COUP IN KYIV?

Out of curiosity, how many countries do you think the United States should be controlling? I would think that the ill conceived decision to go after imaginary weapons in Iraq which in turn redirected efforts in Afganistan having been such a raging success, would make wise people review all the available options.

Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov has warned of the dangers of separatism following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.

Many in Ukraine's Russian-speaking regions oppose his overthrow and the installation of a more European-leaning interim administration.

Russia is also angry at the changes, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow will not intervene.

The formation of a unity government has been delayed until Thursday.

Russian flag in Sevastopol, 25 February 2014 Many in people, such as here in Sevastopol, oppose the changes in Kiev
Addressing parliament, Mr Turchynov said he would meet law enforcement agencies to discuss the risk of separatism in regions with large ethnic Russian populations.

Separatism was a "serious threat", he said.

Crimea and some pro-Russian areas in the east have seen protests against the overthrow of Mr Yanukovych, sparking fears of secession.

The delay in announcing a unity government was to allow further consultations, Mr Turchynov said, adding that "a coalition of national faith must be elected".

'Unilateral advantages'

Russia has been vehemently opposed to the changes in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saying on Monday that those behind the new administration had conducted an "armed mutiny".

At a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Mr Lavrov warned other states against seeking "unilateral advantages" in Ukraine, but said Russia's "policy of non-intervention" would continue.

"It is dangerous and counter-productive to try to force on Ukraine a choice according to the principle of either being with us or against us," he said.

Mr Lavrov added that "it is in our interest for Ukraine to be part of the broad European family" but against Russia's interest to "allow the radicals and nationalists who are clearly trying to take centre stage to prevail."

It is still unclear where Mr Yanukovych is, but an arrest warrant has been issued. He was last reportedly seen on Sunday in Balaklava on the Crimean peninsula.

Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said a criminal case had been opened against the ousted president and other officials over "mass murder of peaceful citizens".

Russia is also angry at the changes, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow will not intervene.

Meanwhile there are reports that one of Mr Yanukovych's former aides, Andriy Kliuyev, has been shot and wounded.

Russian flag in Sevastopol, 25 February 2014 Many in people, such as here in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, oppose the changes in Kiev
Mr Kliuyev's car is said to have been attacked while he was travelling back to Kiev from the Crimea after tendering his resignation to the former president. A spokesman was quoted on local media as saying his life was not in danger.

Mr Kliuyev, the former head of the presidential administration, is said to have left Kiev with the president when he fled the capital at the weekend.

Russian police have made nearly 500 arrests at opposition rallies in the country's two main cities, including several well-known protest figures.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was among those picked up in Moscow on Monday evening, as he attended an unapproved rally near the Kremlin.

He and others have appeared in court, charged with offences that entail a fine or detention of up to 15 days.

The rallies were called to protest at sentences passed on other activists.

Seven people had received prison terms of up to four years on Monday, for rioting and attacking police at a demonstration against Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third presidential term in May 2012, in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow.

Human rights organisation Amnesty International condemned the sentences as a "hideous injustice", at the end of a "show trial".

An eighth defendant, the only woman on trial, received a suspended sentence.

While the rallies on Monday in Moscow and St Petersburg were called to protest at the Bolotnaya sentences, some demonstrators also made shows of solidarity with the protesters in Ukraine, who brought down President Viktor Yanukovych last week.

'Maidan'

Police arrested 420 people in Manege Square, under the walls of the Kremlin, hours after picking up some 200 people outside the court where the Bolotnaya defendants were being tried.

It appears that many of those detained near the court were released shortly afterwards, and at least some of them went to Manege Square for the bigger rally.

Among those detained in Moscow were Pussy Riot punk band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, both recently freed from prison under an amnesty, and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov.

Those held overnight were apparently being charged with either disobeying a police request or breaching the rules on holding rallies.

In St Petersburg, 60 people were arrested at a similar protest rally.

Outside the court in Moscow, some demonstrators had shouted "Maidan" - a reference to the square in Kiev where Ukrainian protesters camped out before finally toppling the country's elected president.

However, Mr Navalny distanced himself from events in Ukraine, saying that Russia had its own battle for freedom.

Russian state TV coverage of the Bolotnaya trial drew analogies with the unrest in Ukraine, the Associated Press notes.

"With the events on the Maidan as a background, it's even more obvious what all of this could have led to, had it not been for the government's clear, tough response," one unnamed TV presenter was quoted as saying.

Izzy said:... a gradual takeover by America. That was where the line was drawn, America could have so much but no more. As far as the Russians are concerned, they're not the aggressors, it's the Americans, and the Americans are being sneaky and underhand about it.

Obviously it isn't all Obama's fault

You really are a Soviet Leftist izzy.