The Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said Moscow had rejected Kiev’s demand not to hold voting in Crimea, which it seized just weeks after a pro-western revolution in Ukraine. Millions of ethnic Russians live in Ukraine, but it is not clear how many are citizens of Russia. She appeared to suggest that Russians in Ukraine would have backed Mr Putin. “Russian citizens who wanted to vote in Ukraine see with their own eyes what is happening. That’s why the regime, absolutely shamelessly and illegally, prevented Russian citizens from voting.”

Source: The Irish Times March 18, 2018 19:30 UTC