Pro-Russian activists in Ukraine's industrial centre of Donetsk proclaimed their independence from Kiev yesterday and pledged to hold a referendum in the next month, provoking fears Moscow could be orchestrating a second Crimea scenario in Ukraine's east.
“Seeking to create a popular, legitimate, sovereign state, I proclaim the creation of the sovereign state of the people’s republic of Donetsk,” said a man into a loudspeaker outside the seized regional administration building to a cheering crowd.
The protesters said they would hold a referendum no later than May 11th on the region's status, and also asked Russia to ready "peacekeeping troops", in a scenario reminiscent of the events that led to the annexation of Crimea last month.
In Kiev, interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said events in the east were being carried out according to a script written in Moscow.
'Anti-Ukrainian plan'
“An anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation . . . under which foreign troops will cross the border and seize territory,” Mr Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting in Kiev. “We will not allow this.”
Russia is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on the border. German chancellor Angela Merkel said last week Vladimir Putin had told her those troops would be removed, but yesterday Daniel Baer, US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said there was no sign of this. "We have strong evidence there are tens of thousands of forces on the border and again not in their normal peacetime positions or garrisons," he said.
The White House claimed pro-Russian demonstrators in eastern Ukraine were paid outsiders, but declined to specify who it believed provided the money, simply blaming Moscow in general for renewed "provocation".
The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, told reporters: "We are concerned about several escalatory moves in Ukraine over the weekend. We see these as a result of increased Russian pressure on Ukraine. We saw groups of pro-Russian demonstrators take over government buildings in the eastern cities of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk.
“If Russia moves into eastern Ukraine, overtly or covertly, this would be a serious escalation. We call on President Putin and his government to cease all efforts to destabilise Ukraine and we caution against further military intervention.”
Russia's foreign ministry said it was "carefully observing" events in the east and south of Ukraine, and again called for "real constitutional reform" to turn the country into a federation.
'Funding from abroad'
At a meeting with security chiefs in Moscow yesterday, Mr Putin called for vigilance against foreign-funded NGOs promoting political unrest in Russia. “We will not accept a situation like what happened in Ukraine, when in many cases it was through non-governmental organisations that the nationalist and neo-Nazi groups and militants, who became the shock troops in the anti-constitutional coup d’etat, received funding from abroad,” he said.
In Donetsk and other eastern Ukrainian cities, which are largely Russian-speaking, there is real discontent with the new government in Kiev, which has been in power since President Viktor Yanukovich fled at the culmination of months of street protests. Nevertheless, the region is far less pro-Russian than Crimea, and analysts say Russia would find it harder and more complicated to introduce troops there.
Also yesterday, Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who is standing in presidential elections planned for May 25th, flew to Donetsk for consultations. – ( Guardian service)