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Separatists in Ukraine Vow to Proceed With Autonomy Vote Separatists Defy Kiev and Putin on Referendum
(about 9 hours later)
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Rebels in eastern Ukraine said on Thursday that they would proceed with a referendum this weekend seeking autonomy, even though President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Wednesday had appeared to withdraw his support for the vote. SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine vowed on Thursday to press ahead with a referendum seeking autonomy, a risky move that seemed to defy their political patron, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose motives in urging a delay in the vote came under furious attack by officials in Kiev.
“The referendum will be held on May 11,” said Miroslav Rudenko, the co-chairman of the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic, as the rebels call their political wing, according to Interfax, a Russian state-controlled news service. A day after Mr. Putin scrambled the political landscape by suggesting the vote be put off, militant leaders in Donetsk, Lugansk and Slovyansk said they would go ahead on Sunday as scheduled. Far from mollified by Mr. Putin’s new stance, Ukrainian officials expressed deep suspicions, accusing him of trying to replay events preceding Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The announcement is likely to revive tensions between the interim government in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, and the armed rebels who have seized terrain and buildings in parts of eastern Ukraine, including Donetsk. Although the ability of separatists to stage a legitimate ballot is highly in doubt, the mere possibility that Russia would use the vote as a pretext for another territorial grab had officials in Kiev calling the referendum illegal and insisting that action to suppress the armed separatists would continue in the days ahead.  
Rebels in Luhansk, where the uprising has a smaller presence in a city strategically located beside the Russian border, echoed the message from Donetsk, saying they too would hold a referendum. “The Ukrainian state has never planned any referendum,” the head of Ukraine’s National Security Council, Andriy Parubiy, said at a news conference in Kiev. “We cannot cancel or postpone something that doesn’t exist. This is political fraud.”
On Wednesday, Mr. Putin appealed to pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to hold off on the referendum in order to provide an opening for a dialogue on new political arrangements for the country, including more autonomy for regions of Ukraine that identify historically and linguistically with Russia. However the process plays out on Sunday, the prospect of resolving the Ukrainian crisis will hinge more on the reactions in Moscow, Kiev and the West than on the results — real or forged.  
In Moscow on Thursday, Mr. Putin briefly echoed the remarks he made a day earlier about seeking a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis through mediation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukrainian officials said Mr. Putin’s remarks were intended to continue destabilizing the country with an eye toward disrupting the far more consequential presidential elections scheduled for May 25. “Any calls for their postponement are not an expression of good will, but simply farce,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “This scenario has already been played by Russia in Crimea.”
“Concrete steps have been planned to augment efforts by the O.S.C.E. to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine, primarily through arranging a direct, equitable dialogue between the present Ukrainian authorities and representatives of southeastern regions of Ukraine,” he said in a television broadcast from the Kremlin. Mr. Putin was addressing fellow heads of state from the Collective Security Treaty Organzation, which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia. But some analysts said Mr. Putin was hedging against the inability of insurgents to pull off a successful ballot measure.
The swift insistence by local separatist leaders that they would persist in holding the referendum immediately raised questions about Mr. Putin’s motives in his remarks on Wednesday, in which he appeared to sound a conciliatory note.  “They control dozens of buildings, but not the entire territory, and don’t have the administrative capacity to organize a vote,” said Michael McFaul, who until earlier this year served as the United States ambassador in Russia. “Moreover, polls show that a free and fair election there would not produce support for splitting with Ukraine.”
Mr. Putin and other senior Russian officials have repeatedly insisted that Moscow is not controlling the unrest in eastern Ukraine, a point that is strenuously disputed by the Ukrainian government in Kiev. In Moscow on Thursday, Mr. Putin briefly echoed the remarks he made a day earlier about seeking a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis through mediation by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Officials in Kiev have noted that any such referendum is illegal - a direct violation of the Ukrainian Constitution - and they have questioned the ability of the separatist leaders to carry out anything approaching a normal vote. In another gesture of reconciliation, Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksander Turchynov, and prime minister, Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, in a statement offered amnesty to any insurgents who did not have “blood on their hands.”
In Kiev on Wednesday, officials reacted guardedly to Mr. Putin’s remarks, noting that he had made similar noises about pulling back troops from the border with Ukraine, only for Ukraine and its Western allies to conclude that Russia remained poised for an invasion. Caught off guard by Mr. Putin’s surprise remarks on Wednesday, separatist leaders in southeastern Ukraine regained their balance Thursday, insisting the referendum would go ahead as planned. “I think he has reasons to propose rescheduling the referendum,” the self-appointed mayor of Slovyansk, Vyachislav Ponomaryov, told reporters Thursday afternoon. “But I don’t know these reasons. We’re ready to hold it.”
Andriy Parubiy, the head of Ukraine’s national security council, said in an interview that he was proceeding on a belief that Mr. Putin’s ultimate goal was to disrupt the Ukrainian presidential election scheduled for May 25 and that Russia would continue efforts to destabilize the east. “We understand that a key task for Russia is to destroy the elections on May 25,” Mr. Parubiy said. Mr. Ponomaryov displayed what he said was a sample ballot that contained a single question, printed in both Russian and Ukrainian: “Do you support the declaration of independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic?”
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian security service posted a recording on its Web site that it said offered proof of Russian involvement in coordinating both the unrest in eastern Ukraine and the referendum on independence, including plans to falsify the results. He predicted that an “overwhelming majority” would vote in favor of independence, a step that he indicated would mean closer relations with Russia and, perhaps, eventual union with the Russian Federation.
The recording was of a phone call that the security service said took place between a pro-Russian political operative named Aleksandr Barkashov, who was identified as being in Moscow, and Dmytro Boitsov, a leader of separatist rebels in Donetsk. “For now, we should just specify for ourselves that we should definitively secede from Kiev,” Mr. Ponomaryov said. “Then we’ll decide for ourselves which path to take further.”
His optimism notwithstanding, even the simplest mechanics of the vote remained unclear. Less than 72 hours before voting would begin, the rebel authorities in Slovyansk had yet to disclose even a list of polling places. On Tuesday, Mr. Ponomaryov had not known if there would be 56 or 156 polling places in the city.
As a result, the decision to proceed with the vote was fraught with risks for the rebels, who have managed to disrupt eastern Ukraine but control only a small amount of territory.
If the voting reaches only a tiny portion of Ukraine’s eastern population, as many here expect, it will highlight their lack of support among the population at large.
While a chaotic voting process might discredit insurgent leaders, Ukrainian officials were not willing to stand by and hope for a mess, particularly given the level of misinformation that has been broadcast repeatedly on Russian state-controlled news media throughout the crisis. Just a polling station or two with a line of voters could provide the backdrop needed to make the vote appear legitimate on television to millions of viewers.
Illustrating officials’ concerns about fraud, the Ukrainian security service posted a recording on its website, on Wednesday, that it said proved Russian involvement in coordinating both the unrest in eastern Ukraine and the referendum on independence, including plans to falsify results.
The recording was of a phone call that the security service said took place between a pro-Russian political operative named Aleksandr Barkashov, who was identified as being in Moscow, and Dmytro Boitsov, a leader of rebels in Donetsk.
The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified.The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified.
In the conversation, riddled with expletives, Mr. Boitsov suggests canceling the referendum and Mr. Barkashov insists that it must go forward, by saying that it is ridiculous to consider holding a real vote. “Are you going to walk around and collect papers?” he asks incredulously, his words punctuated by curses. “Are you insane?” In the conversation, riddled with expletives, Mr. Boitsov suggests canceling the referendum and Mr. Barkashov insists that it must go forward, but says that it is ridiculous to consider holding a real vote.
“Let’s say that 89 percent voted for the Donetsk Republic and that’s it,” Mr. Barkashov says. “Are you going to walk around and collect papers?” he asks incredulously, his words punctuated by curses. “Are you insane?”
The referendum seems intended to mimic the series of events that led up to Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In that case, however, Moscow had made clear that it supported the idea of a public referendum on independence. Mr. Putin’s remarks suggested a far murkier situation, in which the Kremlin does not want to take responsibility for eastern Ukraine where surveys have indicated a majority of the population does not support becoming part of Russia. Mr. Barkashov adds: “Let’s say that 89 percent voted for the Donetsk Republic and that’s it.”
Ukrainian election officials in Kiev have already conceded that it will be virtually impossible to carry out the presidential election in some of the besieged areas in eastern Ukraine, and they are making provisions for voting to take place in adjacent regions, where security can be assured. Given the risks of manipulation, the acting Ukrainian president, Mr. Turchynov, and the prime minister, Mr. Yatsenyuk, continued to denounce the referendum and Mr. Putin, even as they called for a national round table to discuss the country’s political future. By their reckoning, it seemed as if the Russian president had stage-managed yet another deft maneuver in his geopolitical feud with the West, presenting himself as a conciliator while also reasserting, as he has for weeks, that the rebels in eastern Ukraine are not under Kremlin control.
In Moscow, Mr. Putin on Thursday afternoon announced training exercises of Russia’s armed forces, which included a simulation of a Russian defense against a nuclear strike on its territory and the launching of ballistic missiles from Russian submarines, according to state television and news service reports. Ukrainian officials said they did not believe Mr. Putin would pull back troops along the border, and they suggested that he was simply buying time, allowing his agents on the ground to continue stirring unrest while giving Russia flexibility to intervene further and potentially take steps to cast doubt on the Ukrainian presidential election scheduled for May 25.
Mr. Putin said that Thursday’s maneuvers had been scheduled in advance. He said the same about recent military exercises carried out close to the Ukrainian border. The presidential race is viewed in Kiev, and particularly by Ukraine’s Western allies, as critical to installing a government that even Russia must accept as valid, and allowing the country to open a new chapter that will almost certainly involve closer ties with Europe.
“Today on the eve of the May 9th holiday, Victory Day, we are conducting a test of the readiness of the armed forces of the Russian Federation,” Mr. Putin said in televised remarks at a summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a regional military alliance of six former Soviet countries of which Russia is the largest. While officials said they suspected the rebels’ referendum was intended to mimic the series of events that led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the road has been far rockier for separatists in the east.
“All the branches of the armed forces will be involved across the entire territory of the country, including the nuclear deterrence forces,” Mr. Putin added. In Crimea, Moscow made clear that it supported the idea of a public referendum. Mr. Putin’s remarks covering southeastern Ukraine suggested a far murkier situation, in which the Kremlin seemed reluctant to take responsibility for the region, with its shabby economy and where surveys have indicated a majority of the population does not support joining Russia.
Thursday’s military exercises seemed to be an exhibition of saber-rattling despite Mr. Putin’s calls for a return to diplomacy on Wednesday. In another development, officials from the Pentagon and NATO questioned Mr. Putin’s assertion on Wednesday that Russia had pulled back its troops from the Ukrainian border.
Mr. Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had pulled back its troops from the Ukrainian border, though officals from the Pentagon and NATO questioned the assertion. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO, wrote on Twitter that while the alliance had taken note of Mr. Putin’s statement, “So far we haven’t seen any — any — indication of troops pulling back.”
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of NATO, wrote on Twitter that while the alliance had taken note of Mr. Putin’s statement, “So far we haven’t seen any - any - indication of troops pulling back.”
Also on Thursday, Russia’s deputy minister of defense, Anatoly Antonov, said that Ukraine had massed forces of 15,000 troops along the Russian border.
“Under the conditions of the continuing crisis in Ukraine, such acts at the very least do not promote the de-escalation of tensions in Ukraine,” Mr. Antonov said, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.