08:00
25.3.2014
There are still obstacles to passage, but a Senate bill on aid and loan guarantees and sanctions related to Russian actions in Ukraine has moved closer to debate, according to Reuters:
A bill providing economic assistance to Ukraine and imposing sanctions over Russia's seizure of Crimea cleared a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Monday, as backers attempted to win passage of the legislation later this week.
By a vote of 78-17, the Senate laid the groundwork for debating a bill that would back a $1 billion loan guarantee for the government in Kiev, provide $150 million in aid for Ukraine and neighboring countries and require sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians responsible for corruption, human rights abuses or undermining stability in Ukraine.
Supporters of the law said Congress should act quickly and forcefully to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from moving further into Ukraine or any neighboring countries.
The measure, however, also includes long-delayed reforms to the International Monetary Fund that are opposed by most Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives, and this has complicated efforts to pass a Ukraine aid bill.
By a vote of 78-17, the Senate laid the groundwork for debating a bill that would back a $1 billion loan guarantee for the government in Kiev, provide $150 million in aid for Ukraine and neighboring countries and require sanctions on Russians and Ukrainians responsible for corruption, human rights abuses or undermining stability in Ukraine.
Supporters of the law said Congress should act quickly and forcefully to discourage Russian President Vladimir Putin from moving further into Ukraine or any neighboring countries.
The measure, however, also includes long-delayed reforms to the International Monetary Fund that are opposed by most Republicans in the Senate and House of Representatives, and this has complicated efforts to pass a Ukraine aid bill.
08:17
25.3.2014
Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov's representative in Crimea, Serhiy Kunitsyn, has announced his resignation on live television over perceived inaction by authorities in Kyiv. Kunitsyn, who served as Crimea's prime minister early last decade and was named a presidential representative on February 27, said he was "ashamed" to be associated with the Ukrainian government's retreat in the face of the Russian annexation of Crimea.
08:22
25.3.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports that not even the wife of Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, who was "abducted" after Ukraine's Belbek Air Base near Sevastopol was stormed by Russian armored vehicles and troops, knows the senior Ukrainian commander's whereabouts. Officials in Kyiv have demanded his release.
08:42
25.3.2014
08:56
25.3.2014
08:57
25.3.2014
09:41
25.3.2014
Contradictory accounts of the death of Right Sector leader Oleksandr Muzychko are emerging. Ukrainian authorities are suggesting he died in a possible clash with security forces.
09:57
25.3.2014
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More details on Oleksandr Muzychko, a.k.a Sashko Biliy, the Right Sector member killed overnight in Rivne:
From a March 14 Associated Press profile of Right Sector:
A prominent member of the Right Sector, Oleksandr Muzychko, recently stirred turmoil by storming into a local parliament building in the city of Rivne (see video above), brandishing a Kalashnikov rifle. Muzychko threatened to confiscate the property of regional lawmakers affiliated with Yanukovych's party if they didn't pay compensation to the families of the killed protesters.
He also used a highly derogatory word to describe protest leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who later became Ukraine's prime minister, and suggested that Yatsenyuk belonged in a pig farm. "The one whose hand holds the Kalashnikov will be calling the shots," Muzychko said, clutching his weapon. During a separate incident, Muzychko stormed into a judicial office, insulted a prosecutor, pulled him by his tie and slapped him in the face.
Video of the face slapping can be seen as part of RT's report HERE:
09:59
25.3.2014
An international arrest warrant had been issued earlier this month for Muzychko, who was wanted in Russia for allegedly torturing and killing some 20 Russian federal military personnel during the war against Chechen separatists in 1994 and 1995:
Aleksandr #Muzychko is seen wearing #Ichkeria Army Ensignia which reads "Army of General Dubayev". #Terrorist. #UA pic.twitter.com/1oiuIKH3SK
— tgRevolutionary (@tgrevolutionary) March 18, 2014
10:02
25.3.2014
There are conflicting accounts of how Ukraine's ultranationalist Right Sector movement Oleksandr Muzychko died, but First Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Yevdokimov has announced that Muzychko was fatally wounded while security forces were detaining him during a special operation. Yevdokimov said agents from Ukraine's organized-crime department and Sokol police commandos confronted Muzychko at a cafe. He said Muzychko was killed in the ensuing shoot-out. Yevdokimov said three other men were arrested and weapons confiscated.
As reported earlier, Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Doniy claimed on Facebook that Muzychko had been abducted in Rivne by unknown gunmen and shot dead, then thrown from an automobile.
As reported earlier, Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksandr Doniy claimed on Facebook that Muzychko had been abducted in Rivne by unknown gunmen and shot dead, then thrown from an automobile.