Senior adviser to terrorists in Ukraine has confirmed extrajudicial killings have been carried out "to prevent chaos".http://t.co/ylNbSdRJs7
— Anders Östlund (@andersostlund) August 2, 2014
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, based on info received as of 18:00, 1 Aug http://t.co/30QVBewsHJ #MH17 .@OSCE_SMM
— OSCE (@OSCE) August 2, 2014
Territory under control of #Donetsk terrorists' group is now cut from rest of the area http://t.co/fGTcI5T9R0 |EMPR pic.twitter.com/19CcqiUjNx
— Euromaidan PR (@EuromaidanPR) August 2, 2014
A large part of #Donetsk (Petrovsky r-n) is offline. No electricity. Rebel cars speeding in all directions through empty streets
— Emmanuel Grynszpan (@_zerez_) August 2, 2014
BBC reports new fighting hampers #MH17 crash probe #Ukraine http://t.co/Xzyo5FirHx pic.twitter.com/B0auGNgZJH
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) August 2, 2014
Here's an update from RFE/RL's news desk on the fighting in eastern Ukraine:
The spokesman for Ukraine's National Defense and Security Council has claimed pro-government forces have captured two key towns in rebel-held territory in east of the country.
Andriy Lysenko said at a news conference today that Kyiv's troops have "liberated" the towns of Krasnohorovka and Staromikhajlivka near the city of Donetsk.
Lysenko also said Kyiv has received reports of Russian forces gathering at areas some five kilometers from Ukraine's eastern border.
Lysenko said those reports included claims that farmers in Russian areas along Ukraine's border were instructed to gather their harvests by August 3.
The Donetsk mayor's office on August 2 confirmed clashes in the Biryuzova district.
The Luhansk city council on August 2 said all electricity and water to the city had been cut off.
(UNIAN, Interfax)
Forbes gallery of Putin magazine covers makes one doubt adage all publicity is good publicity: http://t.co/DYtaJwKON6 pic.twitter.com/jdE5XJ2CyG
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) August 2, 2014
Ukraine claims Russian farmers at the border with Ukraine told to finish harvest before Aug 3 http://t.co/gVp9CVCJFC
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) August 2, 2014
RFE/RL's Robert Coalson has been looking at Kyiv's prospects of regaining Crimea:
Speaking on Ukrainian television on August 1, President Petro Poroshenko said his country "will not give up Crimea."
"Ukraine will use all methods that are at its disposal to defend its national interests," he said, announcing his order that the Justice Ministry pursue all legal avenues.
Poroshenko's deputy chief of staff, Valeriy Chaliy, repeated the position the same day, saying there is "no chance" Kyiv will ever recognize the "occupation of Crimea."
"Crimea was, is, and always will be part of Ukraine," he said.
The tough talk from Kyiv came just days after an equally categorical statement from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "Crimea is part of Russia," he said. "There haven't been any talks with anybody about Crimea. There are no talks, and there can be no talks."
Ukrainian Special Ambassador Andriy Veselovskiy says legal mechanisms for achieving Kyiv's goals do exist. In conversation with RFE/RL's Ukraine Service, he cites as precedents the return of the Rhineland to Germany some 20 years after World War I and the return of Hong Kong to China after more than 100 years of British rule in 1997.
"There are many examples," he says. "But in all of them there is one important condition -- both sides agreed to an arbitrational consideration of the situation. In the current case, I don't know anyone who can imagine that Russia would agree to participate in such a process. And that is the problem -- not a lack of mechanisms."
You can read the entire article here.
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