Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk:
'Separatism' Trial Of RFE/RL Journalist Set To Begin In Crimea
An RFE/RL contributing correspondent is set to go on trial in Russia-annexed Crimea on separatism-related charges for an article he wrote criticizing Moscow's seizure of the Ukrainian peninsula and expressing support for a blockade of the territory initiated by Ukrainian activists.
The trial of Mykola Semena, slated to open on March 20 in Crimea’s capital, Simferopol, comes amid mounting international pressure on Russia to drop the case against the journalist, who faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
The charges against Semena, 66, stem from a 2015 article he wrote for RFE/RL's Krym.Realtii (Crimea Realities) website that Moscow-installed authorities in Crimea allege called for "the violation of the territorial integrity of Russia."
The column was part of a wide-ranging discussion on the website about options for Crimea and was a response to an earlier column that opposed a blockade.
Semena is barred from leaving Crimea and must request permission to travel outside Simferopol.
The scheduled start of his trial follows a European Parliament resolution last week calling on Moscow to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who are in prison or face other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea, and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists.
The nonbinding resolution urged Russia "to allow all the above-mentioned people to travel freely, including Mykola Semena, who is being prosecuted for his journalistic work for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty."
Washington last week also called on Russian authorities "to drop spurious charges against Mr. Semena and release him and all other Ukrainians held by Russia for political reasons."
Both the European Union and the United States used the occasion of the third anniversary of Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea over the weekend to denounce the land grab, which has been deemed illegitimate by Ukraine, Washington, and a total of 100 UN member states.
Moscow has portrayed its takeover of Crimea as necessary to protect ethnic Russians and other residents of the peninsula from oppression by pro-Western officials that took power in Kyiv following the 2014 ouster of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
That narrative is rejected by Ukraine and Western governments, which accuse Russian-backed authorities in Crimea of rights abuses against Crimean Tatars and others opposed to Moscow's rule there.
Natalya Poklonskaya, the former Russia-installed prosecutor-general in Crimea who filed the charges against Semena and who now serves in the Russian parliament, has accused RFE/RL's Krym.Realii of providing "justification for acts of sabotage and extremism" and inciting "ethnic hatred."
Semena, meanwhile, told RFE/RL late last month that there is no evidence he committed a crime because "the status of Crimea is not clear, even within the framework of the Russian Federation."
He said Crimea "is a disputed territory which is the subject of an animated discussion all over the world," and that he has the right under international law and Russian legislation "to participate in this discussion" and express his point of view.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
Very slow day today. That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, March 19, 2017. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.