Ukraine: Eastern pro-Russian separatist its legitimate leaders, Kiev denounced a farce A rebel leader unsurprisingly won a landslide victory in elections in separatist eastern Ukraine denounced as a farce by Kiev and could jeopardize the fragile peace process. The prime minister of the breakaway republic of Donetsk (DNR) Aleksandr Zakharchenko was elected president Sunday with 81.37% of the vote, according to an exit poll announced by Liaguine Roman, head of the electoral commission set up for vote by the DNR. The advantage of this mechanic of 38 years before being appointed prime minister in August, head of a paramilitary group Oplot, whose leader had publicly called for an eye puncture or break a leg to the pro-European opposition , got more than 65% in parliamentary elections. In Lugansk, another stronghold of the separatists, the former military 50 years Igor Plotnitski very attached to the Soviet past, should also be confirmed in office. Elections in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, Moscow has promised to recognize, may seal the loss of control of the rebel territories Kiev, after a six-month conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people after the annexation of the Crimea in March by Russia. They may aggravate the unprecedented crisis between Russia and the West triggered by challenging the Maidan in Kiev repressed in blood and that led to the fall of the pro-Russian regime in Russia and the flight of President Viktor Yanukovych. The pro-Western president Poroshenko, elected in May described the elections as a farce conducted under the threat of tanks and a challenge which Ukraine will respond appropriately. In the midst of elections, a Ukrainian military spokesman has denounced the deployment heavy equipment and troops from Russia when he was asked about the pictures and videos posted by Ukrainian media on which we see dozens military trucks without license plates, presented as a Russian column in the streets of Donetsk. AFP reporters watched Sunday afternoon a column of twenty military trucks, many of which carrying anti-aircraft guns from the airport to Donetsk, the epicenter of the fighting in recent months between rebels and Ukrainian forces. Westerners have already criticized the elections that will complicate the efforts for peace in the Ukrainian crisis, which led to the worst deterioration of relations with Russia since the end of the Cold War. But in Moscow a high Parliamentary responsible pro-Kremlin said Sunday night that Kiev was forced to admit these elections. It is a question of war or peace, said Mikhail Markelov, quoted by the Russian news agency TASS. I hope that our vote will change anything. Maybe we will finally be recognized as a real country, independent, said Tatiana Ivanovna, 65 in a polling station in Donetsk, rebel bastion. In Donetsk, the voters, all ages, was many, according to AFP reporters, but he was hard to get an idea of the rate of participation to the extent that the number of offices open vote was lower than usual . No international organization has sent observers to the elections. While Russian media publish comments of international observers on the ballot, Kiev accused Russia of manipulation with the establishment of a false OSCE, ASCE (Association for Security and cooperation in Europe) brings together right-wing politicians. A French observer close to the National Front, MEP Jean-Luc Schaffhauser, hailed the elections as democratic and reflecting the will of the people. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, as in Brussels, had said that the election would seriously undermine Minsk agreements signed between Kiev on September 5, the rebels, Moscow and the Organization for security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). On the ground, the cease-fire that results seems to be more and more virtual, with renewed fighting in several areas that have been more than 300 deaths in the last ten days, according to a report prepared by the UN. The Ukrainian army lost three men in 24 hours, including two in an explosion Sunday morning on a Ukrainian checkpoint at the entrance of Mariupol, strategic port on the shores of the Sea of Azov and last major eastern city controlled by Kiev. The day before, Kiev announced the loss of seven soldiers, a heavier balance sheets since September.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 23:01:06 +0000
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