(5 Mar 2014) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 934253
Pro-Russian demonstrators gathered at Lenin Square in Simferopol on Wednesday, as tensions between Ukraine and Russia continued over Crimea.
New Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Wednesday said Ukraine would be willing to consider granting more autonomy to the region to assuage the concerns of the province's pro-Russian population.
The demonstrators in Simferopol, the Crimean regional capital, left observers in no doubts as to where their loyalties lie.
Gathered in front of a statue of Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, some held Communist flags and chanted: "Crimea, Russia, Sevastopol".
Ukraine accused Russia of a military invasion after pro-Russian troops took over the strategic peninsula on Saturday, placing forces around its ferry terminal, military bases and border posts.
Moscow does not recognize the new Ukrainian leadership in Kiev that replaced the pro-Russian president, and raised the pressure by threatening to end discounts on natural gas supplies.
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