WATCH ABOVE: Team coverage on the aftermath of the Crimea referendum vote, with Tom Clark in Kyiv, Paul Johnson in Crimea, and Mike Armstrong in Donetsk.
LATEST UPDATES:
- Canada, U.S. announce sanctions against Russian officials
- Officials say 97 per cent back Russia in final Crimea vote count
- Crimea parliament declares independence
- Russia calls on Ukraine to become a federal state
- EU poised to slap further sanctions on Russia
- NATO pledges close co-operation with Ukraine after Crimea secession
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Monday recognizing Crimea as a “sovereign and independent country.”
This comes a day after the Black Sea peninsula voted to declare independence from Ukraine and seek annexation by Russia, which triggered the toughest Western sanctions against Russia since the Cold War.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has issued economic and travel sanctions against ten Russian and Ukrainian officials Monday afternoon, after saying what the Putin regime has done cannot be tolerated.
The Russian individuals include deputy prime minister Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin, Sergey Yur’yevich Glaz’yev, an adviser to Putin, and Putin aide Vladislav Yur’yevich Surkov.
The Ukrainians include Serhiy Valeriyovich Aksyonov, the prime minister of Crimea and Volodymyr Andriyovych Konstantynov, chairman of the Crimean parliament.
The sanctions Canada has instituted follow steps the Obama administration took Monday morning to freeze the assets of seven Russian officials, including top advisers to Putin.
Harper meets Ukrainian ambassador prior to trip to Kyiv
Prior to a meeting with Ukrainian ambassador to Canada Vadym Prystaiko, Harper said the result of the so-called referendum is illegitimate and was conducted under an illegal military occupation by Russia.
He is set to fly to Kyiv on Friday to show his support for the temporary government in the face of Russian aggression in the strategic Black Sea region.
Obama announces sanctions against Russian officials
In addition to calling the Crimea referendum vote itself illegal, the Obama administration said there were “massive anomalies” in balloting that returned a 97 per cent “yes” vote for joining Russia.
Head of the referendum election commission Mikhail Malyshev told a televised news conference that the final tally from Sunday’s vote was 96.8 per cent in favour of splitting from Ukraine. He also said that the commission has not registered a single complaint about the vote.
Obama froze the U.S. assets of seven Russian officials on Monday, including top Putin advisers, for their support of the vote to secede from Ukraine.
EU poised to slap further sanctions on Russia
The EU’s foreign ministers slapped travel bans and asset freezes against 21 officials from Russia and Ukraine following Crimea’s referendum. The ministers did not immediately release the names and nationalities of those targeted by the sanctions.
But markets appeared to signal that the Western sanctions lacked punch – with bourses both in Russia and Europe rising sharply on relief that they won’t hit trade of business ties.
“So far the sanctions seem fairly toothless and much less severe than had been expected last week,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com.
“From the market’s perspective, the biggest risk was that the referendum would trigger tough sanctions against Russia that could lead to another Cold War.”
Acting President vows Ukraine won’t give up Crimea, mobilizes army
Moscow considers the vote legitimate and Putin was to address both houses of parliament Tuesday on the situation, while in Kyiv, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov vowed that Ukraine will not give up Crimea.
Ukraine’s turmoil has become Europe’s most severe security crisis in years and tensions have been high since Russian troops seized control of Crimea. After Putin signed the decree recognizing Crimea’s independence, Russian troops were massed near the border with Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s acting president raised tensions on the ground by calling for the activation of some 20,000 military reservists and volunteers across the country and for the mobilization of another 20,000 in the recently formed national guard.
Russia calls on Ukraine to become a federal state
Moscow called on Ukraine to become a federal state as a way of resolving the polarization between Ukraine’s western regions – which favour closer ties with the 28-nation EU – and its eastern areas, which have long ties to Russia.
In a statement Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry urged Ukraine’s parliament to call a constitutional assembly that could draft a new constitution to make the country federal, handing more power to its regions. It also said country should adopt a “neutral political and military status,” a demand reflecting Moscow’s concern about the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO and possibly integrating closer politically and economically with the EU.
Russia is also pushing for Russian to become one of Ukraine’s state languages alongside Ukrainian.
The foreign ministry said the proposals are part of its efforts to ease the tensions in Ukraine by diplomatic means.
In Kyiv, Ukraine’s new government dismissed Russia’s proposal Monday as unacceptable, saying it “looks like an ultimatum.”
NATO pledges close co-operation with Ukraine after Crimea secession
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya visited NATO headquarters Monday with a request list for technical equipment that Ukraine’s government needs to deal with the secession of Crimea and the Russian forces incursion there. It was not immediately clear what equipment Ukraine was asking for.
Crimea sets up new central bank, expects Russian support
Russian lawmakers have suggested that formally annexing Crimea is almost certain – with one saying it could happen within days.
The Crimean parliament declared that all Ukrainian state property on the peninsula will be nationalized and become the property of the Crimean Republic. It gave no further details. Lawmakers also asked the United Nations and other nations to recognize it and began work on setting up a central bank with $30 million in support from Russia.
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