US controlling interim Ukrainian government: Analyst

A political analyst says Russia has done nothing in terms of the crisis unfolding in Ukraine, stressing that the United States has a certain degree of leverage and control over the interim government in Kiev.

“Russia has behaved very well in this regard and I think overall it’s the Ukrainian people who hang in the balance who have the tremendous potential to suffer, so much so there is a puppet regime in Kiev,” James F. Tracy, an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University, said in an interview with Press TV.

Pointing to the protests in eastern and southern Ukraine, he added that the West is once again accusing Russia of what the West, itself, is in fact guilty of.

“Russia is not expanding. It is the West. It is the US-NATO alliance that is expanding on Russia’s doorstep. This is something that a significant number of Ukrainians, a majority, likely recognize and are contesting,” the commentator said.
He cast doubt on whether Russia has control over the protesters “who are to a significant degree, acting autonomously.”

Tracy’s remarks came after around 2,000 pro-Russian protesters on Monday held another demonstration in support of an independence referendum in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk.

For weeks, pro-Russian protesters have been occupying key installations in several eastern Ukrainian cities.

The West and Russia remain divided over eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian protesters keep occupying key government buildings.

Tensions between the Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of the Russian Federation following a referendum on March 16.