RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service is broadcasting live from downtown Kyiv, where authorities (joined by the mayor, Vitali Klitschko) are dismantling the protest barricades in a continuation of an operation begun on Thursday:
A brief overnight wrap-up from our newsroom:
The U.S. and British governments have warned Russia against any further intervention in Ukraine, including under the pretext of delivering humanitarian assistance.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting in New York on August 9, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said that any such intervention would be "completely unacceptable and "viewed as an invasion of Ukraine."
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond “strongly” urged Moscow to avoid any provocative actions."
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said it has finished military exercises in southern Russia which the United States has criticized as a "provocative" step amid the Ukraine crisis.
NATO says Russia has massed 20,000 troops near the border with Ukraine, where government troops are fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
That concludes our live blogging for Friday, August 8.
Ukrainian military jet flying very low, purportedly near the eastern border with Russia (via @LeonidRagozin and @InfoResist).
From our newsroom:
Russia's Defense Ministry said on August 8 it has finished military exercises in southern Russia which the United States has criticized as a "provocative" step amid the Ukraine crisis.
The Defense Ministry said that aircraft taking part in the exercises have been redeployed from temporary to their permanent bases, and antiaircraft missile units were also preparing to leave for their permanent positions.
It said the drills in the southern Astrakhan region 1,000 kilometers from the border with Ukraine has shown a "high level of cohesiveness" among troops.
The NATO military alliance says Russia has massed 20,000 troops near the border with Ukraine where government troops are fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
Chilling words from U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power to the Security Council today:
"[A]ny further unilateral intervention by Russia into Ukrainian territory – including one under the guise of providing humanitarian aid – would be completely unacceptable and deeply alarming. And it would be viewed as an invasion of Ukraine."
And her conclusion:
South Ossetia. Crimea. Now eastern Ukraine. Similar words have presaged military action. The onus is on this [UN Security] Council and the entire international community to meet legitimate humanitarian needs and do so urgently, but in so doing, to make sure that history does not repeat itself.