10:35
22.4.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service had more details on Mustafa Dzhemilev's "banishment" from Crimea:
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev has been barred from entering Crimea for the next five years.
A spokeswoman for the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' assembly, said Dzhemilev was informed he was persona non grata until 2019 as he crossed to mainland Ukraine early on April 22.
The order came three days after he was briefly detained at a checkpoint while entering Crimea.
Dzhemilev has accused Crimea's new pro-Russian government of overseeing what he says is a campaign of repression against Crimean Tatars since the peninsula was annexed by Russia last month.
He says many Crimean Tatars have already lost their jobs after refusing to apply for a Russian passport.
The Mejlis has refused to recognize Crimea's new leadership and the referendum on Crimea's cessation from Ukraine.
A spokeswoman for the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' assembly, said Dzhemilev was informed he was persona non grata until 2019 as he crossed to mainland Ukraine early on April 22.
The order came three days after he was briefly detained at a checkpoint while entering Crimea.
Dzhemilev has accused Crimea's new pro-Russian government of overseeing what he says is a campaign of repression against Crimean Tatars since the peninsula was annexed by Russia last month.
He says many Crimean Tatars have already lost their jobs after refusing to apply for a Russian passport.
The Mejlis has refused to recognize Crimea's new leadership and the referendum on Crimea's cessation from Ukraine.
10:46
22.4.2014
Meanwhile, in Moscow...
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has told the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, that Russia's economy faces unprecedented pressure from the troubled world economy.
Medvedev told the April 22 Duma session that the continuing problems facing the global economy will also impact Russia, adding that the "diplomatic climate" and domestic structural issues are also likely to have a negative effect.
Medvedev said the Russian government is working to "minimize" the effects of international sanctions being imposed on the country since Russia annexed Crimea last month.
Medvedev said those sanctions would not force the government to make any big changes to Russia's economic plans and pledged that "all social obligations will be fulfilled." (from RFE/RL's news desk)
Medvedev told the April 22 Duma session that the continuing problems facing the global economy will also impact Russia, adding that the "diplomatic climate" and domestic structural issues are also likely to have a negative effect.
Medvedev said the Russian government is working to "minimize" the effects of international sanctions being imposed on the country since Russia annexed Crimea last month.
Medvedev said those sanctions would not force the government to make any big changes to Russia's economic plans and pledged that "all social obligations will be fulfilled." (from RFE/RL's news desk)
10:52
22.4.2014
RFE/RL's Russian Service have traveled to Slovyansk, the eastern city beside the site of a deadly fire-fight at the weekend. They took this taxi ride around the troubled town:
11:20
22.4.2014
11:22
22.4.2014
12:12
22.4.2014
12:30
22.4.2014
12:47
22.4.2014
Joe Biden is making a public address in Kyiv. Here's what he's said thus far (from our news desk):
Speaking in Kyiv, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has said that "today there are some who are trying to pull Ukraine apart."
He also said Ukraine is "in a struggle for its very future."
He added that Washington does not recognize Russia's actions in Crimea.
Biden made his remarks after talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whom he congratulated for his "incredible leadership under difficult circumstances."
More to follow...
Speaking in Kyiv, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has said that "today there are some who are trying to pull Ukraine apart."
He also said Ukraine is "in a struggle for its very future."
He added that Washington does not recognize Russia's actions in Crimea.
Biden made his remarks after talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whom he congratulated for his "incredible leadership under difficult circumstances."
More to follow...
12:54
22.4.2014
More from Biden's address in Kyiv:
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Washington is working "to support all Ukrainians in seeking a better future."
He said the road ahead is difficult, but that "you will not walk this road alone. We will walk it with you."
Biden added that Ukraine is and must remain "one united" country. He said "no nation has the right to simply grab land from another nation."
He stressed that Washington will never recognize Russia's "illegal occupation of Crimea and neither will the world." He also warned that no nation should stoke instability in its neighborhood.
Biden said it is time for Russia to fulfill its commitments to the Geneva agreement. "We will not allow this to become an open-ended process," he said. "Time is short."
He suggested that now is a "chance to make good on the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians east and west" -- for a Ukraine that empowers local governance and that respects and protects different linguistic traditions but that holds together as a single state -- "united and sovereign."
He also said he believes all Ukrainians are "sick and tired" of the country's corruption.
BIden gave assurances that Washington will help Ukraine reduce its energy dependence.
He indicated that the United States is also providing nonlethal support to Ukraine's security services, including communication gear, bomb disposal technology, and transportation and engineering equipment totaling nearly $20 million.
(RFE/RL's news desk -- more to follow...)
He said the road ahead is difficult, but that "you will not walk this road alone. We will walk it with you."
Biden added that Ukraine is and must remain "one united" country. He said "no nation has the right to simply grab land from another nation."
He stressed that Washington will never recognize Russia's "illegal occupation of Crimea and neither will the world." He also warned that no nation should stoke instability in its neighborhood.
Biden said it is time for Russia to fulfill its commitments to the Geneva agreement. "We will not allow this to become an open-ended process," he said. "Time is short."
He suggested that now is a "chance to make good on the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians east and west" -- for a Ukraine that empowers local governance and that respects and protects different linguistic traditions but that holds together as a single state -- "united and sovereign."
He also said he believes all Ukrainians are "sick and tired" of the country's corruption.
BIden gave assurances that Washington will help Ukraine reduce its energy dependence.
He indicated that the United States is also providing nonlethal support to Ukraine's security services, including communication gear, bomb disposal technology, and transportation and engineering equipment totaling nearly $20 million.
(RFE/RL's news desk -- more to follow...)
13:22
22.4.2014
Biden's speech was followed by an address from Yatsenyuk, who had this to say (from RFE/RL's news desk):
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, speaking alongside visiting U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, said Ukraine's presidential election needs to go ahead next month as scheduled. He said the country needs a legitimately elected president, a scenario which he claimed Russia does not want.