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| Ukraine leader warns of separatism threat amid fears over Crimea | Ukraine leader warns of separatism threat amid fears over Crimea |
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| Ukraine's interim president warned on Tuesday that the country faced a "serious threat" from separatism amid fears that the Kremlin – deeply unhappy about the revolution in Kiev – might be stoking pro-Russian sentiment in the Crimea peninsula. | Ukraine's interim president warned on Tuesday that the country faced a "serious threat" from separatism amid fears that the Kremlin – deeply unhappy about the revolution in Kiev – might be stoking pro-Russian sentiment in the Crimea peninsula. |
| "We discussed the question of not allowing any signs of separatism and threats to Ukraine's territorial integrity and punishing people guilty of this," Olexander Turchynov said after meeting with key officials. | "We discussed the question of not allowing any signs of separatism and threats to Ukraine's territorial integrity and punishing people guilty of this," Olexander Turchynov said after meeting with key officials. |
| A visiting Russian official said earlier on Tuesday that Moscow would act in the event of heightened tension over the Crimea peninsula. | A visiting Russian official said earlier on Tuesday that Moscow would act in the event of heightened tension over the Crimea peninsula. |
| "If the life and health of our compatriots is under threat, we will not stand to one side," the parliamentarian Leonid Slutsky said after arriving in the regional capital of Simferopol for a one-day visit. | "If the life and health of our compatriots is under threat, we will not stand to one side," the parliamentarian Leonid Slutsky said after arriving in the regional capital of Simferopol for a one-day visit. |
| Slutsky, who leads the Russian Duma's committee for relations with former Soviet states, declined to say exactly what sort of action Russia might take. | Slutsky, who leads the Russian Duma's committee for relations with former Soviet states, declined to say exactly what sort of action Russia might take. |
| AFP reported that two armoured personnel carriers were deployed near Russian military installations in Ukraine's second port of Sevastopol on Tuesday. One of the vehicles was on a base belonging to Russia's Black Sea fleet while another was parked in a naval courtyard in the city centre. A spokesman for the fleet in Sevastopol refused to comment on the deployment of the vehicles but local media reported that they had been sent out in case of "terrorist attacks". | |
| In Kiev on Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament voted to send Yanukovych to The Hague to be tried over the violence that led to at least 82 deaths in Kiev last week. The president is on the run and believed to be in Crimea, but has not been seen in public since Sunday. | In Kiev on Tuesday, the Ukrainian parliament voted to send Yanukovych to The Hague to be tried over the violence that led to at least 82 deaths in Kiev last week. The president is on the run and believed to be in Crimea, but has not been seen in public since Sunday. |
| The parliament voted that Vitali Zakharchenko, the former interior minister, and Viktor Pshonka, the prosecutor general, also be sent to the international criminal court. The men have fled Kiev, along with other key Yanukovych aides. There were reports on Tuesday afternoon that Andriy Kluyev, Yanukovych's chief of staff, had been wounded during a gun battle. He was reported to have been shot in the leg after his car came under fire when he was travelling back to Kiev, allegedly after visiting Yanukovych in Crimea. None of the details could be confirmed. | |
| Outside Kiev, Yanukovych's extravagant residence has been opened to the public, and Ukrainian investigative journalists have begun releasing to the web incriminating documents found at the mansion, in a project called "Yanukovych leaks". They say they have found evidence of corruption as well as plans to clear Independence Square of protesters using force. | Outside Kiev, Yanukovych's extravagant residence has been opened to the public, and Ukrainian investigative journalists have begun releasing to the web incriminating documents found at the mansion, in a project called "Yanukovych leaks". They say they have found evidence of corruption as well as plans to clear Independence Square of protesters using force. |
| Pictures from Pshonka's mansion were also posted online, including one shot of a portrait of the prosecutor general dressed as a Roman emperor and another of hundreds of lavish gold ornaments. | Pictures from Pshonka's mansion were also posted online, including one shot of a portrait of the prosecutor general dressed as a Roman emperor and another of hundreds of lavish gold ornaments. |
| In The Hague, the ICC said it had not yet received a request from the new Ukrainian government to investigate events in Kiev. | In The Hague, the ICC said it had not yet received a request from the new Ukrainian government to investigate events in Kiev. |
| Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of the nationalist Svoboda party, said: "It is very important that we had a positive vote today. Now we are inviting all the people of goodwill who have any materials including video, photos or papers that we may need to properly submit to Hague tribunal the papers about crimes against people, crimes against Ukrainians, and violations of human rights that were committed by those criminals in Yanukovych's regime." | Oleh Tiahnybok, leader of the nationalist Svoboda party, said: "It is very important that we had a positive vote today. Now we are inviting all the people of goodwill who have any materials including video, photos or papers that we may need to properly submit to Hague tribunal the papers about crimes against people, crimes against Ukrainians, and violations of human rights that were committed by those criminals in Yanukovych's regime." |
| enior figures in Washington have claimed that that in the days before he fled the capital, Yanukovych spent at least an hour in consultation over the phone with Joe Biden, the US vice-president. According to the anonymous US officials, Biden found the beleaguered Ukrainian leader to be initially defiant, accusing protesters in control of the Kiev streets of terrorism. | enior figures in Washington have claimed that that in the days before he fled the capital, Yanukovych spent at least an hour in consultation over the phone with Joe Biden, the US vice-president. According to the anonymous US officials, Biden found the beleaguered Ukrainian leader to be initially defiant, accusing protesters in control of the Kiev streets of terrorism. |
| Speaking through a translator from his office in the west wing of the White House, Biden reportedly warned Yanukovych that leaders in his position were often "a day late and a dollar short" in their attempts to appease political protesters.The parliament will select a new prime minister on Thursday, and presidential elections are scheduled for 25 May. The retired heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Tuesday that he would run. Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who was released from jail on Saturday, has not indicated whether she will stand. She said she would travel to Germany in March for treatment of a back problem that has confined her to a wheelchair. | Speaking through a translator from his office in the west wing of the White House, Biden reportedly warned Yanukovych that leaders in his position were often "a day late and a dollar short" in their attempts to appease political protesters.The parliament will select a new prime minister on Thursday, and presidential elections are scheduled for 25 May. The retired heavyweight boxer Vitali Klitschko confirmed on Tuesday that he would run. Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister who was released from jail on Saturday, has not indicated whether she will stand. She said she would travel to Germany in March for treatment of a back problem that has confined her to a wheelchair. |
| Most western countries have said they recognise the transition of power in Kiev and are working to ensure that smooth and inclusive politics can take hold. | Most western countries have said they recognise the transition of power in Kiev and are working to ensure that smooth and inclusive politics can take hold. |
| Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, who was in Kiev on a two-day visit, said: "We want to support and help the country to stay strong and to go forward in the way it chooses to." | Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, who was in Kiev on a two-day visit, said: "We want to support and help the country to stay strong and to go forward in the way it chooses to." |
| But Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned the EU and US not to try to shape Ukraine's future. "It is dangerous and counterproductive to try to force upon Ukraine a choice on the principle: 'You are either with us or against us'," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow. | But Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, warned the EU and US not to try to shape Ukraine's future. "It is dangerous and counterproductive to try to force upon Ukraine a choice on the principle: 'You are either with us or against us'," Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow. |
| Russia and the west should use political contacts in Ukraine to calm the situation and not seek advantage when national dialogue was needed, Lavrov added. | Russia and the west should use political contacts in Ukraine to calm the situation and not seek advantage when national dialogue was needed, Lavrov added. |
| Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on the situation, but the parliamentary visit to Crimea will further stoke tensions. Crowds in Simferopol and Sevastopol on Tuesday called on local authorities to reject Ukraine's new government. A crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the local administration in Sevastopol cheered when a Russian armoured personnel carrier rolled past – an apparently routine occurrence in the port city where Russia's Black Sea fleet is stationed. | Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on the situation, but the parliamentary visit to Crimea will further stoke tensions. Crowds in Simferopol and Sevastopol on Tuesday called on local authorities to reject Ukraine's new government. A crowd of about 100 people gathered outside the local administration in Sevastopol cheered when a Russian armoured personnel carrier rolled past – an apparently routine occurrence in the port city where Russia's Black Sea fleet is stationed. |
| The night before, the city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, while more than 1,000 people gathered around city hall chanting "Russia, Russia, Russia" and "a Russian mayor for a Russian city". | The night before, the city council handed power to Aleksei Chaliy, a Russian citizen, while more than 1,000 people gathered around city hall chanting "Russia, Russia, Russia" and "a Russian mayor for a Russian city". |
| Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the interior minister, condemned the events in the city as a coup. "Chaliy represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said. | Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the interior minister, condemned the events in the city as a coup. "Chaliy represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said. |
| The Crimean peninsula, which is the only region of Ukraine with a majority of ethnic Russians, was Russian territory until 1954. Moscow recently extended its lease on a large naval base in Sevastopol to 2042. | The Crimean peninsula, which is the only region of Ukraine with a majority of ethnic Russians, was Russian territory until 1954. Moscow recently extended its lease on a large naval base in Sevastopol to 2042. |
| Additional reporting by Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev | Additional reporting by Oksana Grytsenko in Kiev |
| Simon Jenkins, page 31 | Simon Jenkins, page 31 |