NEW YORK TIMES / REUTERS: A pro-Russian separatist leader was sworn in on Tuesday as the head of a self-proclaimed ‘people’s republic’ in eastern Ukraine in a ceremony that worsened a standoff with Russia.
Alexander Zakharchenko, who was elected in a rogue vote on Sunday that was denounced as a “farce” by Kiev and illegitimate by the West, took the oath to “honestly serve the interests of the people of the Donetsk People’s Republic and conscientiously fulfill my duties.”…
Kiev’s pro-Western leaders fear that a new “frozen conflict” could now be created in its eastern regions and further threaten the territorial unity of Ukraine, which lost control of its Crimean peninsula in March when it was annexed by Russia… (more)
