Yanukovych allegedly sighted in Moscow

A Russian news organization has reported that Ukraine's fugitive president, Viktor Yanukovych, has been seen in a Moscow hotel and is now staying in a Kremlin sanatorium just outside the city.

The RBK report was impossible to confirm, but security at the Ukraina Hotel was unusually heavy late on Wednesday, with police watching from parked vehicles outside and guards posted throughout the lobby. Some of Yanukovych's allies, also reported to have been at the hotel, may have still been there. Yanukovych has not been seen publicly since Saturday. Russia still considers him the legitimate president.

RBK reported on Wednesday evening that Yanukovych was staying at the Barvikha sanatorium, which is run by the presidential administration's property department. The spokesman for this department, Viktor Khrekov, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he has no information about this.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman also said he had no information about Yanukovych's reported arrival in Moscow.

AP

(China Daily 02/28/2014 page11)