Russia has a pretty odd way of interpreting legal terms. Late last week, the Investigative Committee launched a criminal case against top Ukrainian defense officials, accusing them of genocide for the shelling of separatist militias. You heard that right: Genocide. Watch Brian Whitmore's latest Daily Vertical:
Crimean Tatar Mejlis Chairman Refat Chubarov confirmed activists’ plans to block an administrative border between the Crimean peninsula and Kherson Oblast of Ukraine.
“Either on [September] 20th or the 21th we are blocking the border. We have made the decision,” he said today.
According to Chubarov, the blockade will be carried out not only “due to repressions of the Russian authorities of the Crimean Tatar people on the peninsula, but also due to unsuccessful actions of the Ukrainian government.”
Crimean Tatar leaders had announced their plans to block Ukrainian goods from crossing the border into Crimea earlier. According Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, “Ukraine shouldn’t provide for the occupation regime of Crimea.”
After these announcements, Crimea’s de-facto head Sergei Aksyonov said that the peninsula was ready for the blockade. There were “absolutely no fears” about that he said.
Boryspil City Council members gifted Mayor Anatoliy Fedorchuk a golden toilet during a meeting on September 10.
The "gift" was a result of the mayor's proposal to spend 119,000 hryvnas from the city budget on an architectural and garden element, The Armchair of Desires -- a sculpture of an armchair.
The toilet was briefly placed on the mayor’s table, but soon moved back to the floor.
A woman began to yell that placing the table on the table was inappropriate, and ended up sitting on the toilet to prevent anybody from moving it.
“You should put bread on the table, not toilets!” she said.
The mayor complained that the table “bought on community money” was ruined, as the toilet left scratch marks on its surface.
The purchase of The Armchair of Desires was never voted on by the council.
A golden toilet became a symbol of corruption in Ukraine back in 2011 when the French news agency AFR reported that then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had one in his Mezhihirya residence.
Only 20 percent of Crimeans took part in the by-elections to the Russian State Council of Crimea
“For by-elections these are acceptable numbers and they don’t diminish the legitimacy of Crimean people’s choice,” said Chairman of the Electoral Commission in Crimea Mikhail Malyshev.
Two United Russia party members won the elections.
According to Malyshev, the elections were “transparent and were held without violations.”
Two Ukrainian fighters have been killed and one has gone missing over the past 24 hours, said Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko. Two more people were wounded, he added.
Lysenko has not shared details on the circumstances the incidents.
Separatists violated the cease-fire regime eight times in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian military press service reported. Separatists, however, have blamed Ukrainians for violating the Minsk agreement.
Specialists from the Ukrainian armed forces discovered and neutralized a minefield near the village of Hnutove in the Donetsk region, the Defense Ministry's press service says.
"Specialists with professional training planted the mines. The field was discovered due to certain features and mistakes of enemy mine layers. It is noteworthy that this 'hellish field' was a 'combination.' Along with antitank mines, land mines, which are prohibited by international conventions, were planted," reads the statement.
The ministry emphasized that Ukraine's armed forces don't possess such weapons. "Our country has long acceded to international conventions," wrote the officials.
All in all, Ukrainian specialists defused 14 mines of different configurations.
"There are signs that the pressure on Russian authorities concerning Ukrainian hostages will continue to increase in the coming months. The point will be pressed home if not in 2015, than in 2016," tweeted Ilya Novikov, lawyer of imprisoned Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry considers 11 citizens "political prisoners" in Russia.
In other news, a public toilet with a counter for visitors was spotted in the western city of Lviv.
The counter, as photographed by Ukrainian journalist Vitaliy Moroz, states that since its installment on June 6, 2013, more than 4.6 mill people have visited it -- 5,112 just in one day.