The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council responds bitterly to the protest in front of parliament yesterday, in the related fact sheet accusing protesters of "caused injury as well as destruction of property" and forcing the postponement of important legislative business.
It also suggested the protesters misrepresented themselves:
While the protestors tried to pass themselves off as Right Sector and Freedom Party members, their actions delayed a vote that Right Sector as well as Freedom Party supporters in the ATO zone actually need to vote.
Interfax's extended quotes of Prime Minister Medvedev from the CNBC interview:
"It's not a signal to Washington. This decision is part of Russia's domestic policy. It can be construed any way you like, but it's not a signal," the premier said.
"We are deeply concerned about the events in Ukraine. We would like the civil war unleashed by the coup earlier this year to end and Ukraine to return to calm and stability," Medvedev continued.
"Our current goal is to help restore peace in Ukraine. We can do so only through negotiations. Central Ukraine, the central government must listen to eastern Ukraine. Whether or not they like these people, whatever they choose to call them, they must sit down and agree on how they will live together, if they want to. That's the most important thing," the Russian premier said.
From a Bloomberg interview with Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb:
Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said President Vladimir Putin’s policy of intimidation shows any goal of forging more harmonious ties between Europe and Russia must now be shelved.
Stubb, who already in 2008 said a five-day war with Georgia betrayed the Kremlin’s preference for military aggression in its foreign policy, says the Russian government has unsettled its former Cold War foes with its erratic behavior.
“We should now for a while forget the idea that Russia will become a regular Western state: it will not,” Stubb said in an interview in Helsinki. “Its behavior is currently very unpredictable.”
Read the full interview here.