There is no such a thing like ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine >>> see statement by @EUDelegationUA https://t.co/dG02UDlkpz
— Jacek Saryusz-Wolski (@JSaryuszWolski) October 2, 2014
.@KyivPost sits down with Patriarch Filaret, who compares Putin to Cain http://t.co/ukmS6jTeOP photo: @sia_vlasova pic.twitter.com/gFfFlMtaBa
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 3, 2014
Head Orthodox Church Kyiv Patriarchate tells @KyivPost Putin like brother-murdering Cain http://t.co/FBEzzujdoz pic.twitter.com/E0zXlVEqJa
— Ian Bateson (@ianbateson) October 3, 2014
The Red Cross has issued this statement on the death of one of its workers in Donetsk:
Kiev/Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is deeply distressed by the killing of one of its staff, Laurent DuPasquier, in Donetsk today. The 38-year-old Swiss national, an administrator in the organization’s office in the city, was killed when a shell landed near the premises.
“We are deeply shocked by this tragic loss," said ICRC Director of Operations Dominik Stillhart. “We understand that there were other civilian casualties in Donetsk today. Indiscriminate shelling of residential areas is unacceptable and violates international humanitarian law.”
Mr DuPasquier worked for the ICRC for more than five years, carrying out assignments in Pakistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt and Papua New Guinea. He started his posting in Ukraine six weeks ago.
The ICRC currently has about 20 staff in Donetsk, including five expatriates of various nationalities. All other ICRC staff are now in safety.
The ICRC has been working in Ukraine since the onset of the crisis this year, supporting hospitals, helping displaced and vulnerable people, and restoring contact between family members separated by the conflict.
Thank you, @KyivPost! Foreign investors grill #Poroshenko over corruption, sale of seats http://t.co/orEVaapZuu
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) October 3, 2014
Rebels now saying that Donetsk airport is not under their full control, battle ongoing http://t.co/y3UIxtUQFn
— Paul Gypteau (@paulgypteau) October 3, 2014
Carlsberg is Considering Shutting More Breweries in Russia, Jyllands-Posten reports. Already temporarily closed 2 /10 http://t.co/F9uXPzTxhd
— Jason Corcoran (@jason_corcoran) October 3, 2014
Vice has published an interesting piece by Holly Baxter, who has been writing about her recent visit to Moscow on a mysterious press junket:
Ask anyone in the mainstream Russian media what they think of their Western counterparts and they will answer you with one word: "propagandists." Again and again, we were told in this exact phraseology that Russia was aiming to "win the information war." There is no objective truth, we were informed by one official; there is only narrative. A teenager studying journalism at Moscow State University told us that "democracy is an illusion."
Outside of the media agencies, Moscow has been transformed. During my visit, lush new parklands sprung up in front of my eyes where abandoned car parks had stood 24 hours before. The streets were newly paved, the polished stones literally shining, and many were lined with charity tents asking people to give money to the soldiers in Ukraine. Public memorials to Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine were a common sight; they were being hailed as the heroes of a new Russian struggle to take back land—and people—who rightfully belonged to Moscow.
That weekend, people came out for Moscow City Day in droves, swarming into open spaces like the Park of the Fallen Idols (or, depending upon your perspective, Park of the Heroes), which was once a place for abandoned Soviet statues and quiet reflection and now is a manicured space where free yoga classes are held and complimentary orange juice is given out among figures of Lenin, Krushchev, Brezhnev, and Stalin.
T-shirts were on sale in Red Square that featured images of Putin and Medvedev walking arm-in-arm with the caption: "THEY ARE PATRIOTS, YOU?" and reproductions of the infamous "Putin topless on a horse" photo. The faces of the vendors told me that none of this was intended ironically. A member of our group spotted a man whose young son was proudly sporting one of these garments—a T-shirt featuring Putin staring into the middle distance, his abs decorated with the Olympic rings.
Later, traversing the ridiculously beautiful Moscow Metro, a fellow journalist and I experienced one unexpected effect of this rejuvenated patriotism: We were grabbed by a local man who had overheard us having a conversation in English. "This is Russia. Speak Russian!" he demanded, before adding, eloquently, "In fact, if you’re American, I’ll punch you."
(My colleague—who, luckily enough, was fluent in Russian himself—managed to persuade the man that we were Serbians on holiday, at which point the man threw his arms around him and proclaimed that they were "brothers.")
This escalating sense of national pride had reached levels of hysteria; it was touching the drunk man on the subway as much as it was Putin—who openly sobbed during a rendition of the Russian national anthem while we were there—and the news agency heads, who were provoked into slamming their fists on the tables in rage when told that most of us saw the Ukrainian crisis as a Russian invasion rather than a humanitarian expedition.
Read the entire article here
This would appear to directly contradict what Kyiv's Security and Defense Council tweeted an hour or two ago (see below):
Rebels say that they took over Donetsk airport and are now "cleaning". Impossible to check or confirm so far.
— Paul Gypteau (@paulgypteau) October 3, 2014
Putin gives #Russia-n citizenship to Yanukovych, Pshonka and Azarov, says Azarov advisor. http://t.co/4glTR4ZMRI @ukrpravda_news #Ukraine
— Chrystyna Lapychak (@chryslap) October 3, 2014
This poll on the upcoming parliamentary elections doesn't augur well for Yulia Tymoshenko and her cohorts:
Oct. 26 parliamentary election puts #Ukraine's democracy to another test http://t.co/ZZmpTIVTgs pic.twitter.com/He5EHYTcLp
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) October 3, 2014