A pro-Russian separatist leader was sworn in on Tuesday as
the head of a self-proclaimed 'people's republic' in eastern Ukraine in a
ceremony that worsened a standoff with Russia.
Alexander Zakharchenko, who was elected in a rogue vote on
Sunday that was denounced as a "farce" by Kiev and illegitimate by
the West, took the oath to "honestly serve the interests of the people of
the Donetsk People's Republic and conscientiously fulfill my duties."
Before the ceremony, which took place in a drama theater in
Donetsk, a big industrial city and the separatists' stronghold, another
separatist figure, Andrei Purgin, said: "We are starting a history with
this inauguration and what happens today will be repeated. We are laying down
the traditions of the Republic."
Kiev's pro-Western leaders fear that a new "frozen
conflict" could now be created in its eastern regions and further threaten
the territorial unity of Ukraine, which lost control of its Crimean peninsula
in March when it was annexed by Russia.
[Reuters]
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