Russia raised the stakes Saturday when its forces, backed by helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles, took control of the Ukrainian village of Strilkove and a key natural gas distribution plant nearby - the first Russian military move into Ukraine beyond the Crimean peninsula of 2 million people. "Russia's actions are dangerous and destabilizing." "The international community will not recognize the results of a poll administered under threats of violence," it said in a statement. "Also taking part in the performance are 21,000 Russian troops, who with their guns are trying to prove the legality of the referendum."Īs soon as the polls closed, the White House again denounced the vote. "Under the stage direction of the Russian Federation, a circus performance is underway: the so-called referendum," Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Sunday. Ukraine's new prime minister insisted that neither Ukraine nor the West would recognize the vote. Imagine if the Texans suddenly took over power (in Washington) and told everyone they should speak Texan," said Ilya Khlebanov, a voter in Simferopol. "It's like they're crazy Texans in western Ukraine. Some residents in Crimea said they feared the new Ukrainian government that took over when President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia last month would oppress them. Russian lawmaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky said the annexation could take "from three days to three months," according to the Interfax news agency. The Crimean parliament planned to meet Monday to formally ask Moscow to be annexed, and Crimean lawmakers were to fly to Moscow later in the day for talks, Crimea's pro-Russia prime minister said on Twitter. Show us how tough you are.' And the West, I think, is struggling to come with an adequate response." Russia "is really turning its back on the outside world and is basically going to say to the West, 'Now, go ahead. Residents in western Ukraine and the capital, Kyiv, are strongly pro-West and Ukrainian nationalist.Īndrew Weiss, vice-president for Russian and East European studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, suggested the confrontation could intensify. and Europe for going forward with the vote, which could also encourage rising pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine's east and lead to further divisions in this nation of 46 million. Russia was expected to face strong sanctions Monday from the U.S. Putin insisted the referendum was conducted in "full accordance with international law and the U.N. Opponents of secession appeared to have stayed away Sunday, denouncing the vote as a cynical power play and land grab by Russia. After 50 per cent of the ballots were counted, more than 95 per cent of voters had approved splitting off and joining Russia, according to Mikhail Malishev, head of the referendum committee.įinal results were not expected until Monday. The referendum offered voters the choice of seeking annexation by Russia or remaining in Ukraine with greater autonomy. Ukraine's new government in Kyiv called the referendum a "circus" directed at gunpoint by Moscow, referring to the thousands of troops that now occupy the peninsula, which has traded hands repeatedly since ancient times. "We needed to save ourselves from those unprincipled clowns who have taken power in Kyiv." "We want to go back home, and today we are going back home," said Viktoria Chernyshova, a 38-year-old businesswoman. Follow CTV News' Daniele Hamamdjian and Paul Workman in the Ukraine.Many held Russian flags, and some unfurled a handwritten banner reading "We're Russian and proud of it." Fireworks exploded in the skies above. The vote was widely condemned by Western leaders, who planned to move swiftly to punish Russia with economic sanctions.Īs the votes were counted, a jubilant crowd gathered around a statue of Vladimir Lenin in the centre of Simferopol to celebrate with song and dance. SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine - Just two weeks after Russian troops seized their peninsula, Crimeans voted Sunday to leave Ukraine and join Russia, overwhelmingly approving a referendum that sought to unite the strategically important Black Sea region with the country it was part of for more than two centuries.
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