Church bells rang out over Kiev's Maidan Square and hundreds of mourners bowed their heads in silence Sunday, a national day of mourning, to honor 49 Ukrainian servicemen killed by pro-Russian separatists.

But some 600 km (375 miles) away to the east in the city of Donetsk, heart of an armed insurgency against central rule by Kiev, there were few signs of mourning as people enjoyed a lazy stroll, sipped coffee in cafes and watched their children play.

Few events illustrate more clearly the bitter chasm that has opened up between east Ukraine and the rest of the country of 45 million. Heroes to some, the 49 killed when a missile hit their plane Saturday were enemies to others.