STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Oksana Antonenko is from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. And she says any further escalation of this political crisis could spark a civil war.
OKSANA ANTONENKO: Well, I think it is really very serious. I think this is the first time in this very prolonged political crisis in the Ukraine that we see both sides are trying to engage the security forces of various kinds.
AM - Saturday, 26 May , 2007 08:00:00
Reporter: Stephanie Kennedy
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Ukraine's political crisis has deepened with fears the country is now on the verge of civil war.
The President and the Prime Minister have been at loggerheads for months but today the standoff has escalated to a new level.
The two are fighting for control of 40,000 troops and there are concerns the next step will be a violent confrontation, as Stephanie Kennedy reports.
STEPHANIE KENNEDY: The rivalry between Victor Yushchenko and Victor Yanukovych is well document and goes back years.
In 2004 Victor Yuschenko successfully disputed the results of the Presidential election after leading tens of thousands of protestors in what became known as the Orange Revolution.
During the campaign Victor Yushchenko was poisoned and he was left with a heavily disfigured face.
Since last August Victor Yanukovych has been the Prime Minister of Ukraine and the two long-time bitter rivals have been locked in a power struggle ever since.
In April, President Yushchenko dissolved parliament and called a snap election - but that election is yet to take place.
Now, President Yuschenko has tried to wrest control of 40,000 troops from the Prime Minister's Interior ministry.
Victor Yanukovych immediately condemned the Presidential decree - arguing it had violated the constitution, and in a worrying sign he warned the 'use of force scenario' has now begun.
Vasyliy Tsushko is the Interior minister and he's also a close ally of the Prime Minister. He accuses the President of driving Ukraine into a violent confrontation.
(Sounds of Vasyliy Tsushko speaking)
VASYLIY TSUSHKO (Translated): We are on the verge os civil war. Everyone should understand this and it is part of the president's entourage whom I call the junta that is pushing us towards civil war. This is terrible because we all want a peaceful life.
STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Oleksandr Kuzmuk is a former defence minister and he's just been appointed as the deputy prime minister for national security.
(Sounds of Oleksandr Kuzmuk speaking)
OLEKSANDR KUZMUK (Translated): I have never changed my convictions so from the moment of my appointment within the bounds of my powers I will work to ensure that in the Ukraine there is the rule of law, respect for beings, that human blood never falls on Ukrainian soil and as far as it depends on me that Ukraine returns within legal parameters.
STEPHANIE KENNEDY: Oksana Antonenko is from the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. And she says any further escalation of this political crisis could spark a civil war.
OKSANA ANTONENKO: Well, I think it is really very serious. I think this is the first time in this very prolonged political crisis in the Ukraine that we see both sides are trying to engage the security forces of various kinds.
And Ukraine would have many security forces, not only the ministry of defence but also interior ministry, as you would know, which is a substantial force. It's 40,000 people who carry guns and who are deployed all over the Country.
And they're trying to engage those security forces and political bargaining, which I think, is very, very dangerous. And of course the fact that we've seen yesterday for the first time those various political, various security groupings are facing each other and using force against each other. Of course it's only the beginning; it can really escalate.
STEPHANIE KENNEDY: And that's what's worrying the European Union; it's urged both sides of this bitter feud to pull back and to resolve the dispute through negotiation rather than a violent confrontation.
This is Stephanie Kennedy reporting for Saturday AM.
