New government in Ukraine

There were a number of developments in Ukraine Thursday. The country has a new national unity government. The plan is for that goverment to run things — until elections can be held in May.

Meanwhile, Russia has given shelter to Ukraine’s fugitive president who says he’s still the country’s legitimate leader. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to talk to the International Monetary Fund and western nations about bailing out Ukraine. The move comes as the Russians hold massive military drills near Ukraine’s border.

There are concerns tonight that Ukraine is in danger of breaking apart. Eventhough the new government in Kyiv pledged it would prevent any split, another pro-Russian government in southern Ukraine’s Crimea region says it supports the ousted president.

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich has turned up in Russia and been given political asylum, according to a Russian source, on the territory of the Russian Federation.

His exact location has not been stated, however Yanukovich did make a request to Russian officials asking for asylum saying that he feared for his personal security and also asking for protection.

In Ukraine things are getting more precarious as divisions are emerging. Overnight, pro-Russian gunmen took over the Crimean regional parliament. There is now two rival parliaments; one in Kyiv that wants Yanukovich put on trial, and is looking for closer ties with Europe. The other, a rival parliament in Crimea that is looking towards Russia.

This is all happening as Russia holds war games just across Ukraine’s border. And the U.S. is sending a strong message to Moscow.

Jay Carney is the White House Press Secretary. “We are closely watching Russia’s military exercises along the Ukrainian border which they announced yesterday. We expect Russia to be transparent about these activities and to avoid provocative actions. We urge them not to take any steps that could be misinterpreted or lead to miscalculation during a very delicate time.”

Russia media reports say the military exercises are the biggest since the soviet-era with about 150-thousand Russian troops and heavy weapons on alert and carrying out their military exercises.

In Washington D.C. Thursday, U.S. Secreatry of State John Kerry held a joint news conference with the German foreign minister. Kerry said he spoke with his Russian counterpart on the phone about the deepening crisis. “Foreign Minister Lavrov relayed to me directly from President Putin a reaffirmation of the conversation President Putin had over the weekend with Obama and he stated that both the military exercise which has been conducted is not related to the Ukraine and was previously scheduled, but also importantly reaffirmed President Putin’s statement that Russia will respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Canada’s foreign affairs minister is in Kyiv and he posted a number of messages on Twitter.

He writes…

Canada welcomes the appointment of a new, legitimate government today in Ukraine – a vital step forward in restoring democracy and normalcy.

Confident that ukraine’s new leaders know they must stay united, focus on governance, root out corruption, & strive for inclusive policies.

We, along with the international community, expect that Ukraine’s sovereignty will be respected and its territorial integrity maintained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is reacting to the ongoing situation in Ukraine — ordering his government to consider humanitarian assistance to the Russian-speaking region of Crimea and talk to the west about bailing out Ukraine.