White House Ducks Question on Ukraine Leadership

Carney: Yanukovych 'Undermined His Legitimacy'

White House press secretary Jay Carney dodged questions about who the United States considers the leaders of the Ukraine today, after protesters forced President Yanukovych from the capital and installed Oleksandr Turchinov as the “interim president.”

Carney said that they recognize the “election” of Turchinov to that position, but would only say that Yanukovych is “not actively leading his country” after fleeing.

Carney accused Yanukovych of “undermining his legitimacy,” but said the US would not take any position on attempts to charge Yanukovych with “mass killings” of protesters, saying that was up to the Ukrainian people.

In his last public interview, Yanukovych said he has no intention of resigning, and is still the elected president of Ukraine. His location now is unknown, but he is believed to be somewhere in the Crimea.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.