Yanukovych blames fascists, West for Ukraine chaos

ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia — Making his first public appearance since fleeing Ukraine, fugitive Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych pledged Friday to fight for his country’s future but said he will not ask for military assistance.

“I intend to keep fighting for the future of Ukraine,” he told a news conference Friday in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don. Yanukovych had not been seen since Saturday as he lost his grip on power.

Yanukovych said he supports Crimea’s residents who are worried about “nationalists” in Kiev but that use of force is “unacceptable.”

“Any military action in this situation is unacceptable,” he said.

Yanukovych insisted he “did not flee anywhere” but left for the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. He said he was “forced” to leave the country when he was in Crimea after his family received threats. “No one has deposed me … I was forced to leave Ukraine because of the threat to my life,” he said.

Asked how he managed to get to Russia, the fugitive president said he got out “thanks to patriotic officers who did their duty and helped me to save my life.”

Yanukovych said he had not met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia but talked with him on the phone, adding that he hopes the Russian leader will find time to meet him.

The Ukrainian president said “neo-fascist” forces had seized control of his country, and he lambasted the West for allegedly betraying a Feb. 21 compromise agreement between the government and the opposition, saying that recent actions by the opposition run counter to the EU-brokered pact.

Yanukovych also blamed Western powers for what he called as an “irresponsible” policy of “indulging the anti-government protests in Kiev’s central Maidan Square.”

“This is anarchy, terror and chaos,” he said.

Asked if he had any regrets, the fugitive leader apologized “for the fact that I didn’t have enough strength to maintain stability and to allow the mess to happen.”

Meanwhile, a top Ukrainian security official said two airports in Crimea were under Ukrainian control despite attempts by gunmen to “seize” them.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister said earlier Friday that Russian navy troops were blocking access to the airports in Simferopol and Sevastopol, describing it as a “military invasion and occupation.”

But Ukraine’s Security Council Chief Andriy Parubiy insisted later that the airports were still under Ukrainian control, according to the Interfax news agency.