10:32
24.4.2014
10:37
24.4.2014
10:37
24.4.2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the use of the Ukrainian army in the east would constitute a "serious crime against its own people" and would spark "consequences."
10:50
24.4.2014
From RFE/RL Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak, with the full text of Ashton's statement below:
And here's the full statement from Ashton's office:
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is urging all parties to last week's Geneva agreement on Ukraine to abide by the accord.
In a statement on April 24, Ashton said all parties "must ensure that its terms are fully implemented, including by using their leverage on illegal armed groups to stop violence and provocation and to make them hand in their arms."
The Geneva statement was agreed on April 17 by the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, as well as by Ashton, but few measures have been implemented so far.
Ashton also said the reported kidnappings, torture, and killings of two men in eastern Ukraine, including local politician Volodymyr Rybak, is "a cause of grave concern." She called for an independent and transparent investigation.
Ashton also demanded that "all persons still illegally detained by armed groups in eastern Ukraine must be immediately released, whether journalists, local leaders, or ordinary citizens."
In a statement on April 24, Ashton said all parties "must ensure that its terms are fully implemented, including by using their leverage on illegal armed groups to stop violence and provocation and to make them hand in their arms."
The Geneva statement was agreed on April 17 by the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, as well as by Ashton, but few measures have been implemented so far.
Ashton also said the reported kidnappings, torture, and killings of two men in eastern Ukraine, including local politician Volodymyr Rybak, is "a cause of grave concern." She called for an independent and transparent investigation.
Ashton also demanded that "all persons still illegally detained by armed groups in eastern Ukraine must be immediately released, whether journalists, local leaders, or ordinary citizens."
And here's the full statement from Ashton's office:
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:
"All parties to the Joint Geneva Statement on Ukraine of 17 April must ensure that its terms are fully implemented, including by using their leverage on illegal armed groups to stop violence and provocation and to make them hand in their arms.
The latest news from Eastern Ukraine, and in particular the reported kidnappings, torture and killings, including the cases of Volodymyr Rybak and Pavel Kovelko, is a cause of grave concern. I extend my condolences to their relatives. An independent and transparent investigation should shed full light on these deaths and bring the perpetrators to justice. All persons still illegally detained by armed groups in Eastern Ukraine must be immediately released, whether journalists, local leaders or ordinary citizens.
I call for an end to violence, intimidation and provocative actions and statements, as agreed in the Joint Geneva Statement."
"All parties to the Joint Geneva Statement on Ukraine of 17 April must ensure that its terms are fully implemented, including by using their leverage on illegal armed groups to stop violence and provocation and to make them hand in their arms.
The latest news from Eastern Ukraine, and in particular the reported kidnappings, torture and killings, including the cases of Volodymyr Rybak and Pavel Kovelko, is a cause of grave concern. I extend my condolences to their relatives. An independent and transparent investigation should shed full light on these deaths and bring the perpetrators to justice. All persons still illegally detained by armed groups in Eastern Ukraine must be immediately released, whether journalists, local leaders or ordinary citizens.
I call for an end to violence, intimidation and provocative actions and statements, as agreed in the Joint Geneva Statement."
10:54
24.4.2014
Here's an English-subtitled version of the video we shared earlier from our Ukrainian Service of a gathering at a symbolic graveyard in Prague by Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic and their Czech supporters to honor Euromaidan protesters killed in Ukraine since November.
11:11
24.4.2014
11:21
24.4.2014
Our Ukrainian Service reports on the Ukrainian National Security Service's release of the (Ukrainian-language) transcript of a purported recording of the suspected killers of eastern Ukrainian politician Volodymyr Rybak, who disappeared before his tortured and drowned body was found on April 22.
The profanity-filled recording has been posted on YouTube.
The profanity-filled recording has been posted on YouTube.
11:22
24.4.2014
11:25
24.4.2014
11:31
24.4.2014
More on Putin's menacing remarks about the Kyiv government's current military operations in the eastern part of Ukraine, from our newsroom:
President Putin, speaking at a gathering in St. Petersburg, described the offensive as a "punitive measure" and called the pro-Western government in Kyiv a "junta or clique."
He also said that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are having some effect on its economy but not a critical one.
He also said that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are having some effect on its economy but not a critical one.