MARIUPOL/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) – Ukrainian leader Oleksander Turchinov warned pro-Russian eastern regions they would be stepping into the abyss if they voted for self-rule today in a referendum that has raised Western fears of a slide to full civil war.
Barricades of tyres and scrap metal blocked streets in the port city of Mariupol and in Slaviansk, centres of an uprising that has unleashed the worst crisis between the West and Russia since the Cold War. There was a clash between army and rebels near Slaviansk late yesterday, but fighting had largely abated.
For a vote on which so much hangs, the referendum in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which has declared itself a “People’s Republic”, seems a decidedly ad hoc affair.
Ballot papers have been printed with no security provision and the meaning of the question – asking voters if they support state ‘self-rule’ for the People’s Republic of Donetsk – is, perhaps deliberately, unclear.
Some see in it endorsement of autonomy within Ukraine, some a move to independence and others a nod to absorption by Russia in the wake of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in March.
Annexation is favoured by the more prominent rebels, but the ambiguity may reflect their fears a full break would not garner enough support. The eastern uprising followed the toppling in February of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, whose pursuit of ties with Moscow stirred mass protests by pro-Western activists in Kiev.
Rebels seized government and police buildings in the east with very little resistance from security forces Kiev says had been undermined by years of neglect and corruption under successive leaders.
But in recent days, Ukrainian forces have been striking back with shows of force especially in Mariupol, an important industrial and shipping centre. The interior ministry said 20 rebels were killed in fighting on Friday, while hospitals put the number of dead at seven.
Russia denies Western and Ukrainian accusations it has fostered the rebellion. It portrays the Kiev government as hostage to violent anti-Russian nationalists, intent on rooting out the culture and language of the Russian-speaking east.
Acting president Turchinov is attempting to bring eastern political forces into a round table to discuss federal devolution, but says he will not deal with rebel leaders with blood on their hands.
He said secession from Ukraine “would be a step into the abyss for these regions… Those who stand for self-rule do not understand that it would mean complete destruction of the economy, social programmes and life in general for the majority of the population.”
The loss of Ukraine’s coal and steel belt, which accounts for some 16 percent of national GDP, would be a severe loss for Kiev.
“A dreadful terror is in train with the support of a large part of the local population,” Turchinov said. “It is a complex problem when a population deceived by (Russian) propaganda support terrorists.”
Today’s vote is going ahead despite a call by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to postpone it – a move that briefly raised hopes for an easing of tension.
Western leaders have accused Putin of destabilising Ukraine, and Washington criticised as ‘provocative’ a trip he made to Crimea on Friday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said yesterday they would back further sanctions against Russia – including in energy, defence and financial services – if Ukraine’s May 25 presidential election failed to go ahead because of disruption in the east.
