Little remains of the separatist barricades which used to stand in front of the city hall of Mariupol, in Ukraine's Donetsk region. 
A handful of young men who say they support independence for this region of eastern Ukraine practice with riot shields on the steps of the ruined City Hall. 
Andrey Borisov, the military leader of the separatists in Mariupol, Ukraine, says he needs more men who are prepared to fight. 
Separatist political leader Denis Kuzmenko speaks to supporters at a memorial for people who died in Mariupol, Ukraine, on May 9. He vowed Sunday not to let Ukrainian national authorities set up polling stations in his town for presidential elections next week. - An easy calm has settled over Mariupol, a city in the eastern part of Ukraine
- Separatists battled government supporters last month for control
- The strife has mostly come to an end, but no one seems to know who's running the city
- Key players in the drama are the city steelworkers
Mariupol, Ukraine (CNN) -- It's a hot, sunny Sunday morning, and birds are chirping in the trees over the heads of children playing on swings and in a pile of sand in a small park in front of City Hall. Or what used to be City Hall, anyway.
Today, it's a burned-out husk of a building, the ground around it thick with ash and crunchy with broken glass, official documents strewn around and covered with footprints. Windows are shattered. Walls are stained black by smoke and fire.
A dozen or so young men lounge around on the front steps of the building, asserting that they are part of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic. But they look more like drunks with nowhere else to go after a night out.
But they're not the only ones hanging around the remains of City Hall in Mariupol, recently the scene of clashes between supporters of the central government and backers of either independence or union with Russia for this part of eastern Ukraine.
People pray for peace during an Orthodox church service in Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, on Sunday, May 18. Tensions remain high across the country's east, where pro-Russia separatists staged a referendum on independence last weekend. 
Employees of the Ukrainian company Metinvest clear away debris in a government building in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday, May 16, after pro-Russian separatists relinquished their hold on it. 
Pro-Russian activists argue in Mariupol about how to thwart the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections. 
Pro-Russian gunmen take up positions to fight Ukrainian national troops at a checkpoint outside Slovyansk, Ukraine, on Thursday, May 15. 
A mortar shell sticks out of the ground at a checkpoint near Slovyansk on May 15. 
A man surveys the damage to his home after a mine exploded during an exchange of fire between pro-Russian militants and government troops outside Slovyansk on May 15. 
A man examines ballots at a printing house in Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 14. The ballots will be used in early presidential voting on May 25. 
People collect mortar shells in front of a burnt-out Ukrainian military vehicle near Oktyabrskoe, Ukraine, on May 14. 
Two men collect parts of a Ukrainian armored personnel carrier, destroyed May 14 in what the Ukrainian Defense Ministry called a terrorist attack near Kramatorsk. 
A member of a "self-defense" squad smashes a slot machine with a sledgehammer Monday, May 12, at an illegal club in Slovyansk. 
People celebrate with fireworks in Donetsk, Ukraine, on May 12 as separatists declared independence for the Donetsk region. 
Roman Lyagin, a member of a rebel election commission, shows referendum results to journalists at a May 12 news conference in Donetsk. Pro-Russian separatists staged the referendum asking residents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions whether they should declare independence from Ukraine. 
An armed pro-Russian separatist takes up a position near Slovyansk on May 12. 
A man with a "self-defense" unit checks people's identification in Slovyansk on Sunday, May 11. 
A person leaves a voting booth in Luhansk, Ukraine, on May 11. The Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine voted on controversial referendums to declare independence from the government in Kiev. Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov called the vote "propagandist farce." 
Two men react after Ukrainian national guardsmen open fire on a crowd outside a town hall in Krasnoarmiysk, Ukraine, on May 11. 
A Ukrainian woman votes at a polling station in Donetsk on May 11. 
Ukrainians line up to cast their votes at a polling station in Donetsk on May 11. 
A voter casts her ballot in eastern Ukraine's independence referendum in Slovyansk on May 11. 
An armed pro-Russian man sits below a flag of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic at the barricades on a road leading into Slovyansk on May 11. 
Black smoke billows from burning tires used to prevent government troops' armored personnel carriers from passing through in Mariupol, Ukraine, on Saturday, May 10. 
The mother of Dmitriy Nikityuk, who died in a fire at a trade union building during riots in Odessa, Ukraine, cries next to his coffin during his funeral on Thursday, May 8. 
A Ukrainian soldier keeps guard at a checkpoint near Slovyansk on May 8. 
A pro-Russian activist stands with a Russian national flag outside the regional Interior Ministry building in Luhansk on Wednesday, May 7. 
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, right, inspects an armored personnel carrier in Slovyansk on May 7. 
An armed pro-Russian separatist takes a position by the railway lines near Slovyansk on Tuesday, May 6. 
A relative mourns by the body of 17-year-old Vadim Papura during a service in Odessa on May 6. Papura died after jumping out of a burning trade union building during riots on May 2. 
A pro-Russian gunman holds his weapon while guarding the local administration building in Slovyansk on May 6. 
Pro-Russian supporters lead blindfolded men in front of the regional administration building in Donetsk on Monday, May 5. 
Ukrainian policemen check documents at a checkpoint near the northeastern city of Izium, Ukraine, on May 5. 
Ukrainian soldiers stand at a checkpoint near Slovyansk on May 5. 
Pro-Russian Cossacks sit outside the regional administration building in Donetsk on May 5. 
Pro-Russian militants who were arrested during a Ukrainian unity rally are greeted on Sunday, May 4, after being freed by police in Odessa. The men released Sunday had been detained after bloody clashes in Odessa, which ended in a deadly blaze. Forty-six people were killed in the bloodshed. 
A pro-Russian militant reacts after being freed on May 4 in Odessa. 
Pro-Russian militants clash with police as they storm the police station in Odessa on May 4. 
An Orthodox priest, in front of the administration building in Donetsk, blesses a pro-Russian activist May 4 as people gather to honor the memory of fallen comrades in Odessa. 
Red carnations are left inside the burned trade union building in Odessa on May 4. Flowers, candles and photos of the dead piled up outside the charred building, a day after brutal clashes and the fire claimed 46 lives. 
Pro-Russian protesters light candles in Donetsk on Saturday, May 3, to honor the memory of fallen comrades in Odessa. 
A woman cries in front of the burned trade union building in Odessa on May 3. 
A man walks past burning tires near Kramatorsk on May 3. 
Pro-Russian activists beat a pro-Ukraine supporter trying to save the Ukrainian flag that was removed from a flagpole outside the burned trade union building in Odessa. 
Pro-Russian protesters gather in Donetsk to honor the memory of comrades who died in Odessa. 
A portrait of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin is part of a barricade in the center of Slovyansk on May 3. The city has become the focus of an armed pro-Russian, anti-government insurgency that aspires to give the eastern regions of Ukraine full autonomy. 
A pro-Russian activist sits in front of policemen guarding the burned trade union building in Odessa on May 3. 
People lay flowers and candles at the burned trade union building in Odessa on May 3. 
Ukrainian soldiers arrive to reinforce a checkpoint that troops seized Friday, May 2, in Andreevka, a village near Slovyansk. Two helicopters were downed Friday as Ukrainian security forces tried to dislodge pro-Russian separatists from Slovyansk, Ukraine's Defense Ministry said. 
Police take cover under shields as pro-Russian activists storm the prosecutor's office in Donetsk on Thursday, May 1. Eastern Ukraine was a heartland of support for President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February. 
A pro-Russian activist is wounded after storming the prosecutor's office in Donetsk and clashing with riot police on May 1. 
Pro-Russian activists storm the prosecutor's office in Donetsk on May 1. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades in an effort to disperse the activists. 
An injured Pro-Russian activist speaks with an armed protester during clashes with police in front of the regional administration building in Donetsk on May 1. 
Pro-Russian activists storm an administration building in the center of Luhansk on Tuesday, April 29. 
Pro-Russia militants, armed with baseball bats and iron bars, hold flares as they attack people marching for national unity in Donetsk on Monday, April 28. 
Detained observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe arrive to take part in a news conference Sunday, April 27, in Slovyansk. Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the self-declared mayor of Slovyansk, referred to the observers as "prisoners of war." 
Ukrainian troops stand guard behind a barricade made of sandbags at a checkpoint about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Slovyansk on April 27. 
Relatives and friends of a man killed in a gunfight participate in his funeral ceremony in Slovyansk on Saturday, April 26. 
U.S. troops arrive at an air force base near Siauliai Zuokniai, Lithuania, on April 26. The United States is conducting military exercises in Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The exercises are, in part, a response to the ongoing instability in Ukraine. 
Ukrainian government troops in armored vehicles travel on a country road outside the town of Svyitohirsk in eastern Ukraine on April 26. 
Pro-Russia armed militants inspect a truck near Slovyansk on Friday, April 25. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused the West of plotting to control Ukraine, and he said the pro-Russia insurgents in the southeast would lay down their arms only if the Ukrainian government clears out the Maidan protest camp in the capital, Kiev. 
Pro-Russia militants keep records of their duty in Slovyansk on April 25. 
Ukrainian troops take position near burning tires at a pro-Russian checkpoint in Slovyansk on Thursday, April 24. 
Ukrainian special forces take position at an abandoned roadblock in Slovyansk on April 24. 
A Ukrainian special forces member takes position in Slovyansk. 
Cossacks carry a coffin into a church in Slovyansk on Tuesday, April 22, during a funeral for men killed in a gunfight at a checkpoint two days before. 
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a meeting in Kiev on April 22. 
An armed pro-Russian man stands on a street in Slovyansk on Monday, April 21. 
Demonstrators attend a pro-Russian rally outside the secret service building in Luhansk on April 21. 
Cars are burned out after an attack at a roadblock in Slovyansk on Sunday, April 20. 
A resident inspects burnt-out cars at a roadblock on April 20. 
A pro-Russian militant is seen at the roadblock near Slovyansk on April 20. 
Armed pro-Russian militants stand guard at a roadblock near Slovyansk on April 20. 
A masked man stands guard outside a regional administration building seized by pro-Russian separatists in Slovyansk on Friday, April 18. 
People walk around barricades April 18 set up at the regional administration building that was seized earlier in Donetsk. 
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to the media after a nationally televised question-and-answer session in Moscow on Thursday, April 17. Putin denied that Russian forces are involved in the unrest in eastern Ukraine, though he did say for the first time that Russians were active in Crimea before the peninsula voted to join the country. 
Ukrainian riot police officers stand guard during a pro-Ukrainian demonstration in Donetsk on April 17. 
Masked pro-Russian protesters stand guard in front of the city hall in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 17. 
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaches out to shake hands with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the start of a bilateral meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in Ukraine. The meeting took place April 17 in Geneva, Switzerland. 
A masked gunman stands guard near tanks in Slovyansk on Wednesday, April 16. 
A Ukrainian helicopter flies over a column of Ukrainian Army combat vehicles on the way to Kramatorsk on April 16. 
A masked pro-Russian gunman guards combat vehicles parked in downtown Slovyansk on April 16. 
A man talks with Ukrainian soldiers as they are blocked by people on their way to Kramatorsk. 
Ukrainian soldiers sit atop combat vehicles on their way to Kramatorsk. 
Ukrainian Gen. Vasily Krutov is surrounded by protesters after addressing the crowd outside an airfield in Kramatorsk on Tuesday, April 15. 
Pro-Russian activists guard a barricade April 15 outside the regional police building that they seized in Slovyansk. 
Ukrainian troops receive munitions at a field on the outskirts of Izium on April 15. 
Armed pro-Russian activists stand guard on top of a Ukrainian regional administration building in Slovyansk on Monday, April 14. 
A pro-Russian activist carries a shield during the mass storming of a police station in Horlivka, Ukraine, on April 14. 
Russian supporters attend a rally in front of the security service building occupied by pro-Russian activists in Luhansk on April 14. 
A man places a Russian flag over a police station after storming the building in Horlivka on April 14. 
Men besiege the police station in Horlivka. 
The Horlivka police station burns on April 14. 
A Ukrainian police officer receives medical care after being attacked at the police station in Horlivka on April 14. 
Pro-Russian supporters beat a pro-Ukrainian activist during a rally in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, April 13. 
Pro-Russian activists escort a man outside the secret service building in Luhansk on April 13. 
Pro-Russian protesters guard a barricade in Slovyansk on April 13 outside a regional police building seized by armed separatists the day before. 
Armed pro-Russian activists carrying riot shields occupy a police station in Slovyansk on April 12. 
A group of pro-Russian activists warm themselves by a fire Friday, April 11, in front of a Ukrainian Security Service office in Luhansk. 
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk speaks April 11 during his meeting with regional leaders in Donetsk, Ukraine. Yatsenyuk flew into Donetsk, where pro-Russian separatists occupied the regional administration building and called for a referendum. 
Pro-Russian young men look over the fence of a military recruitment office in Donetsk on Thursday, April 10. 
Armed pro-Russian protesters occupy the Security Service building in Luhansk on April 10. 
Members of the self-proclaimed government the "Donetsk Republic" vote April 10 during a meeting at the seized regional administration building in Donetsk. 
Ukrainian lawmakers from different parties scuffle during a Parliament session in Kiev on Tuesday, April 8. 
Workers clean up on April 8 after pro-Russian separatists and police clashed overnight in Kharkiv. 
Pro-Russian protesters burn tires near a regional administration building in Kharkiv after police cleared the building on Monday, April 7. 
A masked man stands on top of a barricade at the regional administration building in Donetsk on April 7. 
Protesters wave a Russian flag as they storm the regional administration building in Donetsk on Sunday, April 6. Protesters seized state buildings in several east Ukrainian cities, prompting accusations from Kiev that Moscow is trying to "dismember" the country. 
Pro-Russian protesters clash with police as they try to occupy a regional administration building in Donetsk on April 6. 
Pro-Russian activists hold a rally in front o
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