BBC Online :
Thousands of people celebrated in the Crimean capital of Simferopol after the region broke away from Ukraine and was formally accepted into the Russian Federation.
Celebrations continued into early Saturday, hours after the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, signed a treaty making Crimea part of Russia. Fireworks burst in the sky in Simferopol, as the Crimean prime minister, Sergei Aksyonov, addressed the crowds.
“I am sure that we all together will live in a new Crimea happily, we will live the way our fathers and grandfathers wanted us to live as we dreamed. This is fair and we deserved it. Happy holiday, dear friends,” he said.
I am sure that we all together will live in a new Crimea happily.
The crowd sang along with music from a live stage as they welcomed Aksyonov.
The celebrations were timed to coincide with a similar event taking place in Moscow, where fireworks also lit up the skies.
As this developed, an international team of monitors is being sent in to Ukraine’s eastern region, where tensions continue to brew between supporters and opponents of Russia.
