Viktor Yanukovych. Photograph by Michael Wuertenberg/WEF
Ukraine has issued an arrest warrant for former President Viktor Yanukovych for the “mass murder of peaceful citizens” just days after he fled Kiev and was ousted as president.
Interim interior minister Arsen Avakov announced on Facebook that a criminal case had been opened into the actions of Yanukovych and other Ukrainian officials in the violent repression of protests last week.
Yanukovych is believed to have fled to the Russian-speaking Crimea, where support for close ties with Russia over the EU remains strong. In a video, he described the actions of MPs to oust him as a coup, a theory supported by Russia, which has recalled its ambassador for consultation.
Olexander Turchynov was appointed interim president on Sunday, and has given MPs until Tuesday to form a new unity government to lead the country. He has also said that he will reopen talks with the EU about forging closer ties, and hopes to establish an “equal and good-neighbourly footing” with Russia according to the BBC.
While the protesters and many in the west of Ukraine support these new plans, they are less popular in the autonomous Crimea region and other areas of the east, where much of the population is ethnically Russian. Since the ouster of Yanukovych, protests have erupted in these areas, with many fearing the growth of a separatist movement and the division of the country.
