Donetsk: People in Ukraine`s mainly Russian-speaking east fear being caught in the crossfire of a "visa war" between Kiev and Moscow, saying it would damage their careers and family ties.
"We`ll stay here with empty pockets, and hate the authorities over it," said Mikhailo Stepanov, who is convinced Moscow will retaliate if Kiev carries out a threat to impose a visa regime with Russia.
In Donetsk, a major coal-mining city near Russia, nearly everyone has family on the other side of the border.
"Our government is trying to harm its own citizens," said Stepanov.
"Russians will travel in Ukraine, but there are millions of Ukrainians who go to Russia for work," said the 30-year-old engineer.
"With empty pockets, they will thank the government for taking care of them," he said mockingly.
Donetsk is a bastion of pro-Kremlin ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, who was toppled in a popular uprising last month before pro-Russian forces seized Ukraine`s Crimea Peninsula.
Its people largely oppose the pro-European government that has filled the void in Kiev, and say that imposing a visa regime with Russia is akin to throwing fuel on the fire.
"My mother has relatives in Russia. For people like her, getting a visa will be a hassle, knowing the bureaucracy it involves," said Dina Kucheruk, a 30-year-old interpreter.
IT worker Sviatoslav Surkov said many people in the sector collaborate with Russian groups, and that they risked losing their jobs if a visa regime is introduced.
"If Ukrainian programmers have to waste time getting visas, their Russian employers will prefer to hire Russians," said the 28-year-old.
In Kharkiv, another blue-collar industrial city in eastern Ukraine even closer to the Russian border, opinions are divided.
"It`s sad about the visa situation, but Russia has declared a de facto war" on Ukraine, said Elena, who did not give her last name.
"This will prevent provocateurs from coming to harm Ukraine," said the 40-year-old filmmaker.
Both Donetsk and Kharkiv were the scene of violent protests in the past week by demonstrators demanding the right to join Russia, just like Crimea.
"Travelling to Russia to see my relatives will be more complicated, but it`s nothing compared with the need to preserve Ukraine`s territorial integrity," said a 34-year-old woman who only gave her name as Anastasia.
Maksim, a 23-year-old film director, lamented the problems the suggested visa changes would bring.
