Accessibility links

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.

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

11:21 20.3.2018

11:18 20.3.2018

10:01 20.3.2018

09:55 20.3.2018

09:49 20.3.2018

09:46 20.3.2018

22:04 19.3.2018

This ends our live blogging for March 19. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.

22:03 19.3.2018

Russia launches military exercises in Crimea, Abkhazia:

By RFE/RL

Russian armed forces have launched large-scale military exercises in southern parts of the country, including the Russian-occupied regions in Georgia and the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

The exercises began on March 19, the day after Russia held its presidential election, which incumbent President Vladimir Putin won in a landslide.

News agencies said around 8,000 troops were taking part in the drills, along with multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems, and other weaponry.

Since seizing the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014, Russia has moved to bolster its military presence in Crimea, and held multiple joint exercises with the Southern Military District.

Russian forces also maintain a presence in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were seized from Georgia after a short war in 2008. (w/Interfax)

22:01 19.3.2018

22:01 19.3.2018

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG