Viktor Yanukovich said on Thursday he was still president of Ukraine and warned its “illegitimate” rulers that people in the southeastern and southern regions would never accept mob rule.
In a statement sent to Russian news agencies from an unknown location, Yanukovich railed against the “extremists” who had stolen power in Ukraine, threatened violence against himself and his closest aides and passed “illegal” laws.
Almost a week after he was toppled by violent protests against widespread corruption in the former Soviet state, Yanukovich’s whereabouts are still unknown after he fled the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
The 63-year-old is now wanted in Ukraine on charges of mass murder over the police shooting of demonstrators, and Russian and Ukrainian media have speculated he may have travelled to Moscow, although that could not be confirmed.
Ukrainian opposition leader Arseny Yatseniuk, proposed to head the new interim government, said Yanukovich was no longer president, rather a “wanted man”.
