hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Russian-backed Crimea parliament secedes from Ukraine
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Russian-backed Crimea parliament secedes from Ukraine
Moscow - Moscow appears to be presenting the West with a fait accompli. The Crimean parliament it controls says it is asking to join Russia.
The BBC reported the decision. Earlier the group, which was installed at gunpoint, had said it would hold a referendum on whether to leave Ukraine and become part of Russia. Ria Novosti, the official Russian new agency, said, “The parliament of Crimea, a majority ethnic Russian region within Ukraine, decided Thursday to secede from the country and become part of Russia, according to a statement on its website.” Ria Novosti said a vote on the decision would be held March 16. The decision appeared likely to result in the European Union and the US putting even more sanctions into place than those already decided. It appeared unlikely that international observers would be allowed to watch the voting. Russian continued to deny it had troops in Ukraine, although many journalists, including Russian-speaking ones, had encountered them. The head of the Russian defense force, Sergei Shoigu, said he had no idea how his country’s armored cars known as Tigers had turned up in Ukraine, the New York Times reported. A Russian website had begun recruiting volunteers to cross into Ukraine. The BBC reported: “The "Civil Defense of Ukraine" group is asking men aged 18-45 who are ready to travel to Ukraine to volunteer through VKontakte, the main Russian-language social network. The page was set up just over a week ago and has more than 7,000 followers.” In Internet terms that is a trickle. A Miley Cyrus photo would instantly draw hundreds of thousands. On Wednesday, a BBC film crew was held at gunpoint and a UN representative forced to leave Crimea by Russian-troop support gunmen. Russian has refused to recognize the impeachment of former President Yanukovych and insisted the truce negotiated between him and Europe be honored. US Secretary of State John Kerry said Yanukovych fled without signing the deal.
hollywoodtone.blogspot.com Russian-backed Crimea parliament secedes from Ukraine