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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference at his country residence of Novo-Ogaryova outside Moscow on March 4.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference at his country residence of Novo-Ogaryova outside Moscow on March 4.

Live Blog: Ukraine On The Brink

Summary

-- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kyiv as U.S. officials announced Washington is preparing a $1 billion aid package for Ukraine.

-- Speaking at a press conference at his residence, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the change of government in Ukraine an "unconstitutional overthrow and an armed seizure of power."

-- Putin also said there are no considerations to annex Crimea and no intentions to provoke separatist sentiment. He said it is up to the citizens of Crimea to determine their own future.

-- In Crimea, there are standoffs between Russian and Ukrainian troops in their bases, with conflicting reports of ultimatums given to Ukrainian troops to surrender that come and pass.

-- Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin has said that Ukraine's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use the Russian military to restore law and order in his country.

-- In eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian demonstrators have occupied part of the regional government building in the city of Donetsk. Meanwhile, a few hundred pro-Russian activists tried but failed to force their way into the regional administration building in the southern city of Odesa.

NOTE: Live blog updates are listed according to local time in Kyiv

-- Glenn Kates / Luke Allnutt / Coilin O'Connor / Dan Wisniewski
08:18 20.2.2014
Couple of live streams from the square.

From our Ukrainian Service.



From Espreso TV

08:13 20.2.2014
Fresh clashes have broken out between antigovernment protesters and riot police in Kyiv.

Agencies are reporting protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks at police on Independence Square with police responding with teargas and rubber bullets.
08:12 20.2.2014
Good morning, Luke Allnutt here, picking up the live blog again on the continuing crisis in Ukraine. Here's our early news wrap of the situation, with the EU expected to hold crisis talks in Kyiv.
21:26 19.2.2014
Finally, some breaking news coming in on the wires:

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders have agreed to "a truce" and the start of direct negotiations on ending the country's crisis.
19:46 19.2.2014
The privately owned Ukrainian Internet station Espreso TV has this live stream of events in Kyiv. (Don't forget that you can also follow RFE/RL's own live feed here.)
19:37 19.2.2014
This just in from AP and Reuters:

U.S. President Barack Obama has warned "there will be consequences" for Ukraine if the violence there continues. Obama warned the Ukrainian military to stay out of the situation, saying he believes the crisis can still be resolved by civilians.
19:29 19.2.2014
News agencies are reporting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has spoken by telephone about the crisis in Ukraine with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Merkel said that Moscow and Berlin had agreed to stay in close contact and do everything possible to prevent a further escalation of violence.
19:18 19.2.2014
There are plenty of compelling images in this Mashable photo gallery of events in Kyiv:

18:56 19.2.2014
In what seems to be a reference to the situation in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry has a bone to pick with Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Bildt and BuzzFeed correspondent Max Seddon:

18:41 19.2.2014
Here's a video that RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service issued earlier, offering a bird's eye view of the standoff in Kyiv:

Bird's Eye View Of Standoff In Kyiv
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