Accessibility links

Subscribe
All RFE/RL sites
All RFE/RL websites Follow RFE/RL on Google
site logo site logo
Previous Next
Breaking News
A portrait of slain separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko hangs outside the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on September 2.
A portrait of slain separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko hangs outside the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on September 2.
Ukraine Live Blog

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

-- EDITOR'S NOTE: We have started a new Ukraine Live Blog as of September 3, 2018. You can find it here.

-- Tens of thousands of people gathered on September 2 in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine to mourn a top rebel leader who was recently killed in a bomb attack.

-- Prominent Ukrainian historian Mykola Shityuk has been found dead in his home city of Mykolaiv, police said on September 2.​

-- Ukraine says it has imprisoned the man it accused of being recruited by Russia’s secret services to organize a murder plot against self-exiled Russian reporter and Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko.

-- Ukraine and Russia are trading blame for the killing of a top separatist leader in eastern Ukraine.

-- Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the head of the head of the breakaway separatist entity known as the Donetsk People’s Republic, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in Donetsk on August 31.

-- The United States is ready to widen arms supplies to Ukraine to help build up the country's naval and air defense forces in the face of continuing Russian support for eastern separatists, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine told The Guardian.

-- The spiritual head of the worldwide Orthodox Church in Istanbul has hosted Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for talks on Ukraine's bid to split from the Russian church, a move strongly opposed by Moscow.

*Time stamps on the blog refer to local time in Ukraine

13:26 1.10.2017

13:23 1.10.2017

13:21 1.10.2017

13:20 1.10.2017

13:17 1.10.2017

22:16 30.9.2017

We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can catch up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.

22:14 30.9.2017

Not really related to the crisis, but we're sure many Ukraine watchers will enjoy these pix of Kyiv's famous outdoor gym (click on image to open photo gallery)

Mad Max Vibes At Kyiv's Scrap-Metal Gym

An outdoor gym on the Dnipro River has locals flocking to pump up-cycled Soviet steel.

Mad Max Vibes At Kyiv's Scrap-Metal Gym

The Kachalka gym has around 200 makeshift exercise machines spread through the trees of Venetsiansky Island on the Dnieper River. 
1/13 The Kachalka gym has around 200 makeshift exercise machines spread through the trees of Venetsiansky Island on the Dnieper River. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
A man pumping iron in the alfresco gym. In 1965, a new subway line across the Dnieper allowed access to the island, which soon became a popular picnic spot. 
2/13 A man pumping iron in the alfresco gym. In 1965, a new subway line across the Dnieper allowed access to the island, which soon became a popular picnic spot. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
An 83-year-old showing the youngsters how it's done. The gym began with a single chin-up bar in the the late 1960s. 
3/13 An 83-year-old showing the youngsters how it's done. The gym began with a single chin-up bar in the the late 1960s. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
A young strongman grappling with a pec-deck.&nbsp;Yuri Kuk, one of the founders of the gym told the <a href="https://apnews.com/683274437618435bb03b869b617d93c5/ap-photos-kievs-outdoor-gym-flourishes-50-years" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> &quot;We wanted people to have an active leisure time, not just play cards on the beach.&quot;
4/13 A young strongman grappling with a pec-deck. Yuri Kuk, one of the founders of the gym told the Associated Press "We wanted people to have an active leisure time, not just play cards on the beach."
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Many of the weights are hunks of Soviet machinery dating back to the Cold War days when Kuk says scrap metal &quot;was just lying about.&quot;&nbsp;
5/13 Many of the weights are hunks of Soviet machinery dating back to the Cold War days when Kuk says scrap metal "was just lying about." 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Today the weights are chained down to prevent theft.&nbsp;
6/13 Today the weights are chained down to prevent theft. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Men pummelling stacks of tires. The gym is free, and never closes.
7/13 Men pummelling stacks of tires. The gym is free, and never closes.
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
A worker repairing a dumbbell. Donations have enabled a small group of volunteers to install lights for night workouts, and repair the exercise machines.&nbsp;
8/13 A worker repairing a dumbbell. Donations have enabled a small group of volunteers to install lights for night workouts, and repair the exercise machines. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
The rugged machines give the gym a distinctive Mad Max vibe.&nbsp;
9/13 The rugged machines give the gym a distinctive Mad Max vibe. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Some of the weights are reportedly up-cycled hunks of military vehicles.&nbsp;
10/13 Some of the weights are reportedly up-cycled hunks of military vehicles. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
A young couple between workouts. As well as old and young, the legendary gym reportedly attracts rich and poor.&nbsp;
11/13 A young couple between workouts. As well as old and young, the legendary gym reportedly attracts rich and poor. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
A youngster pumping Soviet steel.&nbsp;
12/13 A youngster pumping Soviet steel. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Elderly locals grinding through reps. One of the attractions of the outdoor gym is the freedom for people to wander through the trees and throw themselves in the river after a heavy workout.&nbsp;
13/13 Elderly locals grinding through reps. One of the attractions of the outdoor gym is the freedom for people to wander through the trees and throw themselves in the river after a heavy workout. 
An outdoor gym on the Dnieper River has locals flocking to pump upcycled Soviet steel.
Previous slide
Next slide

22:09 30.9.2017

In other news, the Saakashvili roadshow keeps trucking on:

Saakashvili Calls Supporters To October Rally In Kyiv

Mikheil Saakashvili made his latest comments at a rally in the Black Sea city of Odesa on September 30.
Mikheil Saakashvili made his latest comments at a rally in the Black Sea city of Odesa on September 30.

ODESA, Ukraine -- Former Georgian President and ex-Governor of Ukraine's Odessa region Mikheil Saakashvili has called on supporters to rally in Kyiv on October 17 to "defeat evil."

Saakashvili made the comments at a rally in the Black Sea city of Odesa on September 30 upon returning to the port for the first time since he resigned as governor in November 2016.

He told a small gathering of supporters that the Kyiv demonstration would call for the creation of anticorruption courts, the abolition of parliamentary immunity, and a revamping of the country's electoral legislation.

Saakashvili lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015 when he accepted Ukrainian citizenship and the post of Odesa governor.

In July, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stripped Saakashvili of his Ukrainian citizenship, an order that Saakashvili plans to contest in court.

On September 22, a court in Lviv convicted Saakashvili of illegally entering the country on September 10 and fined him about $130, plus a $12 court fee.

At a rally of supporters in the western city of Chernivtsi on September 13, Saakashvili said he had returned to Ukraine "to resolve the main issue: how to get out of the political crisis that currently exists in the country."

21:54 30.9.2017

21:53 30.9.2017

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG