EU expands sanctions in Ukraine crisis and rejects referendum
by Anadolu Agency
May 13, 2014 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Anadolu Agency
May 13, 2014 12:00 am
The referendums held in two regions of eastern Ukraine was rejected by the Foreign Ministers of the European Union, which also broadened sanctions against Russia and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine by blacklisting more companies and individuals
The EuropeanUnion yesterday ramped up its sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, adding 13 Russians and Crimeans as well as two companies to its existing blacklist, the EU diplomat said. Two Crimean firms that will be subject to sanctions were nationalized by Russia after the peninsula was annexed, the diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "We don't want to do business with these companies." The EU also expanded its list of individuals who will face travel bans and asset freezes, bringing it to an overall 61 names.
Meanwhile, several EU foreign ministers have rejected the referendum on independence in eastern Ukraine. "These votes, these attempts of referendums have zero credibility in the eyes of the world," British Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters in Brussels. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt described the poll as "fake," while Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said, "I think we should simply ignore this referendum because it is not a contribution to finding a way out from this chaos in eastern Ukraine."
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said two Crimea companies would likely be targeted for EU sanctions. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he will travel to Ukraine today. Ninety percent of voters in a key industrial region in eastern Ukraine came out in favor of sovereignty Sunday, pro-Russian insurgents said in announcing preliminary results of a twin referendum that is certain to deepen the turmoil in the country.
Roman Lyagin, election chief of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic, said around 75 percent of the Donetsk region's 3 million or so eligible voters cast ballots, and the vast majority backed self-rule. With no international election monitors in place, it was all but impossible to verify the insurgents' claims. The preliminary vote count was announced just two hours after the polls closed in an election conducted via paper ballots.
A second referendum organized by pro-Russian separatists was held Sunday in eastern Ukraine's industrial Luhansk region, but no immediate results were released. Ukraine's central government and the West had condemned the balloting as a sham and a violation of international law, and they have accused Moscow of orchestrating the unrest in a possible attempt to grab another piece of the country weeks after the annexation of Crimea.
The results of the two referendums could hasten the breakup of the country and worsen what is already the gravest crisis between the West and Russia since the end of the Cold War.
Although the voting in the two regions with a combined population of 6.5 million appeared mostly peaceful, armed men identified as members of the Ukrainian national guard opened fire on a crowd outside the town hall in Krasnoarmeisk, and an official with the region's insurgents said people were killed. It was not clear how many.
The bloodshed took place hours after dozens of armed men shut down the voting in the town. The shooting starkly demonstrated the hair-trigger tensions in the east, where pro-Russian separatists have seized government buildings and clashed with Ukrainian forces over the past month.
Even before the results were announced, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called the twin referendums a "criminal farce." Over the past few weeks, the Ukrainian government and the West have accused Russia of trying to destabilize the country or create a pretext for another invasion. Russia which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula just days after voters there approved secession in a March referendum has rejected the accusations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had asked the organizers of the latest referendums to delay the vote in an apparent attempt to ease the crisis. The insurgents refused.
Meanwhile, security forces and pro-Russian separatists clashed in eastern Ukraine Monday, after an unauthorized referendum showed overwhelming support for independence from the pro-Western government in Kiev. Separatists in Sloviansk targeted soldiers and the television tower with grenades, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook. No injuries were reported. More than 30 people have been reported killed since Ukrainian forces began trying to retake some eastern cities from the insurgents.
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