His comments were echoed by an angry crowd of more than 1,000 gathered outside the town hall in Sebastopol, the Ukrainian port in the Crimea that is the base for Russia's Black Sea Fleet, guarded by about 25,000 Russian troops.
Protesters against the interim government called on the city council to appoint a new mayor and "executive committee" to govern the city independently of what they called "the illegitimate regime installed by bandits and fascists" in Kiev.
Mr Medvedev's intervention did nothing to lessen fears in the West that Russia may yet consider some kind of military operation, perhaps under the guise of protecting the largely Russian-speaking population of southern and eastern Ukraine. In another sign of its anger over the course of events, Russia formally recalled its ambassador from Kiev.
A statement from the foreign ministry in Moscow later in the day claimed the revolution had set "a course" towards "suppressing dissenters in various regions of Ukraine by dictatorial - and sometimes even terrorist - means".
However, no details were given and Ukraine's own foreign ministry said that Russia's fears about the safety of its citizens were unfounded.
Leaders of Ukraine's revolution do not regard a Russian military intervention as a serious possibility. Parliament has appointed acting heads of the key ministries of finance, foreign affairs and the interior. An arrest warrant was formally issued for Mr Yanukovych, who fled from Kiev under cover of darkness last Friday, to answer charges of "mass murder of peaceful citizens".
Angry crowds smash the door of the Ukranian Parliament building in Kiev (Francesca Volpi/ Rex)
At first, the fallen president is believed to have flown to the city of Kharkiv in his political stronghold in eastern Ukraine. He then travelled onwards to his home town of Donetsk. Arsen Avakov, the acting interior minister, told parliament that the former president tried to leave from Donetsk on board a private jet on Saturday, but was denied permission to take off.
Since then, Mr Yanukovych is believed to have fled southwards to the Russian-speaking Crimea, where he was apparently seen leaving a yacht marina in Balaclava, near Sebastopol, on Sunday evening.
In his last appearance on state television on Saturday, in a broadcast from an undisclosed location, Mr Yanukovych vowed to stay in Ukraine. If he chooses to go into exile, Russia and Belarus would be his most likely places of refuge.
Olexander Turchynov, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, has been appointed acting president of Ukraine until a new election is held on May 25. But the country still lacks a prime minister or a full cabinet.
A new coalition government must be formed before a new prime minister can be appointed. Pavlo Rizanenko, an MP from the Udar party, said that negotiations would hopefully completed by the end of this week.
The first task of any new administration will be to avoid national bankruptcy by securing outside financial support. The previous regime had relied on a $15 billion (£9.6 billion) loan from Russia, which has since been frozen.
Yuriy Kolobov, the acting finance minister, said yesterday that Ukraine needs more than twice that sum, a rescue package totalling some $35 billion (£21 billion). In all, Ukraine's government has debts of about $73 billion, with around $6 billion of this due for payment this year. However, the main payments do not fall due until June, so the danger of an imminent default is slender.
The freed opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, who received a mixed reception from protesters at the weekend after her release from prison, will go for medical treatment in Germany next month, a statement on her website said yesterday.
William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, called for a "spirit of reconciliation" in Ukraine after the worst bloodshed in the country's history as an independent state.
Speaking in the Commons, he offered condolences to the families of the dead, warning that those responsible must be "held responsible for human rights violations".
Mr Hague will fly to Washington late on Monday to meet John Kerry, the secretary of state, on Tuesday morning. He will also attend a meeting of the International Monetary Fund designed to help Ukraine "put in place stable finances".
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1hjhWOo
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