12:05
11.3.2014
Crimean PM Sergei Aksyonov: Our declaration of independence has been passed.
Приняли декларацию о Независимости.
— Сергей Аксенов (@sergyaksenov) March 11, 2014
11:58
11.3.2014
Moscow flights operate normally! MT @ddamned Back in Kiev after Simeropol refuses landing permit in #Crimea to #ukraine nat. carrier
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) March 11, 2014
11:51
11.3.2014
WATCH: RFE/RL's Ukraine Service live stream from Simferopol, Crimea:
11:33
11.3.2014
Ukraine Security Services (SBU) chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko told the Verkhovna Rada today that SBU forces have detained members of the Russian Defense Ministry's GRU intelligence wing, who are believed to organized beatings and riots, particularly in Ukraine's east.
Russian intelligence is believed to be behind a number of recent provocations in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv, including the defiling of the Ukrainian flag, beatings and riots, and covering a statue of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko with graffiti and epithets on March 9, the 200th anniversary of his birth.
More details expected.
Россия направила военных диверсантов на восток Украины - Наливайченко http://t.co/2S58cAOt2v #новости #Наливайченко pic.twitter.com/xgFtxCmnV4
— Ukrinform (@UKRINFORM) March 11, 2014
11:32
11.3.2014
From Simon Shuster in "Time," a profile of the Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov: "Putin's Man In Crimea Is Ukraine's Worst Nightmare."
It concludes:
It concludes:
The fact that the West is unlikely to recognize his region’s independence doesn’t seem to bother Aksyonov at all. “On what grounds should America tell us what to do?” he demands. “Independence is what we want. It is what Crimeans want.” And whatever the legality of his methods, Aksyonov is now the man steering them toward Russia’s embrace.
11:28
11.3.2014
Two independent consultants who advised Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili after that country's five-day war with Russia in 2008 say in the "Washington Post" that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "redefining 21st-century warfare."
In Crimea, Molly K. McKew and Gregory A. Maniatis argue, Russia has launched "a pop-up war -- nimble and covert." Putin has mobilized a "hidden army [that] appeared out of nowhere," cyber tactics and a sweeping "information battle," and "financial markets as a polemical tool."
They conclude bleakly:
In Crimea, Molly K. McKew and Gregory A. Maniatis argue, Russia has launched "a pop-up war -- nimble and covert." Putin has mobilized a "hidden army [that] appeared out of nowhere," cyber tactics and a sweeping "information battle," and "financial markets as a polemical tool."
They conclude bleakly:
For years, Putin relied on the heavy, Soviet-style hammer. His recent actions suggest that traditional military and intelligence are no longer the means by which he feels he has to fight. While the West is focusing on the best response to his recent steps, Putin is most likely on to the next stages: determining which, if any, international protocols apply to his actions and how his tactics can be used elsewhere.
It’s time to give up the decadent belief that continental wars are over. Going forward, the terms by which the world is playing are Putin’s — a reality we all must recognize and for which we need an effective response.
It’s time to give up the decadent belief that continental wars are over. Going forward, the terms by which the world is playing are Putin’s — a reality we all must recognize and for which we need an effective response.
11:21
11.3.2014
Meanwhile in Belarus... Alyaksandr Lukashenka, meeting today with top education authorities, used Ukraine as an object lesson for the insidious nature of corruption. Interfax reports that Lukashenka blamed economic collapse and "dreadful " corruption for Ukraine's disintegration.
"If you fail to draw appropriate conclusions from the events in Ukraine, you're an idiot," he said. "God forbid we come across corruption at our universities."
11:14
11.3.2014
The Crimean Parliament has passed a declaration on the independence of the Crimean Republic and the city of Sevastopol . 78 of 81 deputies present vote in favor.
11:04
11.3.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports that the head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, due to hold press briefing in the coming hours announcing direct evidence of Russian intelligence "organizing sabotage and bribery" in Ukraine, "especially in the east."
10:50
11.3.2014
Yanukovych in his presser questioned legality of U.S. pledge of $1 billion in assistance to Ukrainian government, citing U.S. Code 8422 on authorization of foreign assistance, which states that assistance is restricted "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."