Gunmen seize parliament in Ukraine's southern Crimea region

CNN.com Europe Feb - 27 - 2014 , 10:16

(CNN) -- Dozens of armed men have seized the regional government administration building and parliament in Ukraine's southern Crimea region, where pro-Russian demonstrators have faced off against rival protesters.

Some 50 gunmen are occupying the buildings in the city of Simferopol since early morning, the press secretary to the head of the region told CNN on Thursday.

A Russian flag is flying over the parliament building, said Violetta Limona, press secretary to Crimea premier Anatolii Mohyliov.

She added parliament and government employees were told to stay away from the buildings as Mohyliov tried to negotate with the gunmen.

The men, however, refused to listen, sayig he didn't have the authority, said Refat Chubarov, a member of the Crimean Parliament.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said he has ordered police in the country to be prepared.

"Order has been issued to create a cordon around the Parliament in Crimea, and to avoid shooting and violence," he posted on his Facebook page.

Tensions in the Crimea region have simmered since the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych last week. Scuffles broke out on Wednesday as the mood soured among the thousands rallying in front of the Crimean parliament building.

One group waved Ukrainian flags and shouted "Crimea is not Russia," while the other held Russian flags aloft and shouted "Crimea is Russia," images broadcast by Crimean TV channel ATR showed. As the crowd became more agitated, a line of police moved in to divide the groups.

Local leaders sought to calm the mood, urging the protesters to go home and resist provocations.

The demonstrations signal the broad divide between those who support what is going on in Kiev, where the new government is leaning toward the West, and those who back Russia's continued influence in Crimea and across Ukraine.

Secession fears

Concerns were heightened in the Crimea region when the Crimean Parliament convened a previously unscheduled session Wednesday, amid local media reports that secession might be on the agenda.

But the Parliament speaker Volodimir Konstantinov denied there were plans to discuss "radical issues" such as the separation of Russia-oriented Crimea from Ukraine.

In a statement on the Parliament website, he dismissed the local media reports as "rumors," saying they were "a provocation aimed at discrediting and de-legitimizing the Crimean parliament."

He also urged the Crimean people to remain calm and not be provoked, the statement said.

In Sevastopol, residents told CNN they were angry that Yanukovych has been forced out and fear that they will be oppressed by the country's new leaders.

Small pro-Russian protests took place in the Black Sea city Wednesday. A CNN team in the area encountered more than one pro-Russian militia checkpoint on the road from Sevastopol to Simferopol.

Yanukovych's base of support is in eastern and southern Ukraine, where Russian culture and language predominate. In that region, most people are suspicious of the Europe-leaning views of their counterparts in western Ukraine, who were at the heart of the anti-government protests that filled central Kiev.

Many are struggling to come to grips with the rapid political upheaval that has unfolded in Ukraine in recent days, after months of protests and last week's bloody clashes between protesters and security forces.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has accused Ukraine's lawmakers of discriminating against ethnic Russians by excluding them from the reform process.

New government

In the capital Kiev, Ukraine's parliament met to vote in a new government Thursday after protest leaders named the ministers they want to form a new cabinet.

Leaders of the popular protests that toppled Yanukovych named former economy minister Arseny Yatseniuk as their choice to head a new interim government.

In a display of people power, the announcement of Yatseniuk, and candidates for other key ministries was made Wednesday after protest leaders addressed crowds on Independence Square, the heart of the protests. Activist Dmytro Bulatov was put forward as sports minister.

"People have to feel the changes, not to hear about them, but see them," he told CNN.

When asked what he saw as his biggest challenge as a possible minister, Bulatov replied: transparency.

"I think the first thing I must do is to bring more transparency," he said. "It's gonna be the society, civil society I mean, who will be making decisions. The minister is a public person, and people must decide what is better, what are the priorities."

The crowd, some of them dressed in camouflage, cheered as the names were read out.

"We need to keep these people accountable. But, yes, we are mostly happy," one woman told CNN.

Highlighting the tough task still ahead for the country's new leaders, others were more cautious.

"Some of the people among the crowd are unsatisfied by the appointments. But generally I am happy. But this is not enough for the protestors to go home," a man said.

Lawmakers face the challenge of forming a body that genuinely represents of all the main political parties, despite their widely divergent views, and includes technical experts and some of the people's heroes from the protests in Independence Square.

Presidential and local elections are due to be held May 25. One candidate has already been announced. Opposition leader and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, of the UDAR party, will run for the presidency, his press secretary Oksana Zinovyeva said.

Surprise military exercise

As tensions have bubbled in Crimea, Russia on Wednesday ordered surprise military exercises on Ukraine's doorstep

The exercises are "to check combat readiness of armed forces in western and central military districts as well as several branches of the armed forces," Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu was quoted as saying by state media.

Shoigu did not mention Ukraine, which lies to Russia's west, but the timing of the move has prompted speculation about the motivation.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the exercises since they are on Russian territory.

U.S. military intelligence has seen some Russian naval ship movement near Ukraine since the weekend, but it sees no immediate indication the Russians are preparing for any offensive military action in Ukraine, two U.S. officials said.

Instead, the officials said intelligence suggests Russia is "repositioning" up to half a dozen Russian ships near the Ukrainian port city of Sevastapol in case they're needed to respond if Russian interests are threatened.

Sevastapol is home to Russia's Black Sea fleet, so the ships could be used, if needed, to protect the base, Russian military assets and personnel, and Russian citizens around Sevastapol, the U.S. officials said. About 60% of the population in the city is Russian.

In Washington, the White House urged "outside actors" to respect Ukraine's sovereignty.

Financial woes

Last week, the bloody street clashes between demonstrators and security forces left more than 80 dead, the deadliest violence in the country since it gained independence when the Soviet Union collapsed 22 years ago.

Russia, which backed Yanukovych, contends that the President was driven out by an "armed mutiny" of extremists and terrorists. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, but his whereabouts remain unknown.

While Yanukovych is on the run, the diplomatic wheels have been set in motion within the international community. One key concern is cash-strapped Ukraine's perilous financial position.

Interim Finance Minister Yury Kolobov proposed Monday that an international donor conference be held within two weeks. Ukraine, he said, will need $35 billion in foreign assistance by the end of 2015.

Russia had offered Ukraine a $15 billion loan and cut in natural gas prices in November, but that deal seems unlikely to remain on the table if Ukraine turns toward Europe.

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman on Wednesday stressed that no decision has been made about financial assistance.

"The United States is continuing to consider a range of options, including loan guarantees, to support Ukraine economically. But no decision has been made, and the next step is the formation of a multiparty, technical government.

"Once that government is formed, we will begin to take immediate steps, in coordination with multilateral and bilateral partners, that could compliment an IMF package, to support Ukraine," said spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

Yanukovych's decision to scrap a European Union trade deal in favor of one with Russia prompted the protests, which began in November.