Three years ago this month, acclaimed Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov was arrested in Crimea by Russian authorities, who have been incarcerating him ever since. RFE/RL's Brian Whitmore discusses the case in today's Daily Vertical.
A tweet from the director of the Russia Institute at King's College, London:
Reporters Without Borders comment on the Poroshenko decree:
Here's an item from RFE/RL's news desk on Poroshenko's controversial decree:
Poroshenko Restricts Access To Russian Websites, Social Networks
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has imposed sanctions on several leading Russian social networks and search engines, ordering access to the sites to be restricted or blocked entirely in Ukraine.
The Internet companies named in the decree posted on Poroshenko's website on May 16 include VKontakte, Odnolkassniki, Yandex, and the Mail.ru Group.
It orders the "limitation or termination" of access to the sites, prohibiting banned Ukrainian web hosts from linking to them for a period of three years.
The decree adds to a list of mainly Russian companies and individuals subject to sanctions in connection with what Kyiv says is Russian aggression against Ukraine -- a reference to Russia's seizure of Crimea and involvement in a war that has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatist hold parts of two regions.
Other enitiies named in the decree are Internet security companies Kaspersky Lab and DrWeb, as well the Russian media companies RBK, National Mediagroup, TNT and Ren-TV.
Ukraine has imposed sanctions on a total of 468 organizations and companies as well as 1,228 individuals in Russia, Crimea, and the separatist-held parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, Current Time TV, Reuters, AFP, dpa, and Dozhd
More reaction to the Yandex/VKontakte decision: