My guess is #Putin's speech to envoys due soon may have needed few last minute changes Live feed: http://t.co/KHFpvsMfIn #Russia #Ukraine
— Thomas Grove (@tggrove) July 1, 2014
Yesterday, Mashable suggested that there may have been more to the fatal shooting of a Russian cameraman than meets the eye. Now "The Moscow Times" has issued a follow-up piece on these rather sensational allegations:
A Forbes correspondent who was with a group of journalists that came under fire from a military base in eastern Ukraine has said the news crews were set up by separatists, leading to an incident in which a Russian television cameraman died.
Ahead of the Sunday night shootout that killed Channel One cameraman Anatoly Klyan, the press service of the separatist People's Republic of Donetsk called journalists and told them to assemble near the rebel administration building, Forbes correspondent Orkhan Dzhemal wrote Monday in anarticle posted on the magazine's Russian-language website.
A separatist rebel identified by his nom de guerre Gyurza, or Viper, addressed the gathering, telling reporters that they would travel with a group of Ukrainian women — the mothers of conscript servicemen — to a government military base whose commander had supposedly agreed to surrender to the rebels, Dzhemal wrote.
"A deal has been reached with the base commander to surrender without a fight," the article quoted Gyurza as saying. "The servicemens' mothers will appear with signs … and you will be able to prepare a sensational report. I will be the one conducting the actual talks; I have experience in that."
But no surrender agreement appeared to have been in place, as the bus came under fire outside of the army base.
"Most likely, there now will be a lot of statements about the inhumane Kiev fascists who shoot at journalists," Dzhemal wrote. "But everyone who was in that shootout understands that we were simply set up [in the line of fire]."
Read the entire article here
HAPPENING NOW: Putin tells ambassadors that if Russia hadn't acted in Crimea, NATO forces would have come to Crimea
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) July 1, 2014
Putin:"Killing journalists unacceptable",says attempts in Ukraine to "liquidate the press..Who fears objective info?Those committing crimes"
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) July 1, 2014
Vlaidmir Putin accuses Kiev of "blackmail" in gas talks
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) July 1, 2014
Putin on relations with the US: "We've always tried to be predictable partners...but our rightful interests have been ignored"
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) July 1, 2014
Putin on Poroshenko ending ceasefire: "Till now (Poroshenko) had no direct link to orders for military action.Now he takes full responsib'y"
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) July 1, 2014
If you have ego issues,you should go to a shrink, not start wars and occupy lands.or wear heels o_O pic.twitter.com/GyXWovPzbb”
— Kateryna_Kruk (@Kateryna_Kruk) July 1, 2014
Putin speech over. Little information on future actions in #Ukraine, mostly anti-West quotes cut and paste from previous speeches.
— Laura Mills (@lauraphylmills) July 1, 2014
Putin ends public portion of speech without any big news. Mishmashed statements show how reactive & ad hoc Russian foreign policy has been.
— max seddon (@maxseddon) July 1, 2014
Here's an item from our news desk on Putin's speech to ambassadors at the Russian Foreign Ministry:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of seeking to use the crisis in Ukraine to destabilize the whole region.
He told a biannual meeting of Russian ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry in Moscow today that "events provoked by the West in Ukraine are a concentrated manifestation of a containment policy against Russia."
He also said that "Russia will continue to protect ethnic Russians abroad, including using political, economic, and humanitarian means."
Speaking of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Putin said Russia and European partners failed to convince him not to take the path of violence.
He said that Poroshenko "took upon himself the responsibility for unleashing battle actions in Ukraine" when he decided late on June 30 not to extend a 10-day cease-fire with pro-Russian separatists in the east.
BREAKING: The European Union has decided not to immediately impose new sanctions on Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, saying the picture on the ground remains “mixed.”
Ambassadors from the 28-nation bloc discussed the issue at a meeting in Brussels on July 1.
However, EU diplomats were quoted as saying the governments decided that "the preparation of sanctions will be intensified."
One source said the ambassadors will convene again on July 7 to discuss the situation.
Sources said EU experts were working on sanctions targeting specific people or companies.
On June 27, EU leaders gave Russia three days to change policy on Ukraine or face the prospect of tougher sanctions.
The EU has so far imposed measures targeting some 60 people in Russia and Ukraine with asset freezes and travel bans, as well as two energy companies in Crimea.
More from our news desk on Putin's speech at a meeting of Russian ambassadors today:
Putin also charged Kyiv with conducting a targeted program to "eliminate" Russian media representatives working in the east of the country.
He said, "The murders of journalists are totally unacceptable and I have reiterated this yesterday to the president of Ukraine."
His remarks followed the death of a Russian TV cameraman near a pro-Kyiv military unit in the Donetsk region on June 30.
Anatoly Klyan was the third Russian journalist to die in the conflict and the fifth journalist overall.
Putin also accused Kyiv of using "blackmail" in negotiations on gas prices, saying Kyiv had demanded a "totally unjustified" price cut for supplies of Russian gas.
And he said "conscientious" consumers and suppliers should not suffer from "the actions of Ukrainian politicians."
Negotiations over gas prices between Moscow and Kyiv broke down last month as Russia restricted gas supplies to Ukraine after a payment deadline passed on June 16.
Russia has said its "final price" is $385 per 1,000 cubic meters, a price Ukraine says is too high.