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Aleksandr Malykhin, chairman of Luhansk's separatist election commission, announces results of the referendum in the Luhansk region on May 12.
Aleksandr Malykhin, chairman of Luhansk's separatist election commission, announces results of the referendum in the Luhansk region on May 12.
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Live Blog: Crisis In Ukraine (Archive)

Latest News

-- Self-appointed leaders of the Ukrainian separatist region of Donetsk appealed to Russia to consider absorbing it to "restore historic justice" and to send in troops.

-- Pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk said they would not allow voting for the May 25 presidential election to be conducted.

-- Diplomats say the European Union agreed to impose sanctions against 13 additional individuals and two companies, believed to be the first time the EU has targeted companies over the Ukraine crisis.

-- Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov called the votes a "sham" and the United States said they were illegal and merely "an attempt to create further division and disorder in the country."

-- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service said one of its affiliate radio stations in Donetsk was taken off the air by gunmen and replaced by a pro-Russian broadcaster.

-- The Kremlin said Ukrainian officials in Kyiv should hold talks with pro-Russian separatists on the results of the self-rule referendums, adding that it respected the "expression of the people's will."

-- Insurgents in eastern Ukraine said nearly 90 percent of voters backed self-rule in the votes.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
23:06 28.4.2014
RFE/RL's Carl Schreck and Luke Johnson have been profiling those who have been targeted by the latest round of U.S. sanctions, including Putin's "righthand man" Igor Sechin:
With his stern visage and reputation for secretive machinations, Sechin has been likened to Darth Vader and is believed by many to be Putin's closest confidant. A former deputy prime minister who oversaw Russia's vast energy wealth, he currently serves as president of state-owned oil giant Rosneft and is widely seen as one of the country's most powerful men. In announcing the sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department cited Sechin's "utter loyalty" to Putin as a "key component to his current standing."
Read more here and here
22:26 28.4.2014
Our news desk has some reaction from Russia to the deployment of U.S. troops in Estonia today:

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has called the increase in activity of U.S. and NATO forces near Russia's borders unprecedented.

He made the statement in a phone conversation April 28 with U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.

Shoigu also told Hagel Moscow is open to contract with all sides to diffuse tensions over Ukraine.

About 150 U.S. troops arrived in Estonia April 28 to take part in military exercises amid rising tensions with Russia over Ukraine.

The deployment brings to 600 the number of troops sent by Washington to Poland and the Baltic states to allay the concerns of eastern NATO allies over the escalating crisis.

Also on April 28, Britain and France deployed eight fighter jets to reinforce NATO patrols over Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
21:49 28.4.2014
VICE News correspondent Simon Ostrovsky has posted a dispatch about his recent abduction by pro-Russia separatist on YouTube:
20:52 28.4.2014
Another update from our news desk on the captured OSCE observers in Slovyansk. Moscow appears to be suggesting that those who sent the observers to Ukraine were at fault for their abduction:
The Russian ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said it had been "extremely irresponsible" to send OSCE military observers to eastern Ukraine, where they were captured by pro-Russian rebels last week.

Andrei Kelin also said releasing the seven European monitors would be a "good step" towards deescalating the crisis.

He said that Moscow was also taking "some steps" to secure the observers release. He gave no further details.

Kelin spoke to reporters after an emergency OSCE meeting on April 28 in Vienna.

Pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Slovyansk captured eight OSCE observers on April 15. One has been released on medical grounds. The others are still being held, described by the separatists' leader as "prisoners of war."

Germany has urged Moscow to use its influence on the separatists to secure the release of the observers.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on any UN members with influence to work to secure the immediate release of the OSCE observers.
20:10 28.4.2014
According to the news wires, it seems that the latest U.S. and EU sanctions are already having a knock-on effect:
The Standard & Poor's (S & P) ratings agency has cut the credit ratings of state-controlled Russian energy companies Rosneft and Gazprom to BBB- from BBB.

Today's S & P decision, downgrading the Russian companies to a notch above junk rating followed an earlier announcement from the United States that it was imposing new sanctions on Russian officials, including Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.

Rosneft shares dropped more than 1 percent after the news was reported.

Sechin later dismissed the U.S. sanctions against him saying it would not harm his company's cooperation with foreign partners, including U.S. companies.

British energy group BP said today that it remained committed to its investment in Rosneft despite the sanctions.

The sanctions apply only to Sechin but analysts said the measures could hinder Rosneft's activities.
19:54 28.4.2014
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