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| Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP |
Pro-Russian rebels declared a landslide victory in Sunday's referendum held in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Ukrainian authorities dismissed the vote as a farce and the European Union criticized the referendum.
"In Moscow, we respect the will of the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and are counting on practical implementation of the outcome of the referendum in a civilized manner, without any repeat of violence and through dialogue," the Kremlin said in a statement.
President Vladimir Putin, who distanced himself from the vote last week by calling on separatists to delay it, has not commented on the referendum which was held as fighting flared in the region bringing Ukraine closer towards possible civil war.
The Kremlin emphasized what it said was a "high turnout by the population, despite attempts to disrupt the vote".
"We condemn the use of force, including of heavy weapons against civilians," it also said in the statement.Some pro-Russian voters saw Sunday's vote as a move toward eventual union with Russia. #
Moscow denies any ambition to absorb Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking east, an industrial hub, into the Russian Federation following its annexation of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea after a referendum in March.
The Kremlin statement did not give details of any plans to act on the results of the referendum.
Putin is a shameless tyrant to whom lying is apparently as natural as breathing.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Putin interfered with Ukrainian politics by manipulating Yanukovych - pulling his puppet strings to make him reject the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement which had been under development for at least 4 years and was one week from being signed.
That caused a massive reaction against him by Ukrainian people who protested in Maidan.
Yanukovych used Berkut special forces and fired on peaceful demonstrators, killing some and having others tortured, especially those from L'viv. That caused the protests to increase, and eventually Yanukovych fled the country, taking the $20 Billion he had embezzled from Ukraine over the past four years. (That is, no great loss when the massively corrupt criminal flees to Mother Russia!)
During this time of chaos in Kiev, Putin seized Crimea, a part of sovereign Ukraine and then sent in Russian special forces and Russian mercenaries to cause unrest and take over buildings in Eastern Ukraine.
Now those Russian forces have staged a referendum and the Kremlin is calling for the results to be implemented.
In addition, the Kremlin has unleashed an army of pro-Russian "apologists" to take over message boards and comment sections of every media outlet in the world.
Putin is a monster.
@laloumen, I'm American but I can sympathize with the Russians. Putin is doing what he must, just like any American president would.
DeleteFirst, it is Putin's right to interfere and enact Russian foreign policy to his neighbor country, so why are we crying foul. Ukraine to Russia is like Mexico to the USA. As you said, if the Russians start to pull strings in Mexico to build a more and more aggressive government to the USA, would any American president take it, the answer is "No". We would crush the Russian influence in Mexico like Russia would in the Ukraine. Remember, this is their front yard, we have no right to complain about their dirty dealings.
Yanukovych pulled out of the deal with the EU and that's his "presidential" decision to be closer to Russia. The people has a right to protest in the Maidan but it should never have come to any violence.
But who started the violence in the Maidan is anyone's guess in a country as corrupted as Ukraine. The Berkut special forces or the Right Sectors from L'viv. There are reports that the fascist Right Sector fired on their own protesters to blackmail Yanukovych's government. Granted that Yanukovych embezzled money but he is the elected president and to unseat him would take another election.
Putin seized Crimea and the West and the EU should stop crying about it. We lost in a game that we started, take that as a lesson and move on. Putin was enjoying his Olympic games in Sochi and were not aware that CIAs were stirring the pot in Kiev, we all heard Nuland hand picked the next Ukrainian government to be headed by Yatsunyuk. And what does Yatsunyuk do - the first order is to make a law to ban the Russian language and make Ukrainian only the state language, what a novice move. That is what caused this east uprising because the new Kiev government is associated with fascism and has no good intention to the Russian speaking Ukrainians in the East.
The CIAs and the EU failed to understand the make-up of the population especially in East and South Ukraine. They thought it was going to be fine and dandy but they were so wrong. When the East rose up to oppose the Kiev puppet government installed by the US, we and the EU blamed Russia for this fiasco, what a shame. Really, Obama played his game and Putin played his, and Crimea went to the Russians and Ukraine is a mess.
When a great amount of force is applied, an equal amount of force is going to push back. Russia is just better at this game. Putin is more James Bond than Obama or any EU leaders. Quit crying about it.
The outcome was predictable.. and I had said so a long time ago too.. Yes Ukraine was taken over by force, by a government that the people didn't vote for, and so Donetsk and Lugansk have a right to self determination! The Ukrainian government that was not even elected has no say in the matter? The US which has no right whatsoever to even have a say, or NATO for which Ukraine aren't even a part of? http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/those-lying-spin-dopctors-think-we-are-all-as-stupid-as-they-are/
ReplyDeleteThe puppet government in Kiev versus the separatists. That is a classic case of "the pot calling the kettle black".
Delete@laloumen, I'm American but I can sympathize with the Russians. Putin is doing what he must, just like any American president would.
ReplyDeleteFirst, it is Putin's right to interfere and enact Russian foreign policy to his neighbor country, so why are we crying foul. Ukraine to Russia is like Mexico to the USA. As you said, if the Russians start to pull strings in Mexico to build a more and more aggressive government to the USA, would any American president take it, the answer is "No". We would crush the Russian influence in Mexico like Russia would in the Ukraine. Remember, this is their front yard, we have no right to complain about their dirty dealings.
Yanukovych pulled out of the deal with the EU and that's his "presidential" decision to be closer to Russia. The people has a right to protest in the Maidan but it should never have come to any violence.
But who started the violence in the Maidan is anyone's guess in a country as corrupted as Ukraine. The Berkut special forces or the Right Sectors from L'viv. There are reports that the fascist Right Sector fired on their own protesters to blackmail Yanukovych's government. Granted that Yanukovych embezzled money but he is the elected president and to unseat him would take another election.
Putin seized Crimea and the West and the EU should stop crying about it. We lost in a game that we started, take that as a lesson and move on. Putin was enjoying his Olympic games in Sochi and were not aware that CIAs were stirring the pot in Kiev, we all heard Nuland hand picked the next Ukrainian government to be headed by Yatsunyuk. And what does Yatsunyuk do - the first order is to make a law to ban the Russian language and make Ukrainian only the state language, what a novice move. That is what caused this east uprising because the new Kiev government is associated with fascism and has no good intention to the Russian speaking Ukrainians in the East.
The CIAs and the EU failed to understand the make-up of the population especially in East and South Ukraine. They thought it was going to be fine and dandy but they were so wrong. When the East rose up to oppose the Kiev puppet government installed by the US, we and the EU blamed Russia for this fiasco, what a shame. Really, Obama played his game and Putin played his, and Crimea went to the Russians and Ukraine is a mess.
When a great amount of force is applied, an equal amount of force is going to push back. Russia is just better at this game. Putin is more James Bond than Obama or any EU leaders. Quit crying about it.