10:10
31.5.2014
10:09
31.5.2014
10:08
31.5.2014
"Like a big wobbling shopping cart, the entire Donetsk region, it seemed, was slowly being pushed toward a very uncertain future where the fear of death, kidnapping, economic crises, disillusionment, unemployment and the sundry unknowable horrors of civil war all mingled."
10:05
31.5.2014
10:04
31.5.2014
21:53
30.5.2014
Here's our wrap-up of the crisis gas talks today in Berlin. This concludes our live blogging for Friday, May 30, barring major events.
European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said Ukraine has paid part of its debt for gas to Russia and announced there will be another round of talks between representatives of the EU, Russia and Ukraine on June 2.
At a press conference after a May 30 tripartite meeting in Berlin, Oettinger said the transfer of the money would provide the basis for a continuation of the talks on June 2.
Oettinger characterized the talks as a "step forward" and added he hoped a breakthrough could be reached during the talks on June 2.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, who followed Oettinger at the press conference, said Ukraine's state gas company Naftohaz had transferred $786 million to the account of Gazprom.
Prodan said that money covers Ukraine's bill for Russian gas for the months of February and March this year.
Russia was demanding Ukraine pay off bills dating back to last year and wanted $2 billion of that money by May 30.
Gazprom says that, by June 7, Ukraine will owe some $5.2 billion and has demanded the bill be paid in full and that Ukraine pay in advance for future gas supplies.
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said at the Berlin press conference that he was told Ukraine had transferred the payment for February and March but since May 30 was a Friday, Russian authorities would not be able to confirm the money was in Gazprom's bank account until June 2.
Besides the issue of Ukraine's gas debt the three parties were supposed to discuss the price Ukraine would pay for Russian gas supplies.
Under a deal reached last December between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine was given a discount and could pay $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.
After Yanukovych was ousted by pro-European protests in late February, Russia rescinded that deal and announced it would charge $485 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, about $100 more than Russia charges its European customers.
Ukraine has insisted on the price agreed to between Putin and Yanukovych and said if that price were restored the country could quickly pay off its gas debt to Russia.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on May 30 his country would never agree to pay the higher price.
Before the May 30 meeting, Prodan said Ukraine was filing a law suit with the International Arbitration Court in Stockholm to force Russia to lower its gas price.
The EU is concerned a dispute between Ukraine and Russia could affect Russian gas supplies to Europe that transit Ukrainian territory.
At a press conference after a May 30 tripartite meeting in Berlin, Oettinger said the transfer of the money would provide the basis for a continuation of the talks on June 2.
Oettinger characterized the talks as a "step forward" and added he hoped a breakthrough could be reached during the talks on June 2.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Prodan, who followed Oettinger at the press conference, said Ukraine's state gas company Naftohaz had transferred $786 million to the account of Gazprom.
Prodan said that money covers Ukraine's bill for Russian gas for the months of February and March this year.
Russia was demanding Ukraine pay off bills dating back to last year and wanted $2 billion of that money by May 30.
Gazprom says that, by June 7, Ukraine will owe some $5.2 billion and has demanded the bill be paid in full and that Ukraine pay in advance for future gas supplies.
Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said at the Berlin press conference that he was told Ukraine had transferred the payment for February and March but since May 30 was a Friday, Russian authorities would not be able to confirm the money was in Gazprom's bank account until June 2.
Besides the issue of Ukraine's gas debt the three parties were supposed to discuss the price Ukraine would pay for Russian gas supplies.
Under a deal reached last December between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then President Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine was given a discount and could pay $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas.
After Yanukovych was ousted by pro-European protests in late February, Russia rescinded that deal and announced it would charge $485 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, about $100 more than Russia charges its European customers.
Ukraine has insisted on the price agreed to between Putin and Yanukovych and said if that price were restored the country could quickly pay off its gas debt to Russia.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on May 30 his country would never agree to pay the higher price.
Before the May 30 meeting, Prodan said Ukraine was filing a law suit with the International Arbitration Court in Stockholm to force Russia to lower its gas price.
The EU is concerned a dispute between Ukraine and Russia could affect Russian gas supplies to Europe that transit Ukrainian territory.
21:51
30.5.2014
21:22
30.5.2014
21:02
30.5.2014
20:52
30.5.2014
Here's our newsroom wrap-up on NATO seeing "signs of at least a partial withdrawal" of Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border:
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on May 30 that Russia is withdrawing around two-thirds of the troops it had near the Ukrainian border.
Rasmussen, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, said there are "signs of at least a partial withdrawal."
The estimate is far higher than previous estimates made by NATO of the extent of a Russian withdrawal.
Rasmussen also said that NATO and Russia would meet in the framework of a cooperative body, the NATO-Russia Council, on June 2 but gave no further details.
Earlier, Ukraine's government said it will press on with an offensive to restore peace and order in the separatist-controlled east, as a second team of OSCE monitors was detained by pro-Russian gunmen in the region.
Acting Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval said government forces have "completely cleared" pro-Russian rebels from parts of the separatist east.
Koval was speaking to reporters in Kyiv on May 30, one day after 14 government troops, including a general, were killed when rebels shot down an army helicopter.
"Our armed forces have completed their assigned missions and completely cleared the southern and western parts of the Donetsk region and the northern part of the Luhansk region from the separatists," Koval said.
"Our given task is to bring peace and order to the region," he added.
Koval also repeated charges that Russia was carrying out "special operations" in eastern Ukraine.
He said Ukrainian forces would continue with military operations in border areas "until these regions begin to live normally, until there is peace."
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the pan-European rights and security body, said a team of four international monitors and a Ukrainian language assistant was stopped by gunmen in the town of Severodonetsk, 100 kilometers north of Luhansk.
The OSCE said it lost contact with the team on the evening of May 29.
It said the detained team is in addition to another group of monitors still missing in eastern Ukraine, which was last heard from on the evening of May 26.
The OSCE says members of that team -- Danish, Turkish, Swiss, and Estonian nationals -- were on a routine patrol east of Donetsk.
A rebel leader confirmed on May 29 that those four monitors were in their custody. The rebels assured journalists that they would "deal with this and then release them," but did not give a specific time frame.
The OSCE teams are in Ukraine to monitor the security situation following the rise of a pro-Russia separatist insurgency.
In a separate development, one faction of pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine has reportedly evicted another faction from the regional administration building in Donetsk, which has served as the separatists' headquarters.
Western media reports said heavily armed fighters of the so-called Vostok Battalion flooded into Donetsk last weekend.
Many are believed to be from Chechnya and other areas in the Caucasus.
The U.S. State Department said on May 29 that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns about foreign fighters entering Ukraine -- particularly Chechens -- with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and Interfax
Rasmussen, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, said there are "signs of at least a partial withdrawal."
The estimate is far higher than previous estimates made by NATO of the extent of a Russian withdrawal.
Rasmussen also said that NATO and Russia would meet in the framework of a cooperative body, the NATO-Russia Council, on June 2 but gave no further details.
Earlier, Ukraine's government said it will press on with an offensive to restore peace and order in the separatist-controlled east, as a second team of OSCE monitors was detained by pro-Russian gunmen in the region.
Acting Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval said government forces have "completely cleared" pro-Russian rebels from parts of the separatist east.
Koval was speaking to reporters in Kyiv on May 30, one day after 14 government troops, including a general, were killed when rebels shot down an army helicopter.
"Our armed forces have completed their assigned missions and completely cleared the southern and western parts of the Donetsk region and the northern part of the Luhansk region from the separatists," Koval said.
"Our given task is to bring peace and order to the region," he added.
Koval also repeated charges that Russia was carrying out "special operations" in eastern Ukraine.
He said Ukrainian forces would continue with military operations in border areas "until these regions begin to live normally, until there is peace."
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the pan-European rights and security body, said a team of four international monitors and a Ukrainian language assistant was stopped by gunmen in the town of Severodonetsk, 100 kilometers north of Luhansk.
The OSCE said it lost contact with the team on the evening of May 29.
It said the detained team is in addition to another group of monitors still missing in eastern Ukraine, which was last heard from on the evening of May 26.
The OSCE says members of that team -- Danish, Turkish, Swiss, and Estonian nationals -- were on a routine patrol east of Donetsk.
A rebel leader confirmed on May 29 that those four monitors were in their custody. The rebels assured journalists that they would "deal with this and then release them," but did not give a specific time frame.
The OSCE teams are in Ukraine to monitor the security situation following the rise of a pro-Russia separatist insurgency.
In a separate development, one faction of pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine has reportedly evicted another faction from the regional administration building in Donetsk, which has served as the separatists' headquarters.
Western media reports said heavily armed fighters of the so-called Vostok Battalion flooded into Donetsk last weekend.
Many are believed to be from Chechnya and other areas in the Caucasus.
The U.S. State Department said on May 29 that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns about foreign fighters entering Ukraine -- particularly Chechens -- with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and Interfax