05:44
9.5.2014
US will run series of military drills with elite special op forces in Estonia,Latvia & Lithuania scheduled this month http://t.co/9ibqpYtv32
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) May 9, 2014
US-NATO air presence tripled in Estonia,Latvia & Lithuania since Russian invasion of Ukraine https://t.co/J7WDYZPoqL pic.twitter.com/qoMdrCwVfV
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) May 9, 2014
05:41
9.5.2014
Early morning in #Odessa lots of police in the empty streets. Looks like the new police chief is doing everything to prevent violence today
— Petr Shelomovskiy (@stopnarcotics) May 9, 2014
05:23
9.5.2014
Good morning. We shall get the live blog rolling today with the latest Ukraine update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Ukraine is stepping up security as the country gets set to celebrate Victory Day on May 9.
Authorities have discouraged public gatherings, fearing they could spark clashes between pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on May 8 that he suspects Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning some form of "skirmish" to discredit Kyiv as the country celebrates the 69th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Yatsenyuk spoke after pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine said they will go ahead with referendums on self-determination on May 11 despite calls by Putin to postpone them.
Putin's spokesman said the Kremlin needed more information about the rebels' decision.
A spokeswoman for EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the referendums "should not take place neither on May 11 nor any other later date."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Russia was heading down a "dangerous and irresponsible path" and the situation in Ukraine was "extremely combustible."
Burns spoke after NATO again said it had seen no Russian withdrawal of troops along the border with Ukraine as Putin has vowed to do.
Elsewhere, some 40 armed men attacked a Ukrainian post on the Russian frontier on May 8.
The Ukrainian border guard said the attackers were beaten off by Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders have proposed the creation of a "Round Table" to resolve the crisis in the country.
The announcement was made on May 8 by Yatsenyuk and acting President Oleksandr Turchynov.
The round table, the two leaders said, would draw in political forces and civil groups in all regions, with international mediators asked to help.
Analysts say the Ukrainian plan includes many elements of a draft "Road Map" to peace presented on May 8 in Kyiv by the Swiss chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Efforts to defuse the Ukraine crisis were also discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a telephone conversation on May 8.
Authorities have discouraged public gatherings, fearing they could spark clashes between pro-Russian activists and supporters of Ukrainian unity.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on May 8 that he suspects Russian President Vladimir Putin was planning some form of "skirmish" to discredit Kyiv as the country celebrates the 69th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
Yatsenyuk spoke after pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine said they will go ahead with referendums on self-determination on May 11 despite calls by Putin to postpone them.
Putin's spokesman said the Kremlin needed more information about the rebels' decision.
A spokeswoman for EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton said the referendums "should not take place neither on May 11 nor any other later date."
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said Russia was heading down a "dangerous and irresponsible path" and the situation in Ukraine was "extremely combustible."
Burns spoke after NATO again said it had seen no Russian withdrawal of troops along the border with Ukraine as Putin has vowed to do.
Elsewhere, some 40 armed men attacked a Ukrainian post on the Russian frontier on May 8.
The Ukrainian border guard said the attackers were beaten off by Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian leaders have proposed the creation of a "Round Table" to resolve the crisis in the country.
The announcement was made on May 8 by Yatsenyuk and acting President Oleksandr Turchynov.
The round table, the two leaders said, would draw in political forces and civil groups in all regions, with international mediators asked to help.
Analysts say the Ukrainian plan includes many elements of a draft "Road Map" to peace presented on May 8 in Kyiv by the Swiss chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Efforts to defuse the Ukraine crisis were also discussed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a telephone conversation on May 8.
18:16
8.5.2014
Barring any dramatic developments, we are now closing the live blog for today. Before we go, we'll leave you with another update from RFE/RL's news desk regarding gas supplies:
Russia has ordered Kyiv to make pre-payments for gas supplies for all future deliveries due to Ukraine's unpaid bills that now total several billion dollars.
Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said in statement today that "Russia is introducing a pre-payment regime for gas deliveries to Ukraine," starting June 1 after Ukraine missed a May 7 deadline to pay off its $3.5 billion gas debt.
Ukraine pledges to pay off the debt but Kyiv objects to the new price that Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom is charging it for gas supplies.
In March, after former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, Gazprom raised the price it charges Ukraine for gas from $285 per 1,000 cubic meters to $485.
The announcement of pre-payment rules for Ukraine came on the same day that Lithuanian officials announced Gazprom would cut the price it charges Vilnius for gas by more than 20 percent.
Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said in statement today that "Russia is introducing a pre-payment regime for gas deliveries to Ukraine," starting June 1 after Ukraine missed a May 7 deadline to pay off its $3.5 billion gas debt.
Ukraine pledges to pay off the debt but Kyiv objects to the new price that Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom is charging it for gas supplies.
In March, after former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted, Gazprom raised the price it charges Ukraine for gas from $285 per 1,000 cubic meters to $485.
The announcement of pre-payment rules for Ukraine came on the same day that Lithuanian officials announced Gazprom would cut the price it charges Vilnius for gas by more than 20 percent.
18:03
8.5.2014
what about other news? today we also learnt #Russia's somewhat ready to inflict a massive nuclear strike. lovely,huh? http://t.co/DK9yv0WdFE
— Natalia Melnychuk (@pravolivo) May 8, 2014
18:02
8.5.2014
RFE/RL's news desk reports that Russia's Foreign Ministry is pretty peeved about an act of seemingly pro-Ukrainian vandalism in Austria:
Russia's Foreign Ministry has protested the vandalizing of a memorial to Soviet soldiers in Vienna.
The Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs demanding that authorities repair the damage to the memorial, find and punish those responsible, and take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Unknown individuals went to the memorial to "Soviet Soldiers-Liberators" on Schwarzenbergplatz Square in Vienna overnight on May 7 and painted a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag on it.
The protest note from the Russian Foreign Ministry said the "desecration" was the "latest act of vandals…to disrupt the ceremony" marking the end of what Russia calls the "Great Patriotic War" (World War Two) on May 9.
The Russian Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs demanding that authorities repair the damage to the memorial, find and punish those responsible, and take measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Unknown individuals went to the memorial to "Soviet Soldiers-Liberators" on Schwarzenbergplatz Square in Vienna overnight on May 7 and painted a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag on it.
The protest note from the Russian Foreign Ministry said the "desecration" was the "latest act of vandals…to disrupt the ceremony" marking the end of what Russia calls the "Great Patriotic War" (World War Two) on May 9.
17:47
8.5.2014
'People of Crimea have become foreigners in their own homeland' Tatar leader Dzhemilev at @OSCE today #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/eT8oNg4uaV
— Sim Sim Wissgott (@SimSimWissgott) May 8, 2014
17:13
8.5.2014
According to "The Moscow Times," pro-Russian separatists are using the Internet's obsession with felines to help promote their views:
You can seem some of these pro-Kremlin kitties here.
From Lolcats and Grumpy Cat to Simon's Cat and the cat that can say "Al Gore" - cats and the web have always been a perfect match.
So it shouldn't be surprising that the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine has sparked its own Internet meme, and it's all about kittens.
Using the #сепаратяка ("little separatist") hashtag, people are taking to social networking sites to post pictures of their, apparently, pro-Russian pets. In many cases, this simply means donning their pet with the ubiquitous black and orange St. George's ribbon.
So it shouldn't be surprising that the separatist movement in eastern Ukraine has sparked its own Internet meme, and it's all about kittens.
Using the #сепаратяка ("little separatist") hashtag, people are taking to social networking sites to post pictures of their, apparently, pro-Russian pets. In many cases, this simply means donning their pet with the ubiquitous black and orange St. George's ribbon.
You can seem some of these pro-Kremlin kitties here.
16:44
8.5.2014
According to RFE/RL's news desk, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin had to take the "scenic route" to the Moldovan capital today:
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has written on his Twitter account that Ukrainian authorities denied Rogozin's plane the right to fly through Ukrainian airspace.
Rogozin was flying to Chisinau, Moldova, to take part in celebrations of Victory Day in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region.
Rogozin said his plane was forced to fly through Romanian and Bulgarian airspace to reach Moldova, a "delay of some 4.5 hours," he tweeted.
Moldova's Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman said on May 5 that she had not received official notice of Rogozin's visit for the May 9 celebrations and had summoned Russia's ambassador for an explanation.
Moscow-backed Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990.
The two sides fought a brief war in 1992 that ended when the Russian military intervened on Transdniester's side.
Rogozin was flying to Chisinau, Moldova, to take part in celebrations of Victory Day in Moldova's breakaway Transdniester region.
Rogozin said his plane was forced to fly through Romanian and Bulgarian airspace to reach Moldova, a "delay of some 4.5 hours," he tweeted.
Moldova's Foreign Minister Natalia Gherman said on May 5 that she had not received official notice of Rogozin's visit for the May 9 celebrations and had summoned Russia's ambassador for an explanation.
Moscow-backed Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990.
The two sides fought a brief war in 1992 that ended when the Russian military intervened on Transdniester's side.
16:33
8.5.2014
TT @Rogozin It turns out it took 4.5 hours to fly to Chisinau. Through Bulgaria and Romania. Ukraine is not letting us through its airspace.
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) May 8, 2014