us here to die and we are ready. They simply used us and abandoned us."
The new leader of the insurgency vowed to continue the fight but refrained from urging Moscow to send troops, a call issued by many rebel leaders in the past.
"Only moral support," Zakharchenko said Friday when asked what assistance the rebels expect from Vladimir Putin's government.
The Russian president has faced a storm of criticism from nationalist quarters at home for not sending the Russian army into Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West have accused Moscow of beefing up its military on the border, dispatching what NATO estimates is 20,000 troops to the border of Ukraine. The deployment has fueled fears of a Russian invasion under the guise of restoring stability to eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced late Friday that it has wrapped up military exercises in southern Russia that the U.S. had decried as a provocative step. The exercises involving fighter jets and bombers were held this week in the Astrakhan region, about 600 miles from Donetsk.
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