10:26
14.3.2014
According to the agencies, a leader of a pro-Russian group has been detained in Ukraine's eastern province of Luhansk:
Ukraine's Security Service said Friday that Oleksandr Kharytonov, leader of the Luhansk Guard, has been charged with calls for an unconstitutional seizure of power, organization of mass disturbances, and the illegal seizure of state and public buildings.
On Sunday, pro-Russian groups in Luhansk clashed with pro-government activists.
They replaced the Ukrainian national flag with the Russian national flag on the regional administration building and announced that Kharytonov was now the region's "people's governor."
On Tuesday, the former governor of Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Mykhaylo Dobkin, was placed under house arrest in Kyiv on similar charges.
On Thursday, Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes was placed under partial house arrest for his alleged role in attacks by pro-Russian groups against pro-Western activists in Kharkiv in late February.
On Sunday, pro-Russian groups in Luhansk clashed with pro-government activists.
They replaced the Ukrainian national flag with the Russian national flag on the regional administration building and announced that Kharytonov was now the region's "people's governor."
On Tuesday, the former governor of Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Mykhaylo Dobkin, was placed under house arrest in Kyiv on similar charges.
On Thursday, Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes was placed under partial house arrest for his alleged role in attacks by pro-Russian groups against pro-Western activists in Kharkiv in late February.
10:40
14.3.2014
Russian and Ukrainian agencies are reporting that Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has held talks in Berlin with former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The press service of Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party said Khodorkovsky visited Tymoshenko in the Charite clinic in Berlin on Thursday.
Tymoshenko is being treated at the clinic for back pain following her release from jail in the wake of antigovernment protests that toppled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in late February.
Tymoshenko and Khodorkovsky discussed the crisis in Ukraine, where Russian forces are occupying Crimea. No further details were released.
On Sunday, Khodorkovsky visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where he publicly expressed support for Ukraine's new government and blamed Russian officials for the escalation of tensions.
Khodorkovsky, the former Yukos oil chief, was arrested in 2003 and imprisoned on tax evasion and other charges. He was amnestied in December.
Tymoshenko is being treated at the clinic for back pain following her release from jail in the wake of antigovernment protests that toppled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in late February.
Tymoshenko and Khodorkovsky discussed the crisis in Ukraine, where Russian forces are occupying Crimea. No further details were released.
On Sunday, Khodorkovsky visited the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, where he publicly expressed support for Ukraine's new government and blamed Russian officials for the escalation of tensions.
Khodorkovsky, the former Yukos oil chief, was arrested in 2003 and imprisoned on tax evasion and other charges. He was amnestied in December.
10:42
14.3.2014
BREAKING: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have just headed into Ukraine crisis talks in London. Before the meeting began, Lavrov told reporters that it is a "difficult situation" and that "a lot of time has been lost" in finding a solution.
10:55
14.3.2014
Frustratingly little in the press about Yulia Tymoshenko meeting with fellow ex-prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky in Berlin, where she is currently receiving medical care at the Charite clinic.
UNIAN reports the two met at the clinic on March 13 and discussed the situation in Ukraine. Tymoshenko also thanked the "Russian intelligentsia" -- presumably including Khodorkovsky -- for supporting Ukraine at this "dramatic" time.
RFE/RL awaits the full transcript of what must have been a fascinating conversation between Ukraine's controversial "gas princess" and the former YUKOS chief turned political prisoners.
11:00
14.3.2014
AFP: Germany says result of Crimea vote will be 'irrelevant'
11:11
14.3.2014
Russia weighs in on last night's violence in Donetsk:
Russia's Foreign Ministry has said violence in eastern Ukraine overnight demonstrates that authorities in Kyiv are losing control and that Russia reserves the right to protect its citizens.
In a statement Friday, the Foreign Ministry noted the "tragic events in Donetsk on March 13, 2014, [when] blood was shed."
It blamed the violence on radical right-wing groups.
The ministry said these groups attacked peaceful protesters who were rallying against the "destructive positions of people who call themselves the Ukrainian authorities."
The Foreign Ministry said "Russia is aware of its responsibility for the lives of fellow citizens and compatriots in Ukraine and reserves the right to take people under its protection."
The statement noted that one person was killed in the violence in Donetsk. Organizers of the pro-EU rally said the dead man, who was stabbed to death, was from their group.
In a statement Friday, the Foreign Ministry noted the "tragic events in Donetsk on March 13, 2014, [when] blood was shed."
It blamed the violence on radical right-wing groups.
The ministry said these groups attacked peaceful protesters who were rallying against the "destructive positions of people who call themselves the Ukrainian authorities."
The Foreign Ministry said "Russia is aware of its responsibility for the lives of fellow citizens and compatriots in Ukraine and reserves the right to take people under its protection."
The statement noted that one person was killed in the violence in Donetsk. Organizers of the pro-EU rally said the dead man, who was stabbed to death, was from their group.
11:29
14.3.2014
Interesting language from Patriarch Kirill, cited by Interfax:
"Today we are praying that no military clashes ever occur between the brothers, and that half-brothers do not clash in a cruel way so that death and destruction do not occur," the Patriarch said following a liturgy of pre-sanctified gifts in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior on Friday.
12:06
14.3.2014
The UN is deploying a human rights monitoring team throughout Ukraine, including Crimea, effective immediately.
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, speaking today in Kyiv, noted:
-- "the preponderance of competing narratives about what exactly has transpired in the country since November"
-- "warning signs about systemic human rights violations were neglected for many years" in Ukraine, contributing to recent unrest
-- “I have personally met with one victim of a brutal beating whose scars, both physical and mental, were clearly visible"
-- “the call is for accountability and not retribution”
Full statement available here:
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic, speaking today in Kyiv, noted:
-- "the preponderance of competing narratives about what exactly has transpired in the country since November"
-- "warning signs about systemic human rights violations were neglected for many years" in Ukraine, contributing to recent unrest
-- “I have personally met with one victim of a brutal beating whose scars, both physical and mental, were clearly visible"
-- “the call is for accountability and not retribution”
Full statement available here:
12:16
14.3.2014
Looks like a good start RT @AFPphoto: Kerry and Lavrov begin 11th-hour #Ukraine talks @b_smialowski #AFP pic.twitter.com/FhyXnnIDa0
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) March 14, 2014
12:18
14.3.2014
Germany's "Bild" and Reuters are reporting that the European Union has drawn up a list of 120 to 130 names of senior Russian officials who could be subjected to travel bans and asset freezes as part of EU sanctions over the crisis in Crimea.
Reuters quotes EU officials as saying the five-page list was drawn up by diplomats with experience in Russia and that it contains the names of generals and others from the top echelons of Russia's military and political establishment.
Germany's "Bild" newspaper reports the list for visa bans includes Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, the secretary of the National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, as well as several advisers of President Vladimir Putin.
EU officials are expected to discuss the list ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday.
Germany's "Bild" newspaper reports the list for visa bans includes Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, the secretary of the National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, as well as several advisers of President Vladimir Putin.
EU officials are expected to discuss the list ahead of an EU foreign ministers meeting on Monday.