Ukraine crisis: Kyiv says separatist vote would be ‘step into the abyss’ as Europe …

Ukraine’s acting president Oleksander Turchinov has warned eastern regions gripped by a pro-Russian uprising that they would be courting catastrophe if they voted “yes” in a separatist referendum on Sunday.

Mr Turchinov, who deems the vote in the Russian-speaking Donetsk and Luhansk regions illegal, urged the population to accept “round table” talks on greater autonomy.

But, in reference to fighters who have seized police and government buildings, he said “terrorists” could not be included.

The vote, organised on a largely ad hoc basis with no clear control of authenticity of ballot papers or voter lists, could have serious consequences for Ukraine and relations between Moscow and the West. It risks turning isolated clashes into civil war.

“[Secession from Ukraine] … would be a step into the abyss for these regions,” Mr Turchinov said on his website.

“Those who stand for self-rule do not understand that it would mean complete destruction of the economy, social programs and life in general for the majority of the population in these regions.

“A dreadful terror is in train with the support of a large part of the local population … it is a complex problem when a population deceived by [Russian] propaganda supports terrorists.”

The atmosphere in major cities across the region was tense though there were no reports of fighting in the morning.

In the port city of Mariupol, where between seven and 20 people were killed in fierce fighting on Friday, rebels blocked the streets with barricades of tyres, garbage containers and chairs. Smoke was still coming from the partially burnt-out administration building.

There was no sign of Ukrainian forces.

The barricades were manned by a handful of pro-Russians, some with batons or clubs, wearing motorcycle helmets. No gunmen were visible.

Video on YouTube showed an armoured car captured by rebels set on fire and ammunition exploding.

Throughout the city of Slaviansk, the most heavily defended separatist redoubt, streets were barricaded with tyres, furniture, cars and scrap iron.

Nikolai Mikolaichuk, a businessman who had paid out of his own pocket to buy materials to build voting booths, was overseeing their construction in the town’s Lenin Palace of Culture.

“Everyone here is volunteering in their own way. No-one’s being paid … this referendum is for all of us,” he said.

“The Donetsk People’s Republic is going to be its own country, with its own government, laws, even an Olympic team.”

Nine Red Cross members whom rebels said they had detained in the city of Donetsk were released unharmed, officials from the organisation said.

“An emergency response team from the local Red Cross and one member of the international Red Cross were detained. They are now all free,” said a Red Cross official in Kyiv, who did not wish to be named.

He said that it was not clear who had detained them.

Confusion over planned separatist referendum

In the largely rebel-controlled regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which have declared a breakaway “People’s Republic of Donetsk”, preparations went ahead for Sunday’s self-rule referendum.

However, there was widespread uncertainty about what the question on the ballot paper meant: “Do you support the act of self-rule of the People’s Republic of Donetsk?”

Some people interpret it as a vote for more local powers, some for broad autonomy within Ukraine, some for independence, others still as a step towards incorporation into Russia.

Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the rebel mayor of the city of Slaviansk, said he expected a 100 per cent turnout. He set out conditions for talks with Kyiv.

“The withdrawal of (Ukrainian) forces and exchange of prisoners,” he told a news conference.

“Only after fulfilment of these conditions would we be ready for talks. If the junta continues to retain its forces here, we will continue to fight.”

Mr Ponomaryov has been in the forefront of separatist activity, and Kyiv could place him in the category of “terrorists” who would not be welcome at the round table for which Kyiv is seeking international backing.

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Europe flags more sanctions as Russian deputy tweets about bomber

Western states are preparing to further step up pressure on Russia, whom they accuse of engineering the crisis to destabilise Ukraine.

It came as Russia’s deputy prime minister, Dmitri Rogozin, reacting to being barred from Romania’s airspace, tweeted he would return in a TU-160 strategic bomber.

Mr Rogozin, one of the senior Russian officials sanctioned by the European Union and US after Moscow moved to annex Crimea, was turned away when his plane tried to fly to Moscow from Moldova’s breakaway Transnistria region on Saturday.

According to his tweets in English, Mr Rogozin – who oversees Russia’s powerful arms industry – was also blocked by Ukrainian interceptor jets as he tried to fly home.

“Upon US request, Romania has closed its air space for my plane,” he tweeted. “Ukraine doesn’t allow me to pass through again. Next time I’ll fly on board TU-160.”

The supersonic Soviet-era TU-160 is Russia’s largest strategic bomber.

Russia denies involvement in the Ukraine unrest but voices support for insurgents whom it says are defending themselves against fascist forces.

German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande said that if May 25 national polls failed to go ahead because of the rebellion, this would further unsettle the country. In that case, they would be “ready to take further sanctions against Russia”.

Western countries are expected to announce new economic sanctions over Russian president Vladimir Putin’s actions regarding Ukraine.

The European Union has so far imposed asset freezes and visa bans on 48 Russians and Ukrainians over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea. EU diplomats say new sanctions will for the first time target companies.

The national polls are seen in Kyiv as a way of establishing a fully legitimate, universally elected government following pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych’s flight to Russia in February under pressure from pro-Western demonstrations.

AFP/Reuters

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