The propaganda war between Russia and Ukraine took a turn for the bizarre after a busty Crimean model was voted Russia's top natural beauty.
Maria Zarring, who has a natural 34K bust, was born in the Crimea, the Ukrainian region now run by the ethnically Russian population.
But Ukranian commentators have accused Russia of choosing the 28-year-old only because they wanted to humiliate Ukraine, and they are insisting that her breasts are not natural.
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Bust-up: The propaganda war between Russia and Ukraine took a turn for the bizarre after busty Crimean model Maria Zarring was voted Russia's top natural beauty
Ukranian commentators have accused Russia of choosing the 28-year-old only because they wanted to humiliate Ukraine, and they are insisting that her breasts are not natural
Kiev beauty expert Oksana Melnyk said: 'They have only chosen her to rub our noses in it.'
She added: 'Moscow is laughing at the Ukraine by claiming one of our own success stories for their own. But in fact she is not even a real woman.'
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ShareBut model Maria says she wants no part of the furore.
She said: 'I am not interested in politics.'
'I am proud of my boobs, I am proud of my body, I am proud of my title and I am proud of my homeland.'
Model Maria says she wants no part of the furore. She said: 'I am not interested in politics'
Maria - who now lives in Moscow - used to have an office job in marketing but gave it up in 2011 when she won a TV wet T-shirt contest.
Today Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Monday that newly elected leaders in eastern Ukrainian separatist regions have a 'mandate' to negotiate with Kiev, Interfax news agency reported.
'The elected representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk regions obtained a mandate to hold negotiations with central Ukrainian authorities to solve problems... via a political dialogue,' he said.
Interfax reported him as echoing a statement from the Foreign Ministry that Russia will 'respect the will of the people of south-east Ukraine'.
RUSSIA ENDORSES CONTROVERSIAL SEPARATIST ELECTION IN UKRAINE
Alexander Zakharchenko
Russia has backed a contentious election held by separatists in eastern Ukraine, setting the stage for renewed diplomatic tensions with the west.
The Foreign Ministry said today that the vote in Donetsk and Luhansk gave elected representatives the authority to restore stability in regions unsettled by an armed separatist insurgency.
Plans for yesterday’s vote had been sharply criticised by the European Union and the US, which said it violated Ukrainian law and undermined a September ceasefire deal.
In the vote, residents in Donetsk and Luhansk were choosing legislators and executives.
Vote results unveiled today showed Alexander Zakharchenko, the rebel leader in Donetsk, claiming an easy victory.
Despite the ceasefire agreement, fighting rages daily between government troops and rebel forces in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The head of the rebel election body in Donetsk, Roman Lyagin, said inescapable conclusions needed to be drawn from Sunday's polls.
'Kiev has to come to terms with the idea that Donbass is not part of Ukraine,' he said. "Whether they will recognize the result of our vote or not is Kiev's problem.'
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