Press TV- IRAN
March 16, 2014
As voting continues in Ukraine’s autonomous region of Crimea, thousands hold rallies in the country’s eastern cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv, calling for a referendum to secede from the former Soviet state and join Russia.
According to reports, thousands of pro-Russia protesters took to the streets of the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Sunday, demanding a referendum to become part of the Russian territory.
Protesters chanted slogans in favour of Moscow and attacked the office of the far-right Ukrainian nationalist group Right Sector.
Earlier, thousands of Russia supporters gathered outside the Russian Consulate in the city, urging Moscow to send peacekeeping forces to protect them.
A similar demonstration has also been held in Donetsk in support of Crimea’s right to join Russia.
Some demonstrators reportedly stormed the Prosecutor General's Office, removed the Ukrainian flag from the top of the building and raised the Russian one.
The industrial city is situated close to the Russian border and is considered as a stronghold of ousted Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych.
Donetsk’s city council has refused to recognize Ukraine’s new government and called for a referendum on the region’s status.
The pro-Russian population of Crimea is seeking to break away from Ukraine, which is now controlled by pro-Western authorities, and join neighbouring Russia.
The Crimean election commission reported the turnout at 75 percent before the polls closed.
The interim government in Kiev had described the vote as “unconstitutional” and “illegitimate” and called on Crimeans to boycott the vote.
The United States and the European Union (EU), which support the new Ukrainian government, also condemned the referendum as “illegal.”
On Saturday, Russia vetoed a US-endorsed UN Security Council resolution, which considered the referendum illegal.
Tensions have been running high in Ukraine since February, when Yanukovych, left the country following violent clashes between police and pro-Western protesters in the capital Kiev, which were fueled by messages of support from the US and some European governments.
Ukraine has been gripped by a political crisis since November 2013, when Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.
SSM/AB
Posted By: Yaiqab Saint
Sunday, March 16th 2014 at 4:50PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
