Ukraine's ousted President Viktor
Yanukovych went missing in the midst of upheaval in his country, but his
whereabouts probably won't be secret for long -- assuming he shows up at his
own news conference Friday, reports CNN.
Yanukovych
will hold the conference at 5 p.m. Friday in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don,
Russian state news agency Itar-Tass said Thursday.
Ria Novosti,
another state news agency, reported that anonymous government sources said
Thursday that Yanukovych was in Russia and that Russian authorities accepted
his request for security.
The fugitive
president issued a statement to Russian news agencies condemning the country's
interim government and alleging that recent actions in the Ukrainian Parliament
are illegitimate.
Months of
anti-government protests reached a bloody climax last week, when street clashes
between demonstrators and security forces left more than 80 dead. The
protesters' anger was focused on Yanukovych.
Ukrainian
authorities issued a warrant for Yanukovych's arrest last week over civilian
deaths during the protests.
Meanwhile,
lawmakers in Kiev approved opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk of the
Batkivschina, or Fatherland, Party as prime minister.
Yanukovych wouldn't be the first
controversial figure facing criminal charges to find safe haven in Russia. U.S.
National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been there since
June, having been granted a one-year asylum.
