Russian military buildup in Crimea raises tensions:
By RFE/RL
Tensions are reportedly high among residents of northern Crimea as long convoys of heavy Russian weaponry continue to be sighted not far from the occupied peninsula's border with the Ukrainian mainland.
Crimean Tatar activists have reported armed checkpoints being erected at scattered sites around the peninsula, and unusually large concentrations of Russian hardware in northern regions.
The border crossing between Ukraine proper and the Russian-annexed peninsula had been shut for several hours on August 7, causing long backups of traffic.
Photos and videos posted on the website of the Crimean Human Rights Group, a local nongovernmental organization, showed Russian military trucks being transported on trains on August 6 near Kerch, an eastern port town that is opposite Russia's Stavropol territory.
Vadim Skibitsky, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's military intelligence division, told the online news portal Ukrayinska Pravda that the movement of troops and equipment appeared related to upcoming a major Russian military exercise called Kavkaz 2016 slated to begin next month.
He also tried to play down any immediate danger to local inhabitants.
Russia seized Crimea in March 2014 in the aftermath of the so-called Euromaidan protests in Kyiv, that forced President Viktor Yanukovych to flee.
Moscow later declared it had annexed the peninsula, a move that has been rejected across the globe. Its naval base at Sevastopol is the home for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. (w/RFE/RL’s Krym.Realii and Ukrayinska Pravda)
Alternative to Crimean Tatars Mejlis called a "myth."
Here's an item just in from our news desk:
Former Ukrainian Lawmaker Charged With Separatism
A court in Kyiv has formally charged a former Ukrainian member of parliament with providing support to Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
The Pechera District Court in the Ukrainian capital on August 8 also ordered Volodymyr Medyanyk to be held for two months in pretrial detention.
According to the court, the case against Medyanyk is linked to the July 30 arrest of the former leader of the pro-Russia Party of Regions, Oleksandr Yefremov.
Yefremov is now on trial in Kyiv on charges of financially supporting Russia-backed separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk has killed more than 9,500 people since April 2014.
Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax
Here is today's map of the latest security situation in the Donbas conflict zone, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE):
