Moscow, Feb 27 (IANS) Ousted Ukranian President Viktor Yanukovych issued a statement Thursday via Russian media denouncing decisions being made by the Ukrainian parliament, the Supreme Rada, as illegitimate.
Speaking for the first time since fleeing the capital Saturday, Yanukovych said via Russia’s Interfax news agency that he remained the legitimate president and no orders to Ukrainian troops could be executed without his consent, Xinhua reported.
“I, Viktor Fedorovich Yanukovych, am addressing the people of Ukraine. I still believe myself to be the legitimate head of the Ukrainian state elected in a free vote by Ukrainian citizens,” he said in the address obtained by Interfax.
Yanukovych, whom the Ukrainian opposition declared as self-removed from power following months of unrest in Ukraine, also admitted he has asked the Russian authorities to ensure his personal security.
He called for the situation in his country returning to the constitutional field and insisted the crisis settlement deal reached with the opposition last Friday has not been fulfilled.
Yanukovych’s exact whereabouts are still unknown after he reportedly left the capital city Feb 21 to take part in a regional meeting in Kharkov city in east Ukraine. The country’s interim general prosecutor later said an international arrest warrant had been requested for the ousted president.