Halya Coynash: Moscow’s burning wish to defend rights in Ukraine, not in Russia
As evidence mounts of direct Russian involvement in the so-called separatist troubles in eastern Ukraine, Moscow has tried two cards which should stretch the credulity of even its brainwashed internal audience.
Ukraine’s former president, Viktor Yanukovych has again been pulled out of deep freeze to plug the idea that Ukraine is on the verge of civil war and to call on the police and security service [SBU] to not open fire against heavily armed pro-Russian protesters in Slovyansk and other cities in the Donetsk oblast. A hardly convincing line from Yanukovych, his interior minister Vitaly Zakharchenko, and prosecutor general, Viktor Pshonka, who are wanted on charges in Ukraine over the gunning down of unarmed protesters and other crimes. Any western country would be likely to extradite them to stand trial which is clearly why they scarpered to Russia.