Russia accuses new Ukraine leadership of terrorism

Moscow retaliated with words after the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych at the weekend, and the installing of an interim president.

A statement from Russia’s foreign ministry said that what was happening in Ukraine was a “forced change of power”.

“A course has been set to use dictatorial and sometime terrorist methods to suppress dissenters in various regions,” the statement said.

There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens. Dmitry Medvedev

International focus is now likely to fall on the Crimean peninsula, where Russia’s influence in the Ukraine is strongest. A large number of people in Crimea are Russian, and Russia has a naval base at Sevastapol in the Black Sea.

The foreign ministry said that the views of politicians in Crimea as well as in eastern and southern Ukraine, traditionally seen as pro-Russian areas of the country, must be taken into account.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev also said that he was concerned for the fate of “our citizens.”

“We do not understand what is going on there,” he said. “There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens.

“There are big doubts about the legitimacy of a whole series of organs of power that are now functioning there.”

He was quoted by Russian sate-run news agency RIA as saying: “It will be hard for us to work with such a government.

“Some of our foreign partners think differently … it seems to me it is an aberration to call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny.”

‘Mass murder’

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s acting interior minister said on Facebook on Monday that ousted President Yanukovych was wanted for “mass murder” (see picture, below).

“An official case for the mass murder of peaceful citizens has been opened,” Arsen Avakov wrote. “Yanukovych and other people responsible for this have been declared wanted.”

Mr Yanukovych’s location after he was ousted had been a mystery, but on Monday Mr Avakov said he had been at a house in Crimea, in the east of the country.

He said Mr Yanukovych had left a private residence in the Balaclava, in the largely pro-Russian Crimea area, on Sunday night with an aide.

EU ‘path’

The announcement follows the appointment of an interim president on Sunday, who said that Ukraine’s priority was to return to the European Union “path”.

Acting President Oleksander Turchynov, an ally of freed Ukrainian politician Yulia Tymoshenko, called for a “new and fair partnership” with Russia, but said the priority for Ukraine was “returning to the path of European integration”.

The Maidan protests, which culminated in the departure of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovych, began in December after Mr Yanukovych pulled away from a trade agreement with Europe in favour of closer ties with Russia.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Turchynov said: “Our priority is returning to the path of European integration where the fight for Maidan began.

“We have to return to a family of European countries and to understand the importance of relations with the Russian Federation and be ready to build relations on new and fair partnership of good neighbourly relations.”

Financial support

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was due to fly out to Ukraine on Monday to discuss measures to shore up the country’s struggling economy.

EU officials have offered financial aid to a new government, and the US has also offered support. The European Union has also offered to revive the trade deal that was spurned by Yanukovych last year.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, after speaking with one of the protest’s political leaders, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, encouraged the Ukraine to begin discussions with the International Monetary Fund to secure an assistance package as soon as a transitional government is in place.

Ukraine’s interim leadership has said it will swear in an interim government by Tuesday, ahead of new presidential election scheduled for 25 May.

Russia’s ‘interests’

However, Russia has said that it will not be paying the second tranche of a $15bn loan package agreed in December, at least before a new government is formed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told US Secretary of State John Kerry the opposition had “seized power” by force by ignoring an EU-brokered truce that would have left Yanukovych in office for the time being, his office said.

Russia also recalled its ambassador late on Sunday for consultations over the “deteriorating situation”.

One of the dozens of little makeshift shrines where the activists where killed on instytutska by #euromaidan pic.twitter.com/ok2SnoQQcv

— federico escher (@fedescher) February 24, 2014

Both the US and the UK have said it would be a mistake for Russia to get involved militarily in Ukraine.

US national security adviser Susan Rice said: “That would be a grave mistake. It’s not in the interests of Ukraine or of Russia or of Europe or the United States to see a country split. It’s in nobody’s interest to see violence return and the situation escalate.”

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday: “It would really not be in the interests of Russia to do any such thing.”

However, there were scuffles between pro-Russian citizens in the east of Ukraine and supporters of the new regime, showing that the overthrow of President Yanukovych has not been welcomed by all.