KIEV, Ukraine — Moscow offered warm supportMondayfor rebel-organizedelectionsin eastern Ukraine — anendorsementthat could only serve to keep the West’s sanctions againstRussiain place.
Pro-Russian separatist authorities saidSunday’svote, which saw two rebel leaders easily reconfirmed in their roles, gives them a powerful mandate to slip further from Ukrainian rule.
Plans for theelectionhad been condemned by the European Union and the United States, which said it violated Ukrainian law and undermined a 2-month-old cease-fire deal that has existed only on paper.
“The United States deplores and does not recognize yesterday’s so-called separatistelectionsin eastern Ukraine, nor …Keep on reading: Russia backs Ukrainian separatist vote …read more
Source: The Philippine Daily Inquirer
