And, as commander-in-chief of the military, Mr Yanukovych said, he was sure soldiers would not 'obey criminal orders'.

Speaking in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the pro-Kremlin ex-leader of Ukraine remained unswayed in his argument that "extremists" had taken power in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.

Making his first appearing since fleeing his country last month, Mr Yanukovych told journalists that a presidential election set for May 25 would be illegal.

Earlier, Ukraine's acting president Oleksander Turchinov said he was planning to create a new national guard within Ukraine "to defend citizens from criminals and from internal or external aggression".

He was addressing parliament ahead of Sunday's planned referendum in Crimea over whether the region should separate from Ukraine and be part of Russia.