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Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.
Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.

Live Blog: UN Backs Ukraine Integrity

Final Summary For March 27

-- The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution that affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity.

-- The IMF has announced "a staff-level agreement" with Kyiv on assistance of $14 billion-$18 billion in conjunction with a reform program that will "unlock" up to $27 billion over the next two years, pending final approval next month. Tthe U.S. Congress has also passed an aid bill for Ukraine.

-- Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced plans to run for president.

-- Members of the Right Sector have been holding a demonstration outside the Ukrainian parliament building to vent their anger at the killing of prominent member Oleksander Muzychko earlier in the week.

-- Six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released, including Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, but five others are still being held captive.

-- Anonymous sources quoted by CNN say U.S. intelligence "concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine."

-- U.S. President Barack Obama, in the keynote speech of his visit to Europe, chided Russia for its use of "brute force" in Ukraine and vowed that a determined alliance of the United States and Europe will prevail over time.


*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
22:26 14.3.2014
Economically, U.S. and European sanctions that weaken Russia would put China in a uniquely influential situation because it could benefit from sanction regimes that it is not taking part in.







RFE/RL's Ron Synovitz offers plenty of food for thought in his analysis on how the situation in Crimea could work to Beijing's advantage.
22:22 14.3.2014
Comparisons between the situation in Kosovo and Crimea are "a completely false and even phony argument.," says former U.S. diplomat Louis Sell. "The analogy with Kosovo really just doesn't hold water in almost every way, both legally and factually."

Read more here
22:20 14.3.2014
In this week's Power Vertical Podcast, Brian Whitmore and guests look at how the ongoing crisis in Crimea is changing -- perhaps fundamentally -- Russia's domestic political arrangements:

21:36 14.3.2014
21:28 14.3.2014
Our newsdesk has more from Amnesty on the situation in Crimea:

Amnesty International is calling for the immediate deployment of international human rights monitors across Ukraine.

The London-based group's Europe and Central Asia Director John Dalhuisen said there is "no time to lose," adding that parts of Ukraine are "on edge and spilling over into violence."

Amnesty says Ukraine’s southern region has been "increasingly cut off from the outside world" after Russia seized control of the peninsula two weeks ago.
20:54 14.3.2014
20:30 14.3.2014
20:26 14.3.2014
19:59 14.3.2014
This just in from RFE/RL's newsdesk:

Amnesty International says the Russian authorities have launched a “full-scale onslaught” on independent media.

In a statement issued today, the London-based group said the blocking of a number of internet sites in Russia is a "clear violation of the right to freedom of expression" and an "unashamed attack on those who still dare to question the Kremlin-dictated narrative."

The Russian government has recently banned several websites known for their criticism of the Kremlin, saying they had called for incitement to unlawful behavior and for people to take part in unauthorized gatherings.

The sites include Grani.ru, Kasparov.ru, and the online site for "Yezhednevny zhurnal" (Daily Journal).

Amnesty said the sites offered independent information and alternative views, including details of a planned demonstration in Moscow tomorrow over the Russian intervention in Crimea.
19:53 14.3.2014

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