Ukraine's deposed ex-President Viktor Yanukovych said he's still the nation's rightful leader and urged Russia to refrain from military intervention in the southern Crimea region, where unrest spread.
Speaking for the first time since leaving Ukraine, Yanukovych told reporters today in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don that the country should abide by a peace accord sealed a week ago with European Union diplomats under which he'd remain leader through December. He labeled the parliament in Kiev illegitimate and vowed to return when it's safe.
"The whole Ukrainian people were cheated — I'd like to get an answer from those who signed this agreement," Yanukovych said wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a blue tie and sitting in front of Ukrainian flags. Asked about Crimea, he said he's "categorically against intervention in Ukraine, against the violation of its integrity as a sovereign state."