12:10
15.3.2014
From "The Globe And Mail":
"As Ukrainians brace for Sunday's referendum on Crimea, the country's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs said the government is preparing for a potential invasion by Russia but he is hoping a diplomatic solution to the crisis can still be found."
12:13
15.3.2014
RFE/RL's Russian Service Live Feed of Peace Rally in Moscow:
12:30
15.3.2014
Tweet from Pavel Sheramet: "On the eve of the Crimean referendum":
12:33
15.3.2014
12:37
15.3.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has some more details on the Verkhovna Rada's decision to dissolve the Crimean parliament:
The Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv has voted to dissolve the Crimean Supreme Council, the Ukrainian region's parliament.
An overwhelming majority of 278 lawmakers voted in favor of the measure, with one abstention.
Seventeen legislators did not take part in the vote. Kyiv's Verkhovna Rada debated the issue on March 15 in a special session presided over by acting President and parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchynov.
Legislators in Kyiv are upset with the Crimean parliament's holding of a referendum on the peninsula on whether to leave Ukraine and join Russia, scheduled for tomorrow.
The Ukrainian government has declared the referendum illegal.
One Ukrainian nationalist leader in Kyiv said the Crimean assembly had to be dissolved in order to discourage a similar separatist movement in eastern Ukrainian cities that are predominantly Russian-speaking. (With reporting by Reuters and Interfax)
An overwhelming majority of 278 lawmakers voted in favor of the measure, with one abstention.
Seventeen legislators did not take part in the vote. Kyiv's Verkhovna Rada debated the issue on March 15 in a special session presided over by acting President and parliament speaker Oleksandr Turchynov.
Legislators in Kyiv are upset with the Crimean parliament's holding of a referendum on the peninsula on whether to leave Ukraine and join Russia, scheduled for tomorrow.
The Ukrainian government has declared the referendum illegal.
One Ukrainian nationalist leader in Kyiv said the Crimean assembly had to be dissolved in order to discourage a similar separatist movement in eastern Ukrainian cities that are predominantly Russian-speaking. (With reporting by Reuters and Interfax)
12:38
15.3.2014
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili writes in "The Guardian" that the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war provides lessons for current crisis in Crimea:
The invasions of Ukraine and Georgia bear striking similarities, not only because the pattern of the invader stays the same, but also because the two countries share deep historic parallels.
12:39
15.3.2014
12:40
15.3.2014
12:43
15.3.2014
Meanwhile, via ITAR-TASS:
MOSCOW, March 15 (Itar-Tass) - Crimea is ready to supply 2 million bottles of champagne to Russia this year, Crimea's news agency Kryminform said on Saturday, citing the director of the winery Novy Svet, Yanina Pavlenko.
"This year, we are ready to sell and deliver two million bottles of classic champagne to the Russian Federation. A contract with Russian partners has been signed this week," she said.
"This year, we are ready to sell and deliver two million bottles of classic champagne to the Russian Federation. A contract with Russian partners has been signed this week," she said.
12:45
15.3.2014
This is from RFE/RL's Russian Service on the marches in Moscow:
Tens of thousands have rallied in Moscow at a peace march against Russian actions in Crimea.
The march began at Pushkin Square and went to Sakharov Prospekt where people gathered to listen to speakers on a stage.
The demonstration comes one day before a scheduled referendum in the Ukrainian region of Crimea -- which is occupied by Russian forces -- on whether to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
The Ukrainian government has declared the referendum illegal, but Russian officials have said they will "respect" the will of the people.
Many demonstrators were holding Ukrainian and Russian flags, shouting slogans such as "The occupation of Crimea is Russia's disgrace" and "Hands off Ukraine."
A second rally in Moscow was held in support of the Russian government's actions in Crimea.
Police estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 people attended that demonstration. (With reporting by AFP and the BBC)
Tens of thousands have rallied in Moscow at a peace march against Russian actions in Crimea.
The march began at Pushkin Square and went to Sakharov Prospekt where people gathered to listen to speakers on a stage.
The demonstration comes one day before a scheduled referendum in the Ukrainian region of Crimea -- which is occupied by Russian forces -- on whether to leave Ukraine and join Russia.
The Ukrainian government has declared the referendum illegal, but Russian officials have said they will "respect" the will of the people.
Many demonstrators were holding Ukrainian and Russian flags, shouting slogans such as "The occupation of Crimea is Russia's disgrace" and "Hands off Ukraine."
A second rally in Moscow was held in support of the Russian government's actions in Crimea.
Police estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 people attended that demonstration. (With reporting by AFP and the BBC)