Thursday, April 17
05:57 GMT:
Three people were killed and thirteen others injured by gunfire in a confrontation between anti-Maidan protesters and soldiers stationed at an Interior Ministry base in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has written on his Facebook page
00:36 GMT:
Ukraine’s security service and Mariupol police conducted a joint operation at around 1 a.m. local time, according to Mariupol’s website. Law enforcement officers reportedly detained 10 people. Read more about the anti-govt protesters rally near Ukrainian military base here -
3 dead, 13 injured as anti-govt protesters rally near Ukrainian military base - Interior Ministry
Ukrainian coup-imposed authorities have their hands full with various problems. The country’s eastern regions remain in turmoil, with protesters demanding autonomy from the capital, and economic perils are aggravated by an imminent gas debt crisis.
03:55 GMT:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is heading to Geneva for Ukraine talks with the US, the EU, and Ukraine.
03:03 GMT:
The Ukrainian military freed detained Russian journalists from ‘Russia’ TV channel, Russia 24 reported. The night before, there were reports that a group of journalists were detained in southeastern Ukraine. The release comes after the Russian embassy in Kiev sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calling for an explanation as to why the reporters were detained.
02:57 GMT:
The debts of Ukrainian TV channels to their Russian counterparts were discussed during a closed-door meeting with Russia’s Deputy Minister of Communications Aleksey Volin, Vedomosti newspaper reported, citing sources who attended the meeting. Last year, Ukrainian channels purchased the rights to Russian series and shows worth US$200-$300 million, but started falling behind on payments at the end of 2013.
02:03 GMT:
Geneva talks on Ukraine between Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine must result in Ukraine getting onto the path of normal development, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said at the UNSC meeting. Churkin added that it is important for all regions of Ukraine to understand what the future has in store for them.
00:17 GMT:
Slovakia has increased security in the eastern part of the country’s border that is adjacent to Ukraine, news agency TASR reported, citing a statement by Interior Minister Robert Kalinyak.
“The situation in Ukraine is developing dramatically. We have adopted extraordinary measures,” Kalinyak said without specifying which measures were taken to enhance security.
00:15 GMT:
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton met with Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andrey Deshchytsa ahead of the Geneva talks on Ukraine between Russia, the US, the EU, and Ukraine.
Wednesday, April 16
23:52 GMT:
Assistant UN Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said that the second UN human rights report on Ukraine will be submitted on May 15.
23:42 GMT:
Employees with Europe’s Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) observer mission in Ukraine are trying to be impartial in their work, observing without bias against the protesters in the southeastern part of the country, Kommersant newspaper cited Russia's permanent representative to the OSCE, Andrey Kelin, as saying.
23:37 GMT:
Spain's minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, José García-Margallo y Marfil, called for saving the dialogue with Russia and urged the respect of international laws, Spain’s news agency EFE reported.
"Russia should be a partner, not an opponent of the European Union,” the minister was quoted as saying.
22:48 GMT:
Ruptly’s footage shows a group of women over 50 years old helping to man checkpoints on roads in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday evening
22:48 GMT:
United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told the UNSC that Kiev’s actions in the east of the country were
“careful and balanced.”
22:46 GMT:
Russia's permanent representative to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, said Moscow does not have plans to use military intervention in Ukraine or invade any other territory, CNN reported.
“Russia has no plans to intervene militarily, no plans to invade anybody – not Ukraine, not any other country; or to annex anything,” he said.
22:32 GMT:
Churkin said Russia will not discuss Crimea at the UNSC meeting, at least not in the framework of the
“situation in Ukraine.”
22:30 GMT:
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said the Russian language is being forced out of common utilization in Ukraine.
22:21 GMT:
Churkin at UNSC:
“Our discussion here reminds me of a broken record.”
21:52 GMT:
UN observers will be verifying reports about attacks on Ukrainian presidential candidates, Assistant UN Secretary General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said during the UNSC meeting.
Earlier in the week, there were
reports that radicals attacked two Ukrainian presidential candidates - Mikhail Dobkin and Oleg Tsarev.
21:40 GMT:
The Russian embassy in Kiev sent a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in connection with the detention of journalists from ‘Russia’ TV channel, Interfax reported. Russia is expecting an explanation from the ministry as to why the journalists were detained.
21:26 GMT:
Ukraine’s acting prosecutor general, Oleg Mahnitsky, said that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov is wanted for abuse of power, according to local Inter TV channel. Mahnitsky added that a criminal investigation has been opened into the matter.
21:12 GMT:
Residents in southeastern Ukraine warned authorities that they are willing to use themselves as live shields, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said during the UNSC meeting. Some army personnel are switching to the side of the people, he added.
21:11 GMT:
The actions of the Ukrainian government may lead to a civil war, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin stressed during the UNSC meeting in New York. Churkin added that the idea behind the use of force in eastern Ukraine comes from representatives of those countries that are
“constantly whispering something” into the ears of Ukraine’s top leaders.
21:03 GMT:
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Churkin to UNSC: Russians are either being called
“not ethnic people,” or
“aliens,” or
“invaders.”
20:55 GMT:
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin called the UN human rights report
“biased in nature” and onesided during the UNSC meeting in New York.
18:45 GMT:
The US State Department said that they’ve prepared additional sanctions against Russia, but they won’t be implemented until after the talks on Ukraine take place Thursday in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Don't expect any before tomorrow’s meetings,” said Marie Harf, deputy spokesperson at the State Department.
“But if there are not steps taken by Russia to de-escalate, we will take additional steps, including additional sanctions.”
18:32 GMT:
Some of the police officers in Donetsk have sided with the city’s pro-Russian protesters, Vitaly Yarema, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister, was cited as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.
“The situation is very complicated in Donetsk. The mayor and the head of administration are constantly in touch with us. There are police officers, who preserve Ukrainian independence, but there are some police officers, who put on St. George ribbons (the symbol of the protesters),” Yarema said.
18:22 GMT:
The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of double standards and hypocrisy, saying that the US government had taken completely different approaches toward the Maidan protesters and the pro-federalization demonstrators in southeast Ukraine.
“The US keeps justifying the outrageous acts of the ‘Maidan heroes,’ calling it a people’s revolution, but labels the protests in Donetsk, Kharkov, Lugansk, Slavyansk and other cities a raid by the foreign terrorists. This isn’t just double standards, but outright hypocrisy,” the ministry said.
18:21 GMT:
Washington is
“juggling with facts” to blame Russia for being behind the protests in southeast Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The US State Department is frantically collecting each and every speculation distributed by the current Kiev authorities,” the ministry said. “
Take, for example, the two hastily arranged press release from April 13, with a heap of dubious ‘facts’ linking the Russian special forces with the seizure of administrative buildings and coordination of protest action.”
The ministry said that Kalashnikov rifles in the hands of the protesters was very inconclusive
“proof” of Russian involvement, as the US State Department is well aware that AK-47s are also used by the Ukrainian army and special forces.
Moscow said that it was stunned by
“the stubborn unwillingness or inability [of the US] to see reality for what it is; and a push to force this distorted perception of what is happening in southeast Ukraine upon the rest of the world.”
17:57 GMT:
By saying that
“law must be enforced” in the southeast of Ukraine, the US is, in fact, giving its approval to Kiev’s war against its own citizens, the Russian Foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Washington must realize the catastrophic consequences of such reckless support for their Kiev proteges,” the ministry said.
17:06 GMT:
The activists in Donetsk have replaced the Ukrainian flag in front of the mayor’s office with the flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
16:07 GMT:
The troops from the disbanded Berkut special police force who were injured in the line of duty during the Maidan riots in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, will receive financial assistance of 200,000 roubles (around $5,500), Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev announced.
15:41 GMT:
Protesters in eastern Ukraine have hoisted flags of the recently-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic above the buildings of the District Councils in the towns of Novoazovsk and Krasnoarmeisk, local media reports.
In Novoazovsk, several dozen pro-federalization supporters gathered near the building of the local administration demanding that it support the referendum. During the rally, the participants replaced the Ukrainian flags with the flag of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
In Krasnoarmeisk, the flag of Donetsk People’s Republic was hoisted together with the Ukrainian one. Later, protesters made their way to the local police department and hung the Donetsk People's Republic flag from one of its windows.
15:26 GMT:
A new criminal case has been opened against Ukrainian presidential candidate Oleg Tsarev, Lugansk Region Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday. According to the body, Tsarev has been charged with
“actions promoting changes within the national borders” for his public pro-Russian speeches, in which he supported the demands of eastern Ukrainians for referendum and federalization.
This is the latest case brought against Tsarev, who last Tuesday was charged with
“violation of national territorial integrity and immunity of Ukraine” by the Kiev Prosecutor’s Office. The charges are punishable by up to 12 years in prison, according to the Ukrainian Criminal Code.
Tsarev, who is vehemently opposed to the coup-imposed Kiev government, was
assaulted and beaten up by radical thugs in the ICTV network building in Kiev on Tuesday, where he was being filmed with his electoral team. The politician stressed he would not be intimidated and would not withdraw from the presidential race, despite his injuries.
14:06 GMT:
The Party of Regions’ candidate for Ukrainian president, Mikhail Dobkin, says he’ll withdraw from the election if Kiev’s military uses force against civilians in the southeast of the country.
“If the current interim Ukrainian authorities use force in the southeast of the country, if the military opens fire on the people, I’ll quit the presidential campaign and never recognize the election and the person whom they appoint as president,” Dobkin was reported as saying by Itar-Tass news agency.
The candidate said that the coup-imposed Ukrainian authorities are
“physically preventing” him from appearing on television.
Dobkin also expressed doubt that the election, scheduled from May 25, will be even held as
“some of the opponents, who currently speaking about the need for salvation for Ukraine, are doing everything to disrupt it.”
14:06 GMT:
Censorship is depriving people in the West of their right for freedom of information as all Russian comments on Ukraine are being ignored, said Dmitry Peskov, President Vladimir Putin’s press secretary.
Russia’s stance on Ukraine is
“consistent and well-reasoned,” with the country’s top officials using every opportunity to explain it and dispel rumors, Peskov told the Russia-24 TV channel.
“But those explanations aren’t getting through, not because of their invalidity… but because they encounter a rough concrete wall of censorship,” he said.
“We’ve never seen anything like it. We couldn’t have thought that it can all happen so overtly,” Peskov added.
