07:48
4.5.2014
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this quick update from RFE/RL's news desk:
East Ukraine is braced for more unrest as government forces continue their "antiterrorist" operation against pro-Russian insurgents who have occupied government buildings in a string of eastern cities.
There were reports of clashes yesterday outside the flashpoint city of Slovyansk which is surrounded by government forces.
In nearby Kramatorsk, soldiers overran a security services building and a television station the rebels have taken, while in Luhansk pro-Russian separatists stormed a local military recruitment office.
In Donetsk, pro-Russian separatists on May 3 stormed the security service's regional office. Local reports said police were nowhere to be seen as the separatists stormed the building.
Gunfire was reported in the towns of Mariupol and Konstyantynivka.
More than 50 people have died in two days of violence in eastern Ukraine.
Most of the victims died on May 2 in a blaze in the southern port city of Odesa, apparently started by firebombs thrown inside the building where they had taken refuge amid street battles between pro-Russian separatists and pro-Kyiv protesters.
It was the worst bloodshed in Ukraine since February when more than 80 people were killed during protests in Kyiv against ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
On May 4, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk visited Odesa.
Yatsenyuk earlier told the BBC he personally blames the security forces for "doing nothing" to prevent the violence.
But he blamed pro-Russian demonstrators for "provoking" the violence.
He also promised a "full, comprehemsive and independent investigation."
A Russian government spokesman said it would now be "absurd" for Ukraine to hold a planned May 25 presidential election.
In a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, reiterated that Russia faced more sanctions if it continues to support the separatists.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a statement said the EU "urges everyone to exercise utmost restraint and not to exploit this [Odesa] tragedy to fuel more hatred, division and senseless violence."
Ashton also called for an "independent investigation" into the fire.
Meanwhile, seven European military observers arrived in Berlin yesterday after pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine released them.
The seven observers were captured by separatists near Slovyansk on April 25.
One of the seven, Czech observer Josef Prerovsky, told television reporters that they had spent the first hours of their captivity in a basement with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded.
There were reports of clashes yesterday outside the flashpoint city of Slovyansk which is surrounded by government forces.
In nearby Kramatorsk, soldiers overran a security services building and a television station the rebels have taken, while in Luhansk pro-Russian separatists stormed a local military recruitment office.
In Donetsk, pro-Russian separatists on May 3 stormed the security service's regional office. Local reports said police were nowhere to be seen as the separatists stormed the building.
Gunfire was reported in the towns of Mariupol and Konstyantynivka.
More than 50 people have died in two days of violence in eastern Ukraine.
Most of the victims died on May 2 in a blaze in the southern port city of Odesa, apparently started by firebombs thrown inside the building where they had taken refuge amid street battles between pro-Russian separatists and pro-Kyiv protesters.
It was the worst bloodshed in Ukraine since February when more than 80 people were killed during protests in Kyiv against ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
On May 4, Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk visited Odesa.
Yatsenyuk earlier told the BBC he personally blames the security forces for "doing nothing" to prevent the violence.
But he blamed pro-Russian demonstrators for "provoking" the violence.
He also promised a "full, comprehemsive and independent investigation."
A Russian government spokesman said it would now be "absurd" for Ukraine to hold a planned May 25 presidential election.
In a telephone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, reiterated that Russia faced more sanctions if it continues to support the separatists.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in a statement said the EU "urges everyone to exercise utmost restraint and not to exploit this [Odesa] tragedy to fuel more hatred, division and senseless violence."
Ashton also called for an "independent investigation" into the fire.
Meanwhile, seven European military observers arrived in Berlin yesterday after pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine released them.
The seven observers were captured by separatists near Slovyansk on April 25.
One of the seven, Czech observer Josef Prerovsky, told television reporters that they had spent the first hours of their captivity in a basement with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded.
19:27
3.5.2014
Moscow's patriarch weighs in on the deaths in Odesa:
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and a top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is calling the 42 mostly pro-Russian supporters who died in Odesa victims of "political radicalism."
ITAR-TASS quotes him as saying “the use of force is often motivated by adherence to political radicalism and denial of people’s right to express their convictions.”
“The terrible news of people burnt alive in the Trade Union House in Odesa turned over my soul and pierced it with excruciating pain," he said. "A hideous crime was committed before the eyes of the whole world, a crime with which neither heart nor mind can reconcile."
Russian officials have called the new Kyiv government "directly responsible" for the deaths from the fire in Odesa.
ITAR-TASS quotes him as saying “the use of force is often motivated by adherence to political radicalism and denial of people’s right to express their convictions.”
“The terrible news of people burnt alive in the Trade Union House in Odesa turned over my soul and pierced it with excruciating pain," he said. "A hideous crime was committed before the eyes of the whole world, a crime with which neither heart nor mind can reconcile."
Russian officials have called the new Kyiv government "directly responsible" for the deaths from the fire in Odesa.
19:01
3.5.2014
Video showing people (it is unclear who) trying to save people in the burning trade union building in Odesa.
18:52
3.5.2014
17:56
3.5.2014
16:44
3.5.2014
16:41
3.5.2014
More details are emerging about what happened in Odesa yesterday. In this Kyiv Post piece, "eyewitnesses to the carnage...say that many of the pro-Russian separatists were armed with automatic rifles and pistols and started shooting at an unarmed, pro-Ukraine rally that preceded a football game."
Another interesting nugget:
Another interesting nugget:
How the fire started is under investigation as well as who instigated the violence. Authorities reported that 15 of the dead were Russian citizens and another five killed were from Moldova's Kremlin-backed breakaway region of Transnistria.
16:02
3.5.2014
For his part, Lavrov told Kerry that Washington should use its influence to persuade the Kyiv "regime" to stop its military offensive against the rebels.
He called for an increased role for OSCE mediators in an effort to implement the Geneva agreement and to foster a national dialogue, primarily on constitutional reform.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on May 3 that Lavrov and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter had "confirmed the need for the complete fulfillment" of the Geneva accord.
He called for an increased role for OSCE mediators in an effort to implement the Geneva agreement and to foster a national dialogue, primarily on constitutional reform.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said on May 3 that Lavrov and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter had "confirmed the need for the complete fulfillment" of the Geneva accord.
14:38
3.5.2014
More on Kerry's comments from our news desk:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has welcomed the release of seven OSCE observers who were being held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, but said Moscow needs to be more to de-escalate the crisis.
Kerry, who is traveling in Africa, said he had spoken on May 3 with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Kerry said he told Lavrov the key is for Russia to withdraw its support for pro-Russian separatists who have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine.
Kerry said he and Lavrov discussed the violence in the southern port city of Odesa, where at least 42 people died on May 2, and said everything possible must be done to end it.
He said they will both be in contact with Switzerland's president about a possible larger role for the OSCE in facilitating a de-escalation of the situation.
Kerry, who is traveling in Africa, said he had spoken on May 3 with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Kerry said he told Lavrov the key is for Russia to withdraw its support for pro-Russian separatists who have seized government buildings across eastern Ukraine.
Kerry said he and Lavrov discussed the violence in the southern port city of Odesa, where at least 42 people died on May 2, and said everything possible must be done to end it.
He said they will both be in contact with Switzerland's president about a possible larger role for the OSCE in facilitating a de-escalation of the situation.