Post-kidnapping plans of @SimonOstrovsky? Back to #Sloviansk if gets press accreditation, "now that they know me." http://t.co/V5owCl0VCx
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 25, 2014
Reports of grenade attack against a checkpoint in #Odessa manned by Ukrainian police and pro-Ukrainian civilians. 7 injured. #Ukraine
— Douglas Herbert (@dougf24) April 25, 2014
The agency cited a risk of increased capital flight amid the Ukraine crisis for its decision.
Russia saw capital outflows in the first quarter of 2014 double from a year earlier to $50.6 billion over the uncertainty created by the Ukraine crisis.
The government estimates that full-year capital outflows could reach between $70 billion to $100 billion.
Credit ratings are important for the economy because they determine how expensive it will be for a country or company to borrow on international markets.
Courtesy of @DmitryTymchuk footage from Slavyansk https://t.co/cE8SL4ljDV
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) April 25, 2014
UN rep gives more deets on Russian military buildup on Ukraine's border: artillery, Grad rocket launchers & 200 tanks http://t.co/Wl0NFa8tOA
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) April 25, 2014
NEW IRI POLL: OPPOSITION TO RUSSIAN MILITARY INTERVENTION STRONG THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, ENTHUSIASM FOR ELECTION HIGH http://t.co/NIugw23vwL
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) April 25, 2014
Russian news agencies quote police as saying a bomb was thrown from a passing car.
The injuries are not said to be life-threatening.
The incident is under investigation.
According to the Reuters news agency, Odesa residents have built several such checkpoints near the town aimed at stopping pro-Russian separatists from entering Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester.
NATO warned last month of a possible Russian military grab for Transdniester following Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea.
.@rsf_rwb on Eastern Ukraine: "These latest abductions have taken attacks on journalists to a new, intolerable level" http://t.co/m7r6Sb34qy
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) April 25, 2014
Speaking in Moscow on April 25, Lavrov said "Russia will firmly contribute to the de-escalation of the conflict based on the compromise approach agreed in Geneva."
But he said "one-sided demands" are being made by the United States, which he said has "an outstanding ability to turn everything on its head."
He also said the pro-Western government in Kyiv will eventually face justice for its security operation in eastern Ukraine, calling it a "bloody crime."
Lavrov's comments after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the "window of opportunity" for Russia to change course in Ukraine is closing.
He said Russia has not taken "a single concrete step" to implement the agreement reached last week in Geneva.