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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
12:14 21.2.2014
I'm Alive!

Olesya Zhukovska, the medic who was seen shot in the neck area in photos and whose last tweet said, "I'm dying," has tweeted again.

"I'm alive! Thank you to all who supported and prayed for me! I'm in the hospital in stable condition."
12:33 21.2.2014
Yesterday Russian President Vladimir Putin sent Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to Kyiv to represent Russia. According to Interfax, he has refused to sign on to the agreement reached with Yanukovych today.
13:01 21.2.2014
Reports from Kyiv say street-level activists will not be satisfied until Yanukovych resigns.

13:21 21.2.2014
The U.S. State Department has warned American citizens against traveling to Ukraine amid the deadly unrest in the country.

In a statement posted on its website, the State Department told U.S. citizens to postpone any nonessential travel to Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department has also authorized the departure from Ukraine of all family members of U.S. Embassy staff.
13:23 21.2.2014
The German and Polish foreign ministries say a council representing Ukrainian antigovernment protesters has agreed to the president's proposal on defusing the crisis.
13:41 21.2.2014
This is just in from Reuters and AP:

Ukraine’s opposition has agreed to sign a deal with President Viktor Yanukovych aimed at defusing the political crisis that has left scores of people dead and wounded this week.

Opposition leaders Oleh Tyahnybok and Vitali Klitschko, and the foreign ministries of Germany and Poland, have said the opposition plans to sign an agreement.

Earlier today, Yanukovych announced an initiative to end the crisis.

His plan includes an early presidential election, the formation of a unity government, and a return to the 2004 constitution, under which the president had reduced powers.

The statement gave no date for any new elections.

The agreement was reached after mediation involving three EU foreign ministers.
14:02 21.2.2014
Opposition leaders have signed the agreement with Yanukovych.

Dan Peleschuk, of the Global Post, points out the obvious next question.

14:14 21.2.2014
Praviy Sektor, among the most radical protest groups, says in a statement that the terms of the deal are unacceptable.

"The deal does not include a clear commitment to dismiss the pseudo-president; to dissolve parliament -- whose inaction has led to the escalation of the conflict; to punish the leaders of law enforcement agencies and those who performed the criminal orders that resulted in hundreds of Ukrainian citizens being killed."

"The National Revolution continues."
14:20 21.2.2014
14:23 21.2.2014
According to Mustafa Nayyem, a well-known Afghan-Ukrainian journalist, opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk says parliament will take up the measure to restore the 2004 constitution tonight. The 2004 constitution limited presidential powers.

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