13:53
25.5.2014
13:53
25.5.2014
13:57
25.5.2014
Kyiv reacts to Medvedev's Crimea visit. This, from AFP:
KIEV, May 25, 2014 (AFP) - Ukraine on Sunday called Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's surprise visit to annexed Crimea a "deliberate provocation" aimed at destabilising the country on election day.
"A visit by the Russian prime minister to occupied Ukraine on the day of the presidential election in Ukraine is particular impudence and a deliberate provocation aimed at destabilising the situation in Ukraine," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued moments after Medvedev's arrival in Ukraine's annexed Black Sea peninsula.
"A visit by the Russian prime minister to occupied Ukraine on the day of the presidential election in Ukraine is particular impudence and a deliberate provocation aimed at destabilising the situation in Ukraine," the foreign ministry said in a statement issued moments after Medvedev's arrival in Ukraine's annexed Black Sea peninsula.
14:00
25.5.2014
From our news desk:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 25 started a two-day working trip to Crimea, as Ukrainians are voting in presidential elections.
Medvedev was scheduled to visit immigration offices in the city of Sevastopol where Russian passports are being issued to local residents.
Medvedev’s office said he will also visit the Artek children's center on the Black Sea on May 26.
It is Medvedev's second trip to Crimea since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in March.
President Vladimir Putin attended Victory Day celebrations earlier this month in the region.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on May 25 started a two-day working trip to Crimea, as Ukrainians are voting in presidential elections.
Medvedev was scheduled to visit immigration offices in the city of Sevastopol where Russian passports are being issued to local residents.
Medvedev’s office said he will also visit the Artek children's center on the Black Sea on May 26.
It is Medvedev's second trip to Crimea since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in March.
President Vladimir Putin attended Victory Day celebrations earlier this month in the region.
14:01
25.5.2014
From our news desk:
Ukrainians turned out in large numbers to vote in Ukraine's presidential election, three months after the ouster of the country's pro-Russia leader.
The vote comes with pro-Russian separatists in control of much of two eastern regions.
The country's Central Election Commission (CEC) said that by 1400 Prague time, national turnout stood at more than 40 percent.
In the capital, Kyiv, long queues were reported at some polling stations, Kyiv, while most polling stations remained closed in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. In Donetsk, separatists publicly smashed ballot boxes.
After casting his vote in Kyiv, acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned: “All attempts to wreck the election made by Russia and Russian-funded terrorists are bound to fail."
Eighteen candidates are competing to become Ukraine's next leader.
Polls show billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko with a commanding lead, but short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round.
His nearest challenger is former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
Ukrainians turned out in large numbers to vote in Ukraine's presidential election, three months after the ouster of the country's pro-Russia leader.
The vote comes with pro-Russian separatists in control of much of two eastern regions.
The country's Central Election Commission (CEC) said that by 1400 Prague time, national turnout stood at more than 40 percent.
In the capital, Kyiv, long queues were reported at some polling stations, Kyiv, while most polling stations remained closed in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. In Donetsk, separatists publicly smashed ballot boxes.
After casting his vote in Kyiv, acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned: “All attempts to wreck the election made by Russia and Russian-funded terrorists are bound to fail."
Eighteen candidates are competing to become Ukraine's next leader.
Polls show billionaire candy-maker Petro Poroshenko with a commanding lead, but short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round.
His nearest challenger is former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
14:05
25.5.2014
After casting his vote at a polling station in Kyiv, presidential candidate Petro Poroshenko told journalists the May 25 election must help restore peace in Ukraine and "stop the terror" in the country's east. He also called for a direct dialogue with the people of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, parts of which remain under the control of pro-Russian separatists. A video from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service.
14:11
25.5.2014
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has arrived for his provocatively timed two-day working trip to Crimea.
Medvedev was scheduled to visit immigration offices in the city of Sevastopol, where Russian passports are being issued to local residents. Medvedev’s office said he will also visit the Artek children's center on the Black Sea. He will also meet with annexed Crimea's acting governor, Sergei Aksyonov.
It is Medvedev's second trip to Crimea since Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula in March.
In a statement, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry described the visit as "a deliberate provocation aimed at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine."
14:15
25.5.2014
Weather in Kyiv has apparently improved:
14:16
25.5.2014
Hromadske TV reports that turnout in Donetsk is 13.7 as of 3:00 pm
14:48
25.5.2014
More suggestions that there are armed fighters from Chechnya in eastern Ukraine. Our service points out that it's difficult to determine from such photos where the gunmen are from, and Russian writer/activist Sergei Shargunov cites a small number of "Ossetians and Chechens," noting that they would be individual volunteers.