Rebels snub Putin, east Ukraine vote imminent
Pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine ignored a public call by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone a referendum on self-rule, declaring they would go ahead on Sunday with a vote that could lead to war.
The decision, which contradicted the conciliatory tone set by Mr Putin just a day earlier, caused consternation in the West, which fears the referendum will tear Ukraine apart.
US deputy secretary of state William Burns said Russia was heading down a “dangerous and irresponsible path” and the situation in Ukraine was “extremely combustible”.
Denis Pushilin, a leader of the self-declared separatist Donetsk People’s Republic, expressed gratitude to Mr Putin but said the “People’s Council” had voted unanimously on Thursday to hold the plebiscite as planned.
“Civil war has already begun,” he told reporters. “The referendum can put a stop to it and start a political process.”
A man holding a Kalashnikov stood behind him. The announcement coincided with a sharp change of tone from Moscow, which had signalled a pullback from confrontation on Wednesday with Mr Putin’s call for the vote to be delayed and adeclaration that troops were withdrawing from Ukraine’s border.
Meanwhile, Moscow has retaliated against sanctions imposed by the United States and Canada in April by expanding its lists of American and Canadian officials barred from Russia, but will not name those affected, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
“Sanctions are not our method in general, but unfriendly actions force us to respond. The most recent sanctions (imposed by) Washington and Ottawa are no exception,” ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.
Russia said on Thursday that it would be “senseless” for Ukraine to hold a presidential election set for May 25 unless the government ends a military operation against separatists in the east and begins a nationwide dialogue on constitutional reform.
In a telephone conversation with his French counterpart, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov also said violence that killed more than 40 people in the Ukrainian city of Odessa last week must be thoroughly investigated, the foreign ministry said.
Russian markets sank after surging on Wednesday.
In Kyiv, officials promised to press on with their “anti-terroristcampaign” to retake control over the eastern regions of Donetskand Luhansk regardless of the rebels’ decision on the vote.
Political analysts said Mr Putin may have expected the rebels to go ahead with the referendum, showing that they were not under his orders. By distancing himself from a process that will not be recognised by the West, Mr Putin may also hope to avoid further sanctions.