13:32
11.4.2014
RFE/RL's Glenn Kates has just issued a pretty amazing story about some Russian TV stations' rather "confused" reporting from Ukraine:
Meet Andrei Petkhov. Actually, make that Petkov.
He emigrated to Germany some 20 years ago but traveled to the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv recently to act as a mercenary organizing against pro-Russian protesters.
Wait, check that. It seems the 40-year-old is a local pro-Russian patriot who "as per the usual" went to Mykolaiv's central square to peacefully protest the "radical" government in Kyiv.
So who is Petk(h)ov? That depends on whether you're watching the Russian state-run NTV or the state-run Rossia 1 channel...
Is Petk(h)ov a man with a split personality disorder? Was he separated at birth from an identical twin? Or maybe he's just a jobbing actor taking whatever work come his way? Find out more here.
Meet Andrei Petkhov. Actually, make that Petkov.
He emigrated to Germany some 20 years ago but traveled to the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv recently to act as a mercenary organizing against pro-Russian protesters.
Wait, check that. It seems the 40-year-old is a local pro-Russian patriot who "as per the usual" went to Mykolaiv's central square to peacefully protest the "radical" government in Kyiv.
So who is Petk(h)ov? That depends on whether you're watching the Russian state-run NTV or the state-run Rossia 1 channel...
Is Petk(h)ov a man with a split personality disorder? Was he separated at birth from an identical twin? Or maybe he's just a jobbing actor taking whatever work come his way? Find out more here.
13:39
11.4.2014
Here's a little more from our news desk on NATO's claims regarding the Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border:
NATO says it stands by the satellite images it released that it says show a massive Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's eastern border with Russia.
NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said in a statement today that the images are accurate and it has released more images of the same area.
Russian officials disputed the images after they were released on April 10, claiming they were of military exercises from August 2013.
SHAPE says the images are accurate and were taken between late March and early April 2014.
It said it is firm in its assessment that there are some 35,000-40,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Sofia today that Russia must withdraw its troops from the border region and begin a "sincere" dialogue with the West.
NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said in a statement today that the images are accurate and it has released more images of the same area.
Russian officials disputed the images after they were released on April 10, claiming they were of military exercises from August 2013.
SHAPE says the images are accurate and were taken between late March and early April 2014.
It said it is firm in its assessment that there are some 35,000-40,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Sofia today that Russia must withdraw its troops from the border region and begin a "sincere" dialogue with the West.
14:18
11.4.2014
14:19
11.4.2014
14:21
11.4.2014
We see a grave challenge to the values and the principles that we uphold and that underpin Euro-Atlantic security #Ukraine
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) April 11, 2014
#NATO’s core task is collective defence and our commitment to collective defence is unwavering
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) April 11, 2014
#NATO has taken legitimate steps to reinforce our support to Allies from the Baltic to the Black Sea
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) April 11, 2014
Steps are entirely in line with our international commitments & agreements w/ #Russia which Russia itself continues to blatantly breach
— AndersFogh Rasmussen (@AndersFoghR) April 11, 2014
14:24
11.4.2014
Our news desk has some more details of Yatsenyuk's meeting with regional leaders in Donetsk today:
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has said in Donetsk that the country's regions should have more powers and be allowed to hold referendums on important issues.
Yatsenyuk met in Donetsk with regional leaders today but not with protesters who are occupying a regional administration building in central Donetsk and have declared the formation of a sovereign "Donetsk People's Republic."
Yatsenyuk called on the separatists -- who have built large barricades -- to vacate the building and surrender their weapons.
He said he opposes the use of force in recovering the building, as was done in Kharkiv earlier this week in flushing out separatists from a government facility in that eastern Ukrainian city.
Protesters stormed several government buildings in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk on April 6.
Only the building in Kharkiv has been cleared of separatists.
Yatsenyuk also called for regional government leaders in Ukraine to be elected instead of being appointed by the national government in Kyiv.
Ukraine's influential oligarch Rinat Akhmetov was one of those who met with Yatsenyuk in Donetsk.
In his view, the ongoing crisis in the eastern Ukrainian city can only be solved via dialogue.
Akhmetov, a billionaire Donetsk native of Tatar origin, told Yatsenyuk that he would always support the Donetsk region as a part of Ukraine.
But he said he also supports the protesters, who demand more regional rights and state-language status for Russian.
Yatsenyuk met in Donetsk with regional leaders today but not with protesters who are occupying a regional administration building in central Donetsk and have declared the formation of a sovereign "Donetsk People's Republic."
Yatsenyuk called on the separatists -- who have built large barricades -- to vacate the building and surrender their weapons.
He said he opposes the use of force in recovering the building, as was done in Kharkiv earlier this week in flushing out separatists from a government facility in that eastern Ukrainian city.
Protesters stormed several government buildings in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk on April 6.
Only the building in Kharkiv has been cleared of separatists.
Yatsenyuk also called for regional government leaders in Ukraine to be elected instead of being appointed by the national government in Kyiv.
Ukraine's influential oligarch Rinat Akhmetov was one of those who met with Yatsenyuk in Donetsk.
In his view, the ongoing crisis in the eastern Ukrainian city can only be solved via dialogue.
Akhmetov, a billionaire Donetsk native of Tatar origin, told Yatsenyuk that he would always support the Donetsk region as a part of Ukraine.
But he said he also supports the protesters, who demand more regional rights and state-language status for Russian.
14:37
11.4.2014
Meanwhile, according to RFE/RL's sources, there could be some big diplomatic moves afoot in Vienna:
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is hosting a meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in Vienna.
A source with knowledge of the meeting told RFE/RL that a Russian delegation led by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly member Nikolai Kovalev and a Ukrainian delegation led by member Oleh Zarubinskiy would meet today to initiate a dialogue.
The source said the two delegations would be joined later by members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from other countries.
The meeting between the two delegations follows a visit to Moscow and Kyiv the previous week by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic.
A source with knowledge of the meeting told RFE/RL that a Russian delegation led by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly member Nikolai Kovalev and a Ukrainian delegation led by member Oleh Zarubinskiy would meet today to initiate a dialogue.
The source said the two delegations would be joined later by members of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from other countries.
The meeting between the two delegations follows a visit to Moscow and Kyiv the previous week by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Ranko Krivokapic.
14:37
11.4.2014
A reminder of our correspondent Robert Coalson's survey of what might best be referred to at this stage as "Putin's children," Russian populations outside Russia. It's all here: 'New Russia' and Ukraine, Moldovan deportations, ethnic cleansing in the Baltics, Russification in Central Asia, and Old Believers and political emigres.
The fruits of Russification, from the Baltics to Kazakhstan http://t.co/moBtyUAXKu
— RFE/RL (@RFERL) April 10, 2014
14:56
11.4.2014
Our news desk is reporting on the reaction in Brussels to Putin's warning over gas supplies:
The European Commission is urging Russia to honor its gas contracts after President Vladimir Putin warned Europe its supplies would be in peril unless it helped pay Ukraine's $2.2 billion gas debt.
Spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said in Brussels today that "Europe is a reliable gas client and we expect our suppliers to meet their commitments."
Moscow says European leaders have yet to respond to Putin's appeal for urgent talks to resolve the questions surrounding Ukraine's gas debt.
Ukraine says it cannot agree to pay Moscow's new high prices for natural gas and hopes to buy gas instead from Europe.
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Prodan told lawmakers in Kyiv that Ukraine will refer Russia's decision to increase the gas price to an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm.
Spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen said in Brussels today that "Europe is a reliable gas client and we expect our suppliers to meet their commitments."
Moscow says European leaders have yet to respond to Putin's appeal for urgent talks to resolve the questions surrounding Ukraine's gas debt.
Ukraine says it cannot agree to pay Moscow's new high prices for natural gas and hopes to buy gas instead from Europe.
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Prodan told lawmakers in Kyiv that Ukraine will refer Russia's decision to increase the gas price to an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm.
15:06
11.4.2014