14:51
16.6.2014
Some more developments in eastern Ukraine (from RFE/RL's news desk):
Pro-Russian rebels have seized the Ukrainian government's central bank building in separatist-controlled Donetsk.
A representative of the rebels, Oleksandr Matyushyn, said today that separatists had entered discussions with local administrators about transferring control over the local treasury and tax collection service to the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic."
"We want the tax revenues to stay here instead of going to Kyiv," Matyushyn said.
Andrei Purgin, first deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed entity, told the media, "It's not a forced seizure. It's a planned dialogue."
Separatist gunmen stood guard at the bank's main entrance while bank staff filed out of the building.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence from Kyiv in disputed May 11 referendums whose legitimacy was rejected by Kyiv and decried as a sham by the West.
A representative of the rebels, Oleksandr Matyushyn, said today that separatists had entered discussions with local administrators about transferring control over the local treasury and tax collection service to the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic."
"We want the tax revenues to stay here instead of going to Kyiv," Matyushyn said.
Andrei Purgin, first deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed entity, told the media, "It's not a forced seizure. It's a planned dialogue."
Separatist gunmen stood guard at the bank's main entrance while bank staff filed out of the building.
The Donetsk and Luhansk regions declared independence from Kyiv in disputed May 11 referendums whose legitimacy was rejected by Kyiv and decried as a sham by the West.
14:39
16.6.2014
Souvenir shopping in #Kiev."F*** Putin" & "Bandera & proud" fridge magnets. #Yanukovych golden loaf keyring #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/JT4odriv2x
— Harriet Salem (@HarrietSalem) June 16, 2014
14:27
16.6.2014
RFE/RL's news desk has some more details on Moscow's disquiet over the violent demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv on Saturday:
Russia's Foreign Ministry has sent a note of protest to Ukraine demanding that those responsible for the attempted storming of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv be caught and punished.
The June 15 note criticized Kyiv authorities for not preventing demonstrators from tearing down the Russian flag, throwing stones and eggs at the embassy building, and damaging several vehicles parked nearby.
Protesters, according to some accounts several hundred of them, gathered outside the Russian Embassy on June 14 after news broke that pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine had shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane, killing 49 people aboard.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the protesters "wanted to see blood."
The Kyiv police department said on June 15 that three people had been taken into custody in connection with the disturbances at the Russian Embassy.
The June 15 note criticized Kyiv authorities for not preventing demonstrators from tearing down the Russian flag, throwing stones and eggs at the embassy building, and damaging several vehicles parked nearby.
Protesters, according to some accounts several hundred of them, gathered outside the Russian Embassy on June 14 after news broke that pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine had shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane, killing 49 people aboard.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the protesters "wanted to see blood."
The Kyiv police department said on June 15 that three people had been taken into custody in connection with the disturbances at the Russian Embassy.
13:56
16.6.2014
Gazprom CEO Miller threatens European countries for gas reversal to Ukraine: we will limit your gas supplies pic.twitter.com/T0r2Jxldrz
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) June 16, 2014
13:53
16.6.2014
Judy Dempsey from the Carnegie Europe think tank has been warning against complacency as the Ukraine crisis seems to be slowly sliding off the news radar:
Read the entire article here.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and François Hollande, the French president, spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 asking him to control better Russia’s borders with Ukraine. But so far, every one of Merkel’s attempts to persuade Putin to stop Russia’s support for militia groups in Eastern Ukraine has failed.
Russia continues to deny it is arming rebels in the East of Ukraine. Instead, Putin has called on the Ukrainian government to stop its military operations. Yet Kiev is simply attempting to regain control of its territory while also trying to establish some dialogue with Moscow to end the crisis.
In this situation, doing nothing is not an option for Europe or America. The longer European governments hesitate, the more Ukraine is threatened by civil war. Its citizens will flee the conflict, and the growing humanitarian crisis in the East of the country will increase.
There may also be spillover into other parts of Eastern Europe. Just consider the political instability in Moldova and Russia’s meddling in Transnistria, not to speak of the lingering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia continues to deny it is arming rebels in the East of Ukraine. Instead, Putin has called on the Ukrainian government to stop its military operations. Yet Kiev is simply attempting to regain control of its territory while also trying to establish some dialogue with Moscow to end the crisis.
In this situation, doing nothing is not an option for Europe or America. The longer European governments hesitate, the more Ukraine is threatened by civil war. Its citizens will flee the conflict, and the growing humanitarian crisis in the East of the country will increase.
There may also be spillover into other parts of Eastern Europe. Just consider the political instability in Moldova and Russia’s meddling in Transnistria, not to speak of the lingering conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Read the entire article here.
13:00
16.6.2014
Russian Energy Minister claims that Ukraine was "not constructive" in gas talks from the very start, rejected compromise
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 16, 2014
12:57
16.6.2014
OSCE warns Donetsk water supply damaged http://t.co/wrlqE195l8
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) June 16, 2014
12:46
16.6.2014
Russia has just turned off Ukraine's gas supply. Which other countries rely on Russian gas? http://t.co/zTLO6OlREx pic.twitter.com/LHHsCLObu1
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 16, 2014
12:45
16.6.2014
Alleged conversation between Lukashenka & Yanukovych's son, discussing Yanuk. coming to Belarus. http://t.co/X6i1Q4z5Be via @_shamanska
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) June 16, 2014
12:43
16.6.2014
In a counter move, Ukraine sues Russia for $6 bn in the recent gas dispute - 'Naftogaz' stmt http://t.co/c8oEj0mFht
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) June 16, 2014