Russia and West Face off in Ukraine

Tension in the country also rose as the Russia-EU summit was held yesterday in The Netherlands where Russian delegates, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, met with European leaders. As EU leaders repeated that they do not recognize the election outcome, Putin ask the courts to resolve the issue.

The Ukrainian opposition has started to see some results on the sixth day of protesting. Although the Central Election Committee officially announced Yanukovych as the victor, the opposition was able to stop the announcement from being published in the official records via the High Court. A spokesperson for the Court, Liana Shilyaposhnikova, said the election results will not be validated or published until the Court has reached a decision on the matter, although the Court will be unable to retract the announcement that Yanukovych won the presidential election. The court is expected to address the issue on November 29.

Administrative councils in some cities have made official announcements declaring that pro-Western Yushchenko has won the presidential race. Police officers and students have joined the crowd of protestors numbering nearly 200,000 in the capital city of Kiev. Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma has called upon leaders in Poland and Lithuania to provide mediation to resolve the crisis.

The officially declared winner, Yanikovych, has accused western countries of supporting anti-democratic and illegal activity. Putin issued a statement saying the current issue in Ukraine should be resolved within the framework of the Constitution and that no one has the right to urge Ukrainians into conflict. Dutch Prime Minister Peter Balkanende responded by saying that Europeans want to see democracy Ukraine and are therefore immensely interested in the election results.

Nearly a thousand commandos are in Kiev at the protest. Boris Tarasyuk, one of the organizers of the protests, says security forces may very well apply force. There are rumors that special "Guru" teams that are affiliated with the Russian Defense Ministry are also in Ukraine, but Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov says the rumors are "nonsense."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has expressed its hope that a solution to the crisis will be found quickly and democratically.