Ukraine’s nascent government struggled for stability Tuesday as a top aide to fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych was shot and pro-Russian demonstrations in Crimea raised new fears that the country might split.
Andriy Klyuyev, former chief of staff to the ousted president, was wounded by gunfire Monday.
Pro-Russian protesters rallied for a second day at the Black Sea naval port of Sevastopol in Crimea, a day after they ripped down a Ukrainian flag near the city hall and raised a Russian flag.
The violence and unrest underscored the deep divisions in the country of 46 million, where the east and south cling to Russia and the western region longs for new alliances with the European Union.
Concerns about the country cleaving in two were raised at a meeting between acting President Oleksander Turchinov and security officials.
“We discussed the question of not allowing any signs of separatism and threats to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and punishing people guilty of this,” Turchinov said in a statement, referring to protests in Crimea.
The tension between east and west, compounded by rampant corruption and a bleak economy nationwide, fueled months-long protests in Kiev that last week toppled Yanukovych.