DONETSK/SLAVIANSK, Ukraine – Pro-Moscow rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine called on Monday for their region to become part of Russia, the day after staging a referendum on self-rule, although Moscow stopped short of endorsing their bid for annexation. Announcing the result of the vote in one of the two provinces where it was held, a leader of the “People’s Republic of Donetsk,” Denis Pushilin, said it was now an independent state and would appeal to join the Russian Federation. “The people of Donetsk have always been part of the Russian world. For us, the history of Russia is our history,” he said. “Based on the will of the people and on the restoration of historic justice, we ask the Russian Federation to consider the absorption of the Donetsk People’s Republic into the Russian Federation,” he told a news conference. There and in neighbouring Luhansk, some officials said they might now hold a second referendum on joining Russia, like one held in Crimea, a Ukrainian region Moscow seized and annexed in March after protesters ousted Ukraine’s pro-Russian president. Donetsk and Luhansk together are home to 6.5 million people and represent around a third of Ukraine’s industrial output. Their declarations create the… Read full this story
- MH17: Malaysia Airlines flight shot down by BUK missile fired from eastern Ukraine, Dutch Safety Board says
- MH17: Russia disputes Dutch Safety Board's 'biased' findings on downed flight
- Trump's CIA pick says he agrees with intelligence community on Russia hacking
- Putin says if Russia wanted to kill opposition leader Navalny, it would have 'finished' the job
- Russia Will Develop 'Unique' Weapons if US Exits INF Treaty - Senior Lawmaker
- Laughing Putin says if he wanted Alexei Navalny dead 'it would have been done' as he denies Kremlin involvement in the opposition leader's poisoning
- Ex-US Presidential Aide Says Biden Should Not Neglect Russia as Obama Administration Did
- Ethiopian prime minister gives Tigrayan rebels 72 hours to surrender
- Russia and France wreak revenge on ISIS: Putin orders his warships in Med to work with French Navy as jihadists in Syria are pummelled from the air
- Outsiders Trying to Use India-China Tensions to Divide Region, Says Russian Ambassador to India
Eastern Ukraine rebel leaders call for region to become part of Russia have 354 words, post on www.nydailynews.com at May 13, 2014. This is cached page on Vietnam Dance. If you want remove this page, please contact us.