Yanukovych decries Crimea annexation
Yanukovych decries Crimea annexation
06:38 Today
Taken from/By:
Report by: BBC News
Ukraine’s deposed President Viktor Yanukovych says Russia’s annexation of Crimea is “a tragedy” and he hopes it will become part of Ukraine again.
In an interview with the Associated Press and Russian channel NTV, he also said he gave no orders to open fire on protesters in the capital, Kyiv.
Mr Yanukovych fled Kyiv after protests in which more than 100 people died.
Meanwhile, a top Nato commander says Russian forces could seize swathes of Ukraine in three to five days.
Moscow is believed to have massed tens of thousands of troops on Ukraine’s eastern border in recent days, causing alarm in Kyiv and the West.
General Philip Breedlove, Nato’s top commander in Europe, said all the elements were in place for a rapid advance, including armour, mechanised units, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and all the logistics needed to back them up.
Russia annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine last month following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kyiv and the West. The peninsula has a majority ethnic Russian population.
Moscow has insisted it has no intention of invading Ukraine.
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