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Ukrainian servicemen ride in a tank close to the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, a facility which has been the site of intense fighting for several weeks.
Ukrainian servicemen ride in a tank close to the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk, a facility which has been the site of intense fighting for several weeks.
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Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

We have moved the Ukraine Crisis Live Blog. Sorry for any inconvenience. Please find it HERE.

07:51 17.6.2014
07:59 17.6.2014
Here's an update from our news desk regarding casualties on the pro-Kyiv side in eastern Ukraine:
Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaliy Yarema has said 125 security personnel have been killed since the government launched its "antiterrorist operation" against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country two months ago.

Yarema said late yesterday that those killed included soldiers, police officers, border guards, and Ukraine Security Service (SBU) personnel.

Ukrainian government forces suffered their biggest single loss of life when pro-Russian separatists shot down a military transport plane on June 14, killing all 49 troops and crew on board.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's border guard service said 31 border guards and soldiers were injured when separatists attacked a checkpoint on June 17 in the eastern Donetsk region.

Andriy Parubiy, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, estimated that there are 15,000 to 20,000 "armed terrorists" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and "more than half of them come from Russia."
08:02 17.6.2014
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08:41 17.6.2014
08:52 17.6.2014
As this video from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service shows, the football-terrace chant that seemingly inspired the country's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia to refer to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "di*ckhead" got an airing outside the Russian consulate in Kharkiv yesterday (natural sound):
Anti-Putin Song Sung Outside Russian Consulate In Kharkiv
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Anti-Putin Song Sung Outside Russian Consulate In Kharkiv

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08:57 17.6.2014
09:07 17.6.2014
Alec Luhn has written an interesting piece on Donetsk's militias for "Foreign Policy:"
When pro-Russian protesters first occupied the Donetsk regional administration building in April, different rebel groups and units staked out each of the 11 floors. Since then, these motley bands have been eclipsed by three powerful, armed factions: the Russian Orthodox Army, the Vostok Battalion, and Oplot. Each is built around an influential commander who spends his time not only waging the ongoing guerrilla war against Kiev's forces, but also dispensing harsh justice and detaining civilians, sometimes for prisoner exchanges. Each group has several hundred men, including Russian volunteers, and heavy armaments. (During a recent visit to Vostok's base, I saw four fighting vehicles, two anti-aircraft guns, numerous rocket-propelled grenades, and surface-to-air missiles.)

Are these commanders the backbone of an emerging independent East Ukraine, or are they burgeoning warlords staking out their turf for whatever comes next?

Read the entire article here

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