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Ukraine: Arrest Warrant for President Yanukovych

Ukraine: Arrest Warrant for President Yanukovych
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Local Editor

Ukraine's acting government issued a warrant Monday for the arrest of President Viktor Yanukovych, last seen in the pro-Russian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, accusing him of mass crimes against protesters who stood up for months against his rule.


Ukraine: Arrest Warrant for President YanukovychThe turmoil has turned this strategically located country of 46 million inside out over the past few days, raising fears that it could split apart. The parliament speaker is suddenly nominally in charge of a country whose economy is on the brink of default and whose loyalties are torn between Europe and Russia.

Ukraine's acting interior minister, Arsen Avakhov, said on his official Facebook page Monday that a warrant has been issued for the arrest of Yanukovych and several other officials for the "mass killing of civilians." At least 82 people were killed in clashes in Kiev last week.

Avakhov said Yanukovych arrived in Crimea on Sunday and relinquished his official security detail then drove off to an unknown location.
After signing an agreement with the opposition to end a conflict that turned deadly, Yanukovych fled the capital for eastern Ukraine. Avakhov said he tried to fly out of Donetsk but was stopped, then went to Crimea.

Tensions have been mounting in Crimea, where pro-Russian protesters raised a Russian flag on a city hall in one town and scuffled with police. Russia maintains a big naval base in the Crimean port of Sevastopol that has tangled relations between the countries for two decades.

The speaker of parliament assumed the president's powers Sunday, even though a presidential aide said on Sunday that Yanukovych plans to stay in power.
The speaker, Oleksandr Turchinov, said top priorities include saving the economy and "returning to the path of European integration," according to news agencies. The latter phrase is certain to displease Moscow, which wants Ukraine to be part of a customs union that would rival the EU and bolster Russia's influence. Russia granted Ukraine a $15 billion bailout after Yanukovych backed away from the EU deal.

The European Union, meanwhile, is reviving efforts to strike a deal with Ukraine that could involve billions of euros in economic perks. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is visiting Kiev on Monday and Tuesday.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team