Accusing the West of encouraging an “unconstitutional coup” in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin said today that Moscow reserves the right to use its military to protect Russians there but voiced hope it won’t need to do so.
The Russian leader’s first comments on Ukraine since its fugitive president fled to Russia came as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kiev to meet with Ukraine’s new government.
Putin declared that Western actions were driving Ukraine into anarchy and warned that any sanctions the West places on Russia for its actions there will backfire. Both the US and the 28-nation European Union have raised the possibility of sanctions against Russia.
The US announced a USD 1 billion aid package today in energy subsidies to Ukraine, which is scrambling to get international loans to fend off looming bankruptcy. Its finance minister, who has said Ukraine needs USD 35 billion to get through this year and next, was meeting today with officials from the International Monetary Fund.
Tensions remained high today in Crimea, with troops loyal to Moscow firing warning shots to ward off protesting Ukrainian soldiers. Russia took over the strategic peninsula on Saturday, placing its troops around the peninsula’s ferry, military bases and border posts. Two Ukrainian warships remained anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, blocked from leaving by Russian ships.
The new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev, which Putin does not recognise, has accused Moscow of a military invasion in Crimea.
Yet world markets seemed to recover from their fright over the situation in Ukraine, clawing back a large chunk of yesterday’s stock losses, while oil, gold, wheat and the Japanese yen gave back some of their gains.
“Confidence in equity markets has been restored as the standoff between Ukraine and Russia is no longer on red alert,” David Madden, market analyst at IG, said today. Speaking from his residence outside Moscow, Putin said he still considers Viktor Yanukovych to be Ukraine’s president and hopes that Russia won’t need to use force in predominantly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.