Ukraine crisis: Russia steps up Ukraine rhetoric
Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev said interim authorities in Kiev had conducted an "armed mutiny".
And the Russian foreign ministry said dissenters in mainly Russian-speaking regions faced suppression.
SNIP
Mr Medvedev, quoted by Russian news agencies, suggested that Western countries that accepted Ukraine's new authorities were mistaken.
"The legitimacy of a whole number of organs of power that function there raises great doubts," he said.
"Some of our foreign, Western partners think otherwise. This is some kind of aberration of perception when people call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny."
He added: "We do not understand what is going on there. There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens."
Ukraine's foreign ministry quickly responded to Mr Medvedev's comments on Russian citizens in Ukraine, saying his concerns were "unfounded".
However, Russia's foreign ministry also issued a strongly worded statement saying a "forced change of power" was taking place in Ukraine and accused interim leaders of passing new laws "aimed at infringing the humanitarian rights of Russians and other ethnic minorities"
"A course has been set towards suppressing dissenters in various regions of Ukraine by dictatorial, and sometimes even terrorist, means," a statement said.
Continued at Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26327211
It appears Putin is having Medvedev do the public speaking on this one. Doesn't want to tarnish his image?