Stepping up its independence drive, the Ukrainian parliament says it now controls Soviet troops in the republic, will form its own armed forces and wants part of the Soviet navy's Black Sea fleet.
But officials Wednesday denied reports that the second-most populous republic has claimed control over 176 strategic nuclear missiles on its territory, reiterating the Ukraine's goal of becoming a nuclear-free zone.The Ukraine's chief representative in Moscow, Vladimir Kryzhanivsky, stressed in an interview that his republic's new defense policy will take years to implement and will require lengthy negotiations with the national Defense Ministry.
The Ukrainian parliament, meeting in Kiev on Tuesday, gave preliminary approval to a law creating an independent armed force for self-defense, Kryzhanivsky said.
The move flies in the face of a warning by Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to republics trying to form their own armies by "privatizing" Soviet bases and troops.
In a speech to the national Supreme Soviet legislature this week, Gorbachev called such steps "dangerous, irresponsible and illegal" and threatened that unspecified "constitutional measures" would be taken.
The Ukraine's step Tuesday did not go beyond affirming its support for an independent force. But it was certain to exacerbate tensions with Moscow.
There was no official Soviet reaction Wednesday to the Ukrainian law.