Ukraine: President Viktor Yanukovych says he was forced to flee due to threats; slams 'pro-fascist' forces

Updated

Ukraine's ousted president Viktor Yanukovych says he was forced to flee to Russia due to threats to his safety, as tensions in Ukraine grow following an apparent takeover of an airport by Russian forces.

Mr Yanukovych told a press conference in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don late on Friday that he had "not been overthrown" and said he would continue to fight for the future of the country.

It was his first public appearance since he was ousted as president.

"I was forced to leave the Ukraine under the immediate threat to my life and the life of my family," he said.

He said the country had been seized by "pro-fascist" forces and that the parliament was illegitimate.

He blamed the crisis on the West for "indulging" protesters seeking his ouster and said lawlessness and chaos had followed an agreement he signed with his opponents last Friday, which was brokered by the European Union.

Ukraine's chief prosecutor has said he would ask Moscow to extradite Mr Yanukovych.

Mr Yanukovych's public comments came after Ukraine's interior minister accused Russian forces of staging an "armed invasion" in the Crimea region, claiming they blocked a military air base and entered an airport on the Black Sea peninsula.

Interim interior minister Arsen Avakov said there was no bloodshed or clashes when the armed men, whom he described as Russian naval forces, took over a military airport near the port of Sevastopol, where the Russian Black Sea fleet has a base.

"I consider what has happened to be an armed invasion and occupation in violation of all international agreements and norms," Mr Avakov said on his Facebook page.

The Russian fleet has denied its forces were involved in seizing or blockading the airport, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.

"No units of the Black Sea fleet were deployed in the area ... nor did they take place in blockading it," a statement from the fleet's press service said.

But it said it had stepped up measures by its "anti-terror units" to protect areas where parts of the fleet were located in Crimea, and the living quarters of service personnel and families "given the unstable situation".

Ukraine's security chief later said his forces had regained control of two airports.

Despite not displaying any identifying insignia, the alleged Russian troops "did not hide who they belong to", Mr Avakov wrote.

However, one man, who said he was helping the group at Simferopol airport, described them as people from the "People's Militia of Crimea".

The man, called Vladimir, said: "I'm with the People's Militia of Crimea. We're simple people, volunteers ... We're here at the airport to maintain order. We'll meet the planes with a nice smile - the airport is working as normal."

One of the men was quoted as saying the aim was to prevent Mr Avakov flying to Crimea.

All parties must avoid provocations: US

The incidents come a day after dozens of pro-Moscow gunmen seized government buildings in Simferopol, including the regional parliament, which subsequently voted to hold a referendum on May 25 to expand the region's autonomy from Kiev.

Up to 50 men with weapons marched into the buildings in Simferopol in a dawn raid and blocked government workers from entering, Crimean prime minister Anatoliy Mohilyov said on Thursday.

The moves came amid concerns of growing separatism on the overwhelmingly pro-Russian peninsula after the ousting of Mr Yanukovych, who is pro-Moscow.

The United States has told Russia to demonstrate in the next few days that it is sincere about a promise not to intervene in Ukraine, saying using force would be a grave mistake.

"We believe that everybody now needs to take a step back and avoid any kind of provocations," US secretary of state John Kerry told a joint news conference with German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

"We want to see in the next days ahead that the choices Russia makes conform to this affirmation we received today."

Russia to continue talks with Ukraine: Putin

The Kremlin said Mr Putin had ordered his government to continue talks with Ukraine on economic and trade relations, and to consult foreign partners including the International Monetary Fund on financial aid.

It also said Mr Putin ordered the government to consider a request from Crimea for humanitarian aid but made no direct reference to the latest events.

Swiss authorities have opened a money laundering investigation into Mr Yanukovych and his son Oleksander.

Switzerland says it will order banks to freeze any funds in Swiss banks found to be linked to Mr Yanukovych.

Mr Yanukovych provoked protests in Ukraine in November by backing out of plans to sign landmark deals with the European Union and instead saying Kiev would seek closer economic and trade ties with its former Soviet master Russia.

In December, Mr Putin promised Mr Yanukovych a $US15 billion bailout, but Russia has put the deal on hold after releasing an initial instalment, saying it wants more clarity about the new government and its policies.

Kiev's new rulers have said any movement by Russian forces beyond the Black Sea fleet base in Sevastopol would be tantamount to aggression.

But it faces a major challenge in Crimea, which was Russian territory until it was transferred to Ukraine in 1954, during the Soviet era.

Separatism there has often flared up at times of tension between Moscow and Kiev.

Reuters/AFP

Topics: foreign-affairs, world-politics, government-and-politics, unrest-conflict-and-war, ukraine, russian-federation

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