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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
12:26 10.3.2014
RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak is covering the diplomatic front from Brussels:


12:30 10.3.2014
Former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky spoke yesterday at Kyiv's Independence Square. Watch a video here:

Khodorkovsky Addresses Thousands In Kyiv's Independence Square
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Today he spoke to a group of students in Kyivand said that Moscow's actions in eastern Ukraine are ruining the traditionally friendly ties between the two peoples. From the wires:

Khodorkovsky expressed support for the new Ukrainian government, saying a "revolution of justice" had brought it to power.

He said "Ukraine must become a European state." For that to happen, he said, there must be foreign investment, eradication of corruption, and international assistance.

Khodorkovsky on Sunday addressed thousands on Kyiv's Independence Square, saying "Russian propaganda lies as always" and blaming Russian officials for fabricating stories about fascists and Nazis taking advantage of the situation in Ukraine.

He said there are people in Russia who oppose the occupation of Crimea. The former Yukos oil chief was arrested in 2003 and imprisoned on tax evasion and other charges. He was amnestied in December.
12:44 10.3.2014
Meanwhile in Prague, some wry commentary has been appearing on the city's street signs:


13:27 10.3.2014
This video from RFE/RL's Ukraine Service in Kharkiv shows just how few people it takes to run a press conference off the rails. Several journalists were denied entrance to Vitali Klitschko's presser today.


Afterwards, Klitschko was reportedly pelted with eggs by residents who support a referendum on the region's status.


13:33 10.3.2014
Oksana Grytsenko of the "Kyiv Post" reports that pro-Russian forces have taken over Ukraine's main military hospital in Simferopol today. Forces threatened staff and patients, many of them Ukrainian soldiers.
13:45 10.3.2014
14:15 10.3.2014
Ukraine's UNIAN news agency is reporting that another activist has been kidnapped in Crimea.

Ihor Kyryushchenko, the regional head of Ukrainian Republican party and an outspoken opponent of Russia's Crimea takeover, was last heard from early Monday afternoon, when he called his party office in Sevastopol, saying, "Farewell. They've come for me." Calls to his phone have since gone unanswered.

Kyryushchenko's apparent abduction comes a day after he participated in demonstrations marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. He also actively supported Ukrainian soldiers serving on military bases that have been occupied by pro-Russian forces.

At least five other activists and journalists have gone missing in recent days, including Andriy Shchekun, the head of Crimea's Ukrainian Council and a co-organizer of Sunday protests against the Russian occupation.

UNIAN reports that his wife, Lyudmyla, has managed to contact one of the hostage-takers, who reported that Kyryushchenko, who has severe asthma and suffered a heart attack two years ago, was being properly cared for. Kyryushchenko, together with a second activist, Anatolyy Kovalskiy, was abducted Sunday at the train station in Simferopol. Their current location is unknown.
14:17 10.3.2014
From the wires:

U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone conversation late Sunday.

A White House statement said the two leaders agreed on the importance of upholding Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It said the presidents have a shared interest in reducing tensions and finding a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
14:39 10.3.2014



Euromaidan activist Ivan Nakonechniy died Friday as a result of a severe brain trauma that had left him in a coma. Nakonechniy, a retired Soviet naval officer, had attended Maidan protests every day before being critically beaten in violence on February 19. He was 83 years old.
14:51 10.3.2014

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