#Obama says #US ready to provide more aid to #Ukraine's government, including military http://t.co/LT5hlXAn2O pic.twitter.com/3VhrXpa2AK
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) August 7, 2014
Ppl screeching that import bans "will only affect decadent middle class" are missing the point. Major price hikes are the real worry now.
— Natalia Antonova (@NataliaAntonova) August 7, 2014
#euromaidan right now pic.twitter.com/ZLXbbIQBtu
— Kateryna_Kruk (@Kateryna_Kruk) August 7, 2014
Here are some more details from RFE/RL's news desk of Rasmussen's visit to Kyiv today.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has arrived in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, amid heightened tensions over a Russian troop buildup along the Ukrainian border.
"Just landed in Kiev. I'm here to offer NATO's political support to Ukraine and President [Petro] Poroshenko," Rasmussen wrote on Twitter (@AndersFoghR) on August 7.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vasily Zvarych earlier called Rasmussen's visit "vitally important," saying it demonstrates NATO's political support.
"This visit serves as evidence that the North Atlantic alliance supports the European path of development [for] the Ukrainian state and society," he said.
NATO said on August 6 that a Russian force buildup near the Ukrainian border amounts to some 20,000 troops.
The alliance said Moscow could use the excuse of a humanitarian or peacekeeping mission to send them into Ukraine.
(AFP, ITAR-TASS)
Russia's preemptive sanctions going according to plan. The Moscow Stock Exchange today pic.twitter.com/LF7W0jEbH0
— Kirit Radia (@KiritRadia) August 7, 2014
All quiet on eastern front where I am. If it's like this everywhere then nothing at all going on. Must be negotiations then
— bruce springnote (@BSpringnote) August 7, 2014
Vice News has published this fascinating interview with an American who has been fighting for Ukraine in the east of the country as part of the voluntary Donbass Battalion. He has some harsh things to say about the origanization of the operation against the rebels:
Just landed in Kiev. I'm here to offer #NATO's political support to #Ukraine and President Poroshenko
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) August 7, 2014
Looking forward to meetings w/ President Poroshenko, PM Yatseniuk, MFA @PavloKlimkin & Speaker Turchynov. #Ukraine
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) August 7, 2014
Citi: Back of the envelope calculation: Russian food import sanctions to add 1.9% to Russia CPI.
— Paweł Morski (@Pawelmorski) August 7, 2014
So that's Russian households average 1.9% poorer. US/EU sanctions couldn't manage that.
— Paweł Morski (@Pawelmorski) August 7, 2014
It seems moves are afoot in Kyiv to finally remove the last Maidan stragglers. But, as our news desk reports, the authorities are meeting with some resistance:
In the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, demonstrators clashed today with city workers who were attempting to clear barricades and tents from the city's central Independence Square.
The protesters set fire to piles of tires and threw bottles and bricks at municipal workers.
Police and city workers eventually withdrew, leaving the situation unresolved.
The square -- known as the Maidan -- was the epicenter of massive antigovernment protests last winter which eventually saw the ouster of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Petro Poroshenko was elected as the country's new president in May, but several hundred protesters have remained on the square, saying they want to ensure the new government follows through on reforms.
Kyiv authorities have been negotiating with the protesters to clear the square since Vitali Klitschko was elected mayor in May.
(Reuters, ITAR-TASS, and AP)
And here's a video from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service of the clearance operations. It only has natural sound at the moment, but we'll be issuing an English version later today:
