#OSCE doesn't have enough observers to monitor cease-fire deal in #Ukraine http://t.co/3UGwcGoVs2 pic.twitter.com/iXNHmA0txO
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) October 7, 2014
That @novaya_gazeta article, translated. 'He wasn't a volunteer,' says wife of Russian officer killed in east Ukraine http://t.co/fBPsGgWaBS
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 7, 2014
Another update from RFE/RL's news desk:
The electoral commission for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) in eastern Ukraine has called for a delay in conducting parliamentary and presidential elections.
Roman Lyahin, the chairman of the so-called DNR Central Election Commission, said today that no decision had been taken yet on postponing the planned November 2 elections but he said "more than 15% of the territories where polling stations are located are unfit for the elections."
Lyahin said another week is needed to make all the necessary preparations.
Underscoring the problems, Lyahin said his commission had just received the registration documents from the Novorossiya movement.
Lyahin also said the so-called prime minister of the DNR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, was the only person so far to file documents to run for the DNR's top post and Zakharchenko "is the only one who is collecting signatures" to be registered as a candidate.
No country besides Russia is likely to recognize elections in the pro-Russian separatist held region as being legitimate.
(Interfax, TASS)
At least 5 Lenins down in 24 hrs, according to Tass https://t.co/vXq2NRvWxn
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) October 7, 2014
Donetsk Nr2 separatist Andrei Purgin just told us that notorious Cdr Igor Bezler is no longer in charge of Horlivka, "left not long ago"
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) October 7, 2014
As our news desk reports, it's just been announced in Brussels that the Euromaidan movement is in the running for the Sakharov Prize:
The European Parliament has shortlisted Ukraine's pro-Western Euromaidan movement, Azerbaijani rights defender Leyla Yunus, and a Congolese doctor for the 2014 Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.
The Euromaidan movement derived from a wave of pro-EU demonstrations across Ukraine that led to President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster in February.
As the movement has no designated leader, four people were cited as its representatives -- journalists Mustafa Nayem and Tetyana Chornovol, Eurovision Song contest winner Ruslana Lyzhychko, and student Yelyzaveta Schepetylnykova.
Yunus of Azerbaijan is known for her work helping citizens affected by forced evictions in Baku and compiling lists of political prisoners in her country. She and her husband are currently in pre-trial detention on high treason charges.
The 50,000-euro ($64,200) Sakharov Prize is awarded annually to honor defenders of human rights and freedom of expression.
The laureate will be announced October 16.
This is, indeed, pretty horrific...
What can happen when people get driven mad by grief and rage in a war - a public beating in Ukraine. Sickening: http://t.co/Mp48k7WHhf
— Tom Parfitt (@parfitt_tom) October 7, 2014
These reported comments by Russia's finance minister are somewhat surprising and could have implications for Moscow's military build-up (and probably not what Vladimir Putin wants to hear on his birthday):
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said the country's military spending plans need to be "more realistic" and take into consideration forecasts for economic growth and budget revenue.
Siluanov addressed Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, on October 7 and said his ministry wanted to reconsider the amount to be spent from the state budget on Russia's multibillion dollar program to rearm and modernize the military.
Siluanov said currently Russian simply could not afford such spending and added the finance and defense ministries have already started talks on which programs could be financed from state coffers.
The current plan calls for spending some $576 billion on defense in the next six years.
Western sanctions against Russia over the Kremlin's interference in Ukraine have hit Russian energy companies especially hard and those companies are responsible for bringing in a large amount of revenue to the Russian state.
(Interfax, Reuters)
Victoria Nuland @ Shevchenko University: #Ukraine will be able to send over 300 students to the US each year via FLEX pic.twitter.com/R8abrEy86E
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@GeoffPyatt) October 7, 2014
Some worrying economic news for Russia according to this report issued by Bloomberg:
Russia’s central bank spent as much as $1.75 billion to prop up the ruble over the last two trading days, its biggest market intervention since President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into Ukraine in March.
Russia’s central bank spent the equivalent of $980 million to shore up the ruble on Oct. 3, the latest data on the authority’s website showed today. The bank also said it shifted the upper boundary of the currency’s trading band by 10 kopeks yesterday, a move that may have involved spending between $420 million and $769 million that day. The exchange rate weakened 0.3 percent to 44.6234 versus the basket by 5:12 p.m. in Moscow, set for a record low for the fourth time this month.
Putin is suffering the consequences for shaking up the post-Cold War order in eastern Europe as the U.S. and European Union impose sanctions on his economy and investors pull money out of the country. Demand for dollars and euros is growing among Russian companies locked out of western debt markets as they contend with $54.7 billion of debt repayments in the next three months, according to central bank data.
Read the entire article here