Conflicting Claims about Ukraine

I'm looking at the conflicting claims made by US and Russian sources about the situation in the Ukraine. Here are some examples:

• On the new Ukrainian government:

USA: The interim government of Ukraine is a government of the people, which will shepherd the country toward democratic elections [state.gov]

Russia: democratically elected government was overthrown by military force, involving the most severe right wing neo-Nazi elements [rt.com]

• On Russian intervention:

Russia: has the right to protect its interests and Russian-speaking populations in Ukraine [indiatimes.com]

USA: Russia’s military actions in Ukraine are in clear violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty [state.gov]

• On the Crimean referendum:

Russia: referendum is based on the norms of international law and aim to ensure the legal interests of the population of the peninsula [wikipedia]

USA: referendum would violate Ukrainian sovereignty and international law [wikipedia]

Notice how the US supports the west-leaning interim government, but opposes the actions of the east-leaning Crimean parliament, while Russia supports the referendum in Crimea which may favor joining Russia but opposes the new Ukrainian government which wants to trade with the European Union. Unfortunately, both sides here are very biased and self-serving, and neither viewpoint gives any real consideration to the Ukrainians themselves. Both sides want Ukraine to take money and aid from their side, giving them influence over politics in Ukraine. The east-west political tug-of-war is only making it harder for the Ukrainians to resolve their own political crisis. (slate.com has a fairly good article criticizing the actions on both sides.)