17 Striking Images of Pro-Russian Protesters in Ukraine

Clashes have broken out as Ukraine launched a major offensive on May 2, 2014 against pro-Russian forces that have seize government buildings. It’s the latest turn of events in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

The nation of 46 million is split with those in the west favoring European ties and those in the east, who are mostly Russian-speaking, who favor ties with Moscow, according to the Associated Press.

Here is a look at some of the pro-Russian activists.

Pictured: A pro-Russian protester walked in front of riot police during a pro-Ukraine rally in the eastern city of Donetsk on April 28, 2014.

A pro-Russian activist wore a handmade mask behind a barricade in front of the regional administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine on April 8, 2014, as the makings of an improved self-appointed government began to take shape.

Masked pro-Russian protestors guarded an entrance door after occupying a regional TV center in Donetsk, Ukraine on 27 April 2014.

Pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine took several military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) hostage on April 25, prompting the Group of Seven (G7) major world economies to announce they would impose new sanctions on Russia over its alleged support of militant separatists.

A pro-Russian gunman stood guard at a seized police station in the eastern Ukraine town of Slovyansk on April 13, 2014.

Anti-government demonstrators stood on barricades during clashes with riot police in Kiev on February 18, 2014.

Masked pro-Russian men stood at the city hall during negotiations on April 27, 2014 about the release of foreign military observers being held in Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine.

A pro-Russian separatist guarded a checkpoint as tires burned behind him near the town of Slaviansk in eastern Ukraine on May 2, 2014.

A pro-Russian militant stood guard outside the Ukraine Security Service building on April 26, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. Several bands of pro-Russian activists, similar to those in Slovyansk, have been occupying government buildings and manning highway roadblocks in many towns in Eastern Ukraine.

Men held their hands up on their heads as they were searched by pro-Russian servicemen at Chongar checkpoint blocking the entrance to Crimea on March 10, 2014.

Pro-Russian protesters with Russian flags took part in a rally in central Donetsk on March 1, 2014.

A masked pro-Russian supporter stood in front of the seized town administration building in Kostyantynivka on April 28, 2014.

Masked pro-Russian gunmen guarded an entrance of the Ukrainian regional office of the Security Service with a Russian National flag s in background in Luhansk, Ukraine, on April 21, 2014.

A Pro-Russian protestor stood in front of a barricade during a rally in front of an occupied police station in Slaviansk, Ukraine on April 18, 2014. Pro-Russian activists are demanding broader autonomy from Kiev and closer ties to Russia.

A Pro-Russian activist stood during the mass storming of a police station in the eastern Ukrainian town of Horlivka on April 14, 2014.

A pro-Russian activist stood at a barricade outside the police regional building seized by the separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 29, 2014.

A pro-Russian protester shouted slogans in front of Ukrainian riot police guarding the regional administration building during a rally in central Donetsk on March 22, 2014.

An armed man, believed to be Russian serviceman, was seen in an armoured military vehicle outside a Ukrainian military unit in the village of Perevalnoye outside Simferopol, on March 11, 2014.