UKRAINE

Toronto Times: Ukraine flirting with a civil war

The narrow victory of Ukraine's prime minister Viktor Yanukovych in last week's reportedly fraudulent presidential election is raising grave fears of civil war in this highly strategic nation.

Ukraine split along historic lines, with the European-oriented western, largely Uniate Catholic half (once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), supporting Yushchenko, and the Eastern Orthodox portion, notably the Donets coal basin and industrial Luhansk, with 10 million ethnic Russians, favouring Moscow. Crimea, an ethnic Russian and Tatar region, went solidly for the pro-Moscow camp.

Yushchenko supporters have massed in the streets for days and called on the army and security service to join them, invoking the threat of political chaos, even civil war.

As of this writing, the security services, heavily influenced by Russia's secret services, appear loyal to Yanukovych