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Pro-Russia Ukrainians Are Promised More Power, but Remain Dubious Pro-Russia Ukrainians Are Promised More Power, but Remain Dubious
(about 7 hours later)
DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukraine’s acting prime minister on Friday abandoned threats to forcibly evict pro-Russian demonstrators from government buildings, and assured political and business leaders in the country’s rebellious east that they will get more power to run their own affairs. DONETSK, Ukraine — Ukraine’s acting prime minister on Friday abandoned threats to forcibly evict pro-Russian demonstrators from government buildings, and assured political and business leaders in the country’s rebellious east that they would get more power to run their own affairs.
But the pledge by Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the head of a new central government in Kiev installed after the Feb. 21 flight of President Viktor F. Yanukovych, drew a dismissive response from protesters as a deadline set by the government to relinquish the occupied regional administration building here passed with no sign of an end to a volatile standoff, which began Sunday when protesters seized the building and declared the establishment of a People’s Republic of Donetsk. But the pledge, by Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, the head of a new central government in Kiev installed after the Feb. 21 flight of President Viktor F. Yanukovych, drew a dismissive response from protesters as a deadline set by the government to relinquish the occupied regional administration building here passed with no sign of an end to a volatile standoff, which began Sunday when protesters seized the building and declared the establishment of a People’s Republic of Donetsk.
In a television statement broadcast to a small and mostly elderly crowd outside the occupied building, Ekaterina Gubareva, the newly appointed “foreign minister” of the universally unrecognized Donetsk republic, denounced Mr. Yatsenyuk’s government as a “junta” and repeated demands for a referendum to let local residents decide whether they want to secede and join Russia. In a televised statement broadcast to a small and mostly elderly crowd outside the occupied building, Ekaterina Gubareva, the newly appointed “foreign minister” of the universally unrecognized Donetsk republic, denounced Mr. Yatsenyuk’s government as a “junta” and repeated demands for a referendum to let residents decide whether they want to secede and join Russia.
Oleg Tsarov, a Russian-speaking candidate for the Ukrainian presidency, and one of a handful of mainstream politicians who support the unruly Donetsk protesters, said at a news conference that he had information of an imminent “frontal assault” by government forces on the occupied building. He declined to specify how he knew this, but said Mr. Yatsenyuk’s disavowal of a forceful solution during his visit to Donetsk “only strengthened” his view that an attack is likely. In Washington, the Obama administration blacklisted six separatist leaders in Crimea, a former Ukrainian official and a gas company based in Crimea for their roles in splitting off Crimea from Ukraine. They include Pyotr Zima, who headed the state security bureau in Crimea, and Sergey Tsekov, the former vice speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament, who helped facilitate the referendum that led to the annexation.
The United States and its allies worry that Russia might use the unrest in Donetsk and other eastern cities — which Ukrainian authorities believe has been instigated and financed by Moscow — as pretext for a military intervention to “protect” Russian-speaking residents. “We will continue to impose costs on those involved in ongoing violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, David S. Cohen. The orders freeze any of the individuals’ assets held in the United States and prohibit them from conducting business there or with American citizens or entities.
Russia has repeatedly denied any plans for an invasion and many analysts believe its principal goal is not to grab territory but to keep the shaky new Ukrainian government off balance and to make sure it shuns any security partnership with the West. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, on Friday demanded legal guarantees of Ukraine’s neutrality, a position that would close the door to Ukraine cooperating with NATO or trying to join it. Undeterred by that action, the Crimean legislature rushed to approve a new constitution Friday, binding the region even more closely to Russia in the wake of its annexation by Moscow last month. The new constitution states that Crimea is “an integral part” of the Russian Federation.
In a sign of how closely the Donetsk protesters are acting in concert with Russian interests, anti-NATO chants have now become a regular element of their round-the-clock rallies, superseding earlier chants against the “fascists” who they claim grabbed power in Kiev from Mr. Yanukovych. “Step by step we have led Crimeans to realize their dream of returning home to Russia,” Speaker Vladimir Konstantinov told the assembly, according to local news reports. Of the 100-member assembly, 87 members present voted for the measure, the reports said, with no opposition. The vote brought strong protests from Crimea’s Tartar minority, who said the new constitution all but ignored the promises they had been given about preserving minority rights.
Inside the building, masked young men with clubs and iron rods patrolled the corridors hunting for alleged “provocateurs” and “spies” while the fractious leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic tried to figure out what to do next in the 11th floor offices of the ejected regional governor, a billionaire metals tycoon, Sergey A. Taruta. Despite the Ukrainian leaders’ pledge to resolve the Donetsk standoff peacefully, Oleg Tsarov, a Russian-speaking candidate for the Ukrainian presidency, and one of a handful of mainstream politicians who support the unruly Donetsk protesters, said at a news conference that he had information of an imminent “frontal assault” by government forces on the occupied building. He declined to specify how he knew this, but said Mr. Yatsenyuk’s disavowal of a forceful solution during his visit to Donetsk “only strengthened” his view that an attack was likely.
Ukraine’s interior minister, Arsen Avakov, warned on Wednesday that protesters in Donetsk and two other eastern cities had 48 hours to resolve their differences with authorities through negotiation or be forced to give up occupied government buildings. But the government now seems to have scrapped this ultimatum, with Mr. Yatsenyuk declaring on Friday that he was “against forceful scenarios,” but added: “everything has a limit.” The United States and its allies worry that Russia might use the unrest in Donetsk and other eastern cities — which Ukrainian authorities believe has been instigated and financed by Moscow — as a pretext for a military intervention to “protect” Russian-speaking residents.
With intermittent fears of an assault by troops loyal to the government in Kiev, protesters huddled around fires, vowing to stand firm but seeming uncertain about where to go from here. Many voiced disappointment that their pro-Russia cause had not yet galvanized widespread public support outside the protest encampment. Russia has denied any plans for an invasion, and many analysts believe its principal goal is not to grab territory but to keep the shaky new Ukrainian government off balance and to make sure it shuns any security partnership with the West. The Russian foreign minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, on Friday demanded legal guarantees of Ukraine’s neutrality, a position that would close the door to Ukraine cooperating with NATO or trying to join it.
Mr. Yatsenyuk, speaking in a mix of Russian and Ukrainian, a language rarely used in Donetsk, promised that his government would give regions more power to manage their own finances, chose their own leaders and govern their own affairs. Regional governors are currently appointed by the president in Kiev. “Our task is to balance power between the center” and the regions, he said. In a sign of how closely the Donetsk protesters are acting in concert with Russian interests, anti-NATO chants have now become a regular element of their round-the-clock rallies, superseding earlier chants against the “fascists” who they claim grabbed power in Kiev.
At a meeting on Friday with the prime minister, Ukraine’s richest man, the Donetsk businessman Rinat Akhmetov, and other regional power-brokers, Mr. Taruta stressed that economic growth, not force, offered the only way to solve the crisis. “The biggest problem is poverty and we must fight against it with all our means,” he said. Opinion polls show that most residents of the east have little interest in independence or secession but are deeply concerned by declining living standards. Inside the building, masked young men with clubs and iron rods patrolled the corridors hunting for alleged “provocateurs” and “spies” while the fractious leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic tried to figure out what to do next in the 11th-floor offices of the ejected regional governor, a billionaire metals tycoon, Sergey A. Taruta.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Hennadiy Kernes, a former ally of Mr. Yanukovych, presented a long list of complaints to the government leaders, pointing to rising fuel prices and other issues he said had stirred anger in the east. Ukraine’s interior minister, Arsen Avakov, warned Wednesday that protesters in Donetsk and two other eastern cities had 48 hours to resolve their differences with the authorities through negotiation or be forced to give up occupied government buildings. But the government now seems to have scrapped this ultimatum, with Mr. Yatsenyuk declaring on Friday that he was “against forceful scenarios,” but added, “everything has a limit.”
Addressing another source of friction with Moscow, Ukraine’s acting energy minister suggested on Friday he will not pay the elevated prices for natural gas that Russia has been demanding in recent weeks, and will contest the basis for the price increase instead. The minister, Yuri Prodan, told Parliament he intends to challenge in an arbitration court in Stockholm a 2009 contract with Gazprom and its subsequent amendments. It is under this contract that Gazprom is claiming an about 80 percent increase in the price of gas, starting this month. With intermittent fears of an assault by troops loyal to the government in Kiev, protesters huddled around fires, vowing to stand firm but seeming uncertain about where to go from here. Many voiced disappointment that their pro-Russia cause had not yet galvanized widespread public support.
The legal prospects for such a suit are unclear, energy analysts say, and Ukraine’s options for wiggling free of the deal are limited in spite of diplomatic backing from the United States and European Union countries. Mr. Yatsenyuk, speaking in a mix of Russian and Ukrainian, a language rarely used in Donetsk, promised that his government would give regions more power to manage their own finances, choose their own leaders and govern their own affairs. Regional governors are currently appointed by the president in Kiev.
Russian officials point out that Mr. Prodan helped negotiate the contract in 2009, when he served as energy minister under Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko, and is hardly in a position to dispute its validity. At a meeting on Friday with the prime minister, the mayor of Kharkiv, Hennadiy Kernes, a former ally of Mr. Yanukovych, presented a long list of complaints to the government leaders, pointing to rising fuel prices and other issues he said had stirred anger in the east.
The Ukrainian finance minister, Oleksandr Shlapak, told reporters in Washington his country does not intend to use the first installment of an International Monetary Fund loan to pay Russia. Ukraine has few resources on its own to make such payments. Addressing another source of friction with Moscow, Ukraine’s acting energy minister suggested on Friday he will not pay the elevated prices for natural gas that Russia has been demanding in recent weeks, and will contest the basis for the price increase instead. The minister, Yuri Prodan, told Parliament he intended to challenge in an arbitration court in Stockholm a 2009 contract with Gazprom and its subsequent amendments. It is under this contract that Gazprom is claiming an increase of about 80 percent in the price of gas, starting this month.
Ukraine expects to receive $7 billion this year from the I.M.F. and has a preliminary accord with the lending institution to receive as much as $18 billion in loans over two years, while aid from the European Union, the United States and other donors will raise the total package to $27 billion.