Hundreds of thousands of protestors have gathered in Kiev to reject last weekend’s disputed presidential elections.
Ukraine election officials yesterday proclaimed pro-government candidate Viktor Yanukovich the winner – a result that has been contested by the opposition and international community.
According to the authorities, Yanukovich took 49.45 per cent of the vote with opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko trailing with 46.61 per cent.
Yushchenko has called for a national strike that would shut down schools, factories and transportation and warned that the country was sliding toward civil war.
The EU’s high representative Javier Solana said that violence could not be ruled out as supporters from both sides take to the streets.
US Secretary-of-State Colin Powell has said that the US cannot accept the result as “legitimate”.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also said that Europe was “not satisfied” with the results and warned of “consequences” for EU-Ukraine relations. The Dutch EU Presidency is set to send an envoy to Ukraine to assess the situation.
The crisis threatens to overshadow an EU-Russia summit taking place today in the Hague.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Yanukovich and a Moscow statement attacked “foreign states and certain international organisation” for an attempt to “destabilise” Ukraine.
Russia suggests that by calling for a revision of the results, the EU is “openly pushing the opposition towards illegal and violent actions”.
Some of the new EU member states, especially Poland, Hungary and Estonia have been quick to denounce what they see as fraudulent elections, reports the French press.
The Ukrainian crisis has served to define Poland’s policy towards Russia, suggests Le Monde.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has also broken his silence, complained about fraudulent votes and telephoned Putin to express Berlin’s concerns.
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