Live Blog: UN Backs Ukraine Integrity

RFE/RL's Belarus Service reports that the family of one of Euromaidan's first victims, Mikhail Zhyzneuski, has been denied access to a charity donation sent by a church congregation in California.

Zhyzneuski, 25, was killed on January 22 when he was shot in the heart by an unknown assailant while providing security for protesters at Kyiv's Independence Square. He was buried in the family's hometown of Homel on January 28.

Zhyzneuski's mother, Nina, says a Belarusian parish in California sent the family a donation of $1,600 after hearing about their plight. But she says the state-run Belarusbank has refused to disperse the money, transferred by Western Union, because the official name of the sender is missing from the form.

"Of course, for me it would be a lot of help," said Nina, a retired public sector worker who suffers from diabetes and hypertension, and who underwent heart surgery earlier this month. "My pension is very small, just 1,960,000 Belarusian rubles ($200), and all of that goes towards medicine. I depend on my daughter and her husband for food."

Nina's surgery and recuperation prevented her from marking the 40th day after her son's death, a typical commemoration among Orthodox believers. She says many of the hospital's doctors and nurses treated her compassionately, knowing what had happened to Mikhail.

Some of her fellow patients, however, were less kind.

"They noticed my last name and they said I was a whore, that my child should have been taken away from me from the start," she says. "That I was practically an enemy of the people, because Misha ended up in Ukraine and died the way he did."

She says other patients, themselves from Homel, came to her defense. "They said, 'Shame on you, you're all women, you have children of your own! ... Today it's her grief, but tomorrow the same thing could happen to any of us."

Zhyzneuski's father, Mikhail, says the family's loss has only become more painful as they've watched the Ukrainian death toll mount, culminating in Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"I think Ukraine should be allowed to decide their own affairs, without interference," he says. "So that people didn't die at Maidan in vain."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister announced last week that it would grant Zhyzneuski, who moved from Belarus to Ukraine in 2005, the posthumous title of Hero of Ukraine.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says two Ukrainian political activists were beaten and another tortured by pro-Russian forces in Crimea. HRW says Andriy Schekun and Anatoliy Kovalsky -- who had gone to Crimea to organize pro-Ukraine rallies ahead of the March 16 referendum on Crimea's status -- were detained, interrogated, and beaten for 11 days before being released. Schekun had also been tortured with electric shocks, was tied up, and often kept naked.

The New York-based watchdog said at least four other activists were detained by pro-Russia militia this month. Three are still missing.

Here's an excerpt from that report:

"Responding to the shouts 'Stop! Police! Do not move!' Biliy [Oleksandr Muzychko], who heard this upon his exit from the cafe, attempted to flee, jumped out of the window, rolled over on the ground and while running away opened fire at our riot policemen."

-- Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Yevdokimov on the death overnight of Right Sector leader Muzychko in a shoot-out with police (as quoted by Reuters)

In a last minute addition to his schedule, Obama sat down with Nazarbayev. "They did not address the #Ukraine crisis" http://t.co/dWx7shaTXr

— Just Hovens Greve (@JustHovensGreve) March 25, 2014

Russia is shocked, SHOCKED to hear that Ukraine is considering pulling out of the NPT.

#Ukraine initiative to withdraw from Non-Proliferation Treaty puts document under threat http://t.co/TRd1GOUKe3

— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) March 25, 2014

My sources: EU privately hinted that it's possible to drop #LGBT rights from visa talks, Ukraine's govt publicly paraded it as a done deal

— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) March 25, 2014

From our profile of the controversial slain Right Sector leader Oleksandr Muzychko by Daisy Sindelar:

Via correspondent @CoalsonR, an obozrevatel.com report says calling for the return of Crimea to Ukraine is punishable by five years in jail under Russian anti-extremism legislation.