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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
13:43 7.3.2014
Russia's liberal opposition movements PARNAS and Solidarity have posted a new video by former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov on the introduction of Russian military forces in Ukraine entitled "Putin's Lie About Russian Forces In Crimea":



13:49 7.3.2014
In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian Service, Ukrainian Ambassador to Russia Volodymyr Yelchenko refuted media reports that Russia has suspended diplomatic relations with Ukraine.

"I think that this is the result of a certain misstatement on the part of Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin, who said that now our diplomatic relations have been interrupted. He had in mind, or was confirming, the oft-stated notion that we do not have intergovernmental contacts in view of the fact that the Russian Federation does not recognize our government. It was confirmed to me personally by the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation that the word "political" may have been confused with the word "diplomatic." In reality, no diplomatic relations have been interrupted and our embassy is working normally."
13:50 7.3.2014
13:54 7.3.2014
Interfax is reporting that monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have been refused entry into Crimea for the second straight day. Unidentified armed people blocking the road informed the observer mission that any movement on the territory of Crimea required the approval of the autonomous territory's new government.

The OSCE has sent a mission comprising 47 people from 25 OSCE countries to Ukraine at the request of the government in Kyiv.
13:58 7.3.2014
14:05 7.3.2014
Dunja Mijatovic, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's representative on freedom of the media, has issued a statement warning of a "media-freedom" crisis in Ukraine.

Mijatovic, who just completed a four-day trip to Ukraine, cited "cases of intimidation, beatings, and media censorship." She called on all sides "to stop the information war" and "ensure journalists' safety in Crimea and elsewhere."

“The biggest problem is journalists’ safety. In addition, signals of Ukrainian television stations have been cut in Crimea, including the signal of the independent Chernomorskaya TV,” Mijatović said.
14:06 7.3.2014
Residents of the Crimean capital, Simferopol, rallied today in support of Ukrainian unity. Here's a video report from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:

14:10 7.3.2014
The "USS Truxton," a U.S. Navy destroyer, reportedly photographed passing through the Bosphorus and heading to the Black Sea.

14:14 7.3.2014
In case you missed it, here's an RFE/RL rundown of some of the humorous photoshop jobs related to the crisis in Crimea.


14:20 7.3.2014
Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has expressed his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to "restore security and stability in the friendly country of Ukraine."

Assad described Moscow's position as "a wise policy."

Russia has been a major political, economic, and military backer of Assad as he has struggled against armed opposition at home in Syria.

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