Russia Protesters By Thousands Storm Streets Opposing War In Ukraine
Protesters in Russia took to the streets in numbers estimated by observers at around 30,000 to declare their anger at President Vladimir Putin’s military moves against Ukraine. On Saturday, Ukraine accused Russia of invading its mainland ahead of a dramatic vote in Crimea Sunday when that territory decides whether to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
Forces of the Russia military reportedly seized the town of Strilkove inside Ukraine, near the border of the Crimea territory.
Russia backs the Sunday referendum in Crimea. The United Nations Security Council Saturday attempted to pass a resolution declaring the Crimea vote illegal, but Russia used its veto power to stop the resolution from carrying.
China, which usually votes on Russia’s side, abstained from the vote, signaling its rare disapproval of a Russian action and letting Russia stand alone in the international community.
“The Russian Federation has the power to veto a Security Council resolution, but it does not have the power to veto the truth,” said United States U.N. Ambassador Samatha Power after the Security Council resolution ran into the Russian roadblock. “Russia cannot change the fact that moving forward in blatant defiance of the international rules of the road will have consequences.”
The presence of Russian troops holding key positions throughout the Crimean peninsula renders the Sunday vote on allowing Russia to annex the province illegitimate, according to critics.
LIVE: Thousands participating in “March for peace” against Russian interference in #Crimea pic.twitter.com/E1aS4TDBY5
— RT (@RT_com) March 15, 2014
In central Moscow, a protest that numbered in the tens of thousands — though Russian police said it was just 3,000 people — was described as the largest anti-Putin protest since 2012. The Russian president has consistently taken steps to quell street demonstrations by his opponents.
Putin is determined not to allow the type of street rebellion that booted out the Russia-friendly ex-president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich, to happen in his country.
In Russia, most domestic television did not even cover the massive anti-war protest, but devoted considerable time to a smaller counter-demonstration of Putin supporters who back the use of Russian force against Ukraine.
Despite the size of Saturday’s anti-war rally, polls taken in Russia appear to show wide popular support for Putin’s aggressive policies. In one recent survey, Putin’s approval rating stood at 70 percent. But that may not be surprising given the tightly regulated slant of the state-controlled media in Russia.
Russian media has portrayed the West as the true force behind Ukraine’s uprising and has called that country’s new leadership a fascist regime.
One recent report on the NTV network owned by the giant Russian oil company Gazprom, reported that the Ukraine and United States were conspiring to stage attacks blamed on the Russian military that would serve as a pretext for U.S. military action against Russia.
