Deposed president demands vote on each Ukrainian region's status

Ukraine's deposed president Viktor Yanukovich has called today for each of the country's regions to hold a referendum on its status "within Ukraine", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported.

"As a president who is with you with all my thoughts and soul, I urge every sensible citizen of Ukraine: Don't give in to impostors! Demand a referendum on the status of each region within Ukraine," Yanukovich was quoted as saying in an address to the people of Ukraine.

He fled to Russia last month.

Yanukovich’s demands come as Russia said today a UN resolution declaring invalid Crimea’s Moscow-backed referendum on seceding from Ukraine was counterproductive and accused Western states of using blackmail and threats to drum up “yes” votes.

The non-binding resolution passed with 100 votes in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions in the 193-nation UN General Assembly on Thursday, in a vote that Western nations said highlighted Russia's isolation.

“This counterproductive initiative only complicates efforts to resolve the domestic political crisis in Ukraine,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It accused Western states of using the “the full force of the unspent potential of the Cold War-era propaganda machine” to whip up support for the resolution. “It is well-known what kind of shameless pressure, up to the point of political blackmail and economic threats, was brought to bear on a number of (UN) member states so they would vote ‘yes’,” the ministry said.

Several Western diplomats said Russia's UN envoy led an aggressive lobbying campaign against the resolution in what they said showed how seriously Moscow took the UN vote condemning a referendum that led to its annexation of Crimea.

Reuters