Ukraine leader warns of civil war

OUTGOING President Leonid Kuchma yesterday warned civil war could “become a reality” in Ukraine as he asked the international community to stay out of the country’s affairs.

His warning came after opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko called for a national strike in protest at the declaration that his Moscow-backed rival had won election as president.

Mr Yushchenko said the naming of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich to succeed Mr Kuchma, after an election marked by reports of widespread electoral fraud, brought Ukraine to “the brink of civil conflict”.

Two hours earlier, electoral authorities, ignoring US and other Western appeals, declared Mr Yanukovich the winner of Sunday’s run-off.

The announcement by electoral authorities, which came even as signs emerged of a possible compromise, drew immediate censure from Washington.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said the US did not accept the results and added there could be “consequences for our relationship”.

Canada, which is home to one million ethnic Ukrainians and exerts strong diplomatic leverage on Ukraine, also said it could not accept the formal results.

Mr Kuchma, speaking at a meeting of regional leaders, said the civil war of the early 20th century “could well become a reality at the present time”.

He said he had asked the two rivals to hold talks and wanted the international community “to refrain from direct interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs”.

Earlier in the day, the US, the EU and the US-led NATO military alliance all urged authorities to review the conduct of Sunday’s election, which most Western powers have said was fraudulently conducted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who quickly congratulated Mr Yanukovich when it was clear he was winning, also looked ready to see an end to the crisis in its ex-Soviet ally.

The Kremlin said Mr Putin and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had agreed, in a telephone conversation, that Ukraine should solve the row through legal means.

Since early on Monday, the crisis surrounding the disputed election has convulsed the ex-Soviet state of 47 million that has borders with the EU and Russia.

Mr Yushchenko’s allegations that he was robbed of the election sparked unrest in Kiev and Yushchenko strongholds in nationalist western Ukraine, bringing tens of thousands into the streets.

The two rivals stand for different images for the future of Ukraine, where the average worker earns just €45 a month.

Mr Yanukovich sees future prosperity in closer ties with Russia. Mr Yushchenko favours gradual integration with western Europe but recognises Russia as a strategic partner.

The crisis has raised tension between the US and Russia, battling for influence over the ex-Soviet state. The mood of near-revolution seen in Kiev was markedly different from that in Russian-speaking regions that heavily back Mr Yanukovich.

In Donetsk, a big coal-mining centre, slogans were pinned to fences denouncing Mr Yushchenko as a traitor.

Protests supporting Mr Yanukovich were being held in pits and factories, with miners trying to get to Kiev to counter opposition rallies.