and what did we hear from victor yanokovych and how worried are leaders in ukraine? >> well, del, in russia, it's news agency, in it, victor yanokovych called on the region to have their own ref wend um because the government in kiev was illegally leaked, he believes the people of ukraine should have the right to decide. and of course it was a referendum here on march 16th to pave the way for crimea to be part of russia, and it has to be a worry for kiev, russian troops massed on the ukrainian border, thousands of troops there. and the arch rival, who just declared herself a presidential candidate, blasted the former president for what he had to say. >> this person who used to be the president of ukraine has now in fact become a tool in the sight against ukraine. against ukrainian people. he has actually become the aim at destroying the independence of ukraine. >> and of course concerns about what russia intentions are, in the eastern part of ukraine, very much looking to russia. 70% of ukrainians exports go to russia, and it's a very industrial part of the world. we

she said she's not afraid of sanctions, and being victor yanokovych, the ukrainian president herself who fled to russia. in crimea, some are eager for change, and others are worried about what happens next. our nick schifrin, some dramatic developments today, and what's next? >> you were very right. very dramatic developments, president putin crimea declaring independence today. and part of that is that they're going to move to the russian ruble and change to moscow time in the next few weeks, and change their assets, and all of the ukrainian laws are null and void. that's a lot of changes for everyone to take n. and everyone is trying to figure out what is next. [ chanting ] >> reporter: crimea has made it's choice, the day after the party, regardless of whether they feel the vote was legal or fair, the next generation will face the future. 25 and 30 somethings. two ukrainian. >> i'm ukraine, and my son is, and i want to stay ukrainian. >> three voted to join russia. >> some people say that putin is the stager, he's very smart. >> christina is a dancer who believes that russia provi

and victor yanokovych saying that what happened was not exactly as the u.s. said happened. take a listen. >> interpreter: the definition of what has happened in kiev and the ukraine as a whole, it is an unconstitutional coup and a military seizure of power. nobody is arguing with that. who is arguing with that? >> mike vicarra at the white house, this boys down to what your definition of a coup is. >> president obama and secretary of state kerry, though they're thousands of miles apart, they have the same goal in mind. and secretary kerry, in kiev, and he comes with a $1 billion aid package, and president obama asking the congress to take that up immediately. but he's also figuratively planting the flag in kiev, solidarity with the government of kiev, and to deescalate the crisis, you heard secretary kerry, and president obama as well, to contain vladimir putin's ambitions right now and turn them back, but at this point to lower the temperature here and make sure that vladimir putin does not have designs on the other portions of ukraine and the southern and eastern portions

the same amount russia offered the country before former ukraine an president, victor yanokovych's ouster. >> it is a package designed to assist in reforms of the ukraine government. >> reporter: the eu man's to meet thursday about possible sanctions but so far the group has treaded lightly. >> interpreter: crisis diplomacy is not a weakness, but it's more important than ever not to fall into the abyss of military deescalation, not to fall into the abyss. >> reporter: it could be one reason why vladimir putin appears unphased by the u.s.' stern words. u.s. really has little economic leverage compared to its european allies. for example, russia and germany had strong economic ties. germany is the biggest importer of russian gas and oil. some of it comes from pipelines across the ukraine. russian supplies account for 36% of all german gas consumption. german leader, angela merkel has taken on a similar approach in moscow. in washington, president obama's actions are limited by congress. speaker of the house of representatives, john boehner, spoke with the standoff with russia wednesday. >>

conference, touring the square where there are memorials of those killed in the clashes to oust victor yanokovych. she was visibly shaken by that experience. tears. she had to hold back her tears, and there were a number of things going on. and let's take a look at one of them. >> it's very interesting. if i would listen to the russian rhetoric, i would expect to walk through the streets of kiev and attacked by dangerous elements. and i was approached by school children with flowers. >> so clearly, wendy sherman pointing out that the information coming out of the kremlin doesn't gel with what she saw on the streets of kiev today. and she's saying that the united states will continue to give assistance to ukraine, not only in sanctions but in support for their fledgling government. but clearly, the united states is stepping up it's activities to support the government in kiev. >> phil, one question before you go. it's easy to follow this diplomatic back and forth from washington and new york, but are they afraid on the streets of kiev? >> they are afraid that their future is being decided in other

and victor yanokovych saying that what happened was not exactly as the u.s. said happened. take a listen. >> interpreter: the definition of what has happened in kiev and the ukraine as a whole, it is an unconstitutional coup and a military seizure of power. nobody is arguing with that. who is arguing with that? >> mike vicarra at the white house, this boys down to what your definition of a coup is. >> president obama and secretary of state kerry, though they're thousands of miles apart, they have the same goal in mind. and secretary kerry, in kiev, and he comes with a $1 billion aid package, and president obama asking the congress to take that up immediately. but he's also figuratively planting the flag in kiev, solidarity with the government of kiev, and to deescalate the crisis, you heard secretary kerry, and president obama as well, to contain vladimir putin's ambitions right now and turn them back, but at this point to lower the temperature here and make sure that vladimir putin does not have designs on the other portions of ukraine and the southern and eastern portions

speaking for the first time since the crisis began, he called the ouster of victor yanokovych unlawful. >> there can only be one assess many the. this is an anti-constitutional coup and seizure of power. >> he denied that russian were in the crimea. >> there are a lot of uniforms that look similar. go to a shop here in the country and you can buy any kind of uniform. >> secretary of state, john kerry, honoring those killed in the protest. concerned about ethnic russians. >> i think that it's clear that russia has been working hard to create a pretext forking able to invade further. >> reporter: the implication, putin has designs not only on crimea, but also the east and the south. sharing historical ties to russia. kerry commended the ukrainian forces for not taking the bait. >> we condemn the russian federation's act of aggression. and we have throughout this moment evidence of a great transformation taking place, and in that transformation, we will stand with the people of ukraine. >> reporter: and president obama and secretary kerry both carried message. a $1 billion imagine, imf lo

take the street protests and bloody battles that led to the flight of president victor yanokovych, and to the new interim government. here's russian president, vladimir putin this morning, speaking at a news conference. [ speaking russian ] >> interpreter: there can only be one assessment. this has an anti-constitutional coup and an armed seizure of power. >> reporter: and secretary of state, jesus christ, where he toured kiev today. and the memorial to the fallen. >> the russian government would have you believe that the ukraine government is somehow illegitimate, or ignored by extremist. they overwhelmingly approved the new government, even with members of yanokovych's party for desserting him and voting overwhelming in order to approve this new government. >> reporter: then there's the question of who are these armed russian speaking men, wearing uniforms without insignia, and apparently under orders to say as little as possible. these soldiers, thousands of them, are raiding ukraine an bases in crimea and blockading ukraine soldiers. president putin says anyone can buy a uniform. >

ousted ukrainian president, victor yanokovych, suggest that other apart of ukraine breakaway. trying to mend fences with the ally. and the weather, the recovery efforts in washington state and the mudslide.

we also heard from the ousted ukrainian president, victor yanokovych, speaking from russia, a few hundred miles from here. and he says that he remains the rightful president, but here in crimea, things are moving very quickly as this referendum is happening sunday and the crimeaians are preparing for this historic vote. the campaign is sponsored by russian organizations like people's unit. the posters saying no to nato and why russia is the only choice in sunday's referendum, why crimea should breakaway from ukraine. >> interpreter: all of us know how to answer the question, where to go and why. we don't want to stay with ukraine and with the current government. we simply wouldn't survive. what they offer us is not life or existence. it's much worse. >> reporter: lina hands out newspapers, to get voters to choose ces session, >> interpreter: the tv says russians are occupiers, but they're really protectors. if the russians weren't here, the enemies of kiev would be here suppressing us. >> reporter: the majority of russians here want to join russia. even though they haven't had time to pre