Ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said on Thursday that the election of Petro Poroshenko had brought "death and suffering" rather that stability and peace to the country.
Yanukovych, who fled Ukraine in February in the face of anti-government protests, told Itar-Tass that Ukrainians' expectation that the election of a new president would bring peace to the country's troubled regions had been unfulfilled.
"It's a very bad sign to start a presidential mandate with bloody, deadly fireworks that have caused the anger and curses of mothers who watch their children, husbands and fathers die and suffer," Yanukovych said Thursday in Rostov-on-Don, Itar-Tass reported.
Violence between government forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine has continued despite Poroshenko's victory on Sunday, in which he claimed 54.7 percent of the vote.
Yanukovych said on Monday that he respected the outcome of the Ukrainian election, a poll that was conducted at the "toughest time" for his country, he said.
Earlier this week, representatives from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said they had lost around 50 fighters in a battle over the Donetsk airport on Monday. On Thursday, a Ukrainian military helicopter was downed by pro-Russian insurgents in Slovyansk, killing 14 Ukrainian soldiers.
See also:
Poroshenko Signals Continuity Over Change
Putin Not Invited to Poroshenko's Inauguration as President, Peskov Says
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