Russia threatens to prosecute MP who opposed Crimea annexation
Moscow, March 26, 2015 (AFP) -- Russian prosecutors have asked parliament to lift the immunity from prosecution of the only member of Russia's legislature who voted against the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, parliamentary officials said Thursday.
That position made Ilya Ponomaryov, now living in exile in the United States, become a pariah in a legislature that has become little more than a rubber stamp for President Vladimir Putin.
The March 2014 takeover of Crimea, which sparked a deep crisis between Moscow and Western capitals, was portrayed by the Kremlin as a patriotic mission to restore control over historic Russian lands and was highly popular with the public.
In addition to opposing the annexation, the 39-year-old politician was also a prominent organiser and speaker at mass rallies against Putin's return to the presidency in 2012 after a period as prime minister.
He has been living in the United States since last year, saying he was forced to leave after being accused in a civil suit of improperly taking money from a state innovation project.
A senior parliamentary official, Yury Shuvalov, confirmed Thursday that prosecutors requested to lift Ponomaryov's immunity.
Moscow could reignite Ukraine fighting: US diplomat
Washington, March 26, 2015 (AFP) -- The United States fears that Moscow and pro-Russian separatists will reignite the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine following a February ceasefire that has largely held, a US diplomat warned Wednesday.
"Russia can reignite the conflict at any time of its choosing," the senior State Department official told journalists.
"Everything that Russia has done since the second Minsk agreement suggests that they will hold that option open," the diplomat added.
The February ceasefire deal between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, agreed during marathon overnight talks in the Belarus capital, has largely held despite sporadic fighting along the frontline.
"Obviously there has been a dramatic decline in the level of violence" the diplomat said, but added that "there has not been a shift in Russia's strategic direction. Russia continues to send equipment across the border."
"We now know that the ceasefire after the first Minsk agreement (in September) was used by the Russians to run a very large 'train and equip' program," the diplomat said.
The United States has long accused Russia of sending heavy military equipment such as tanks and anti-missile systems into eastern Ukraine, a charge that Moscow denies.
American lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Monday to urge President Barack Obama to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons to defend itself against Russian "aggression," but the president has so far resisted calls.
Chechen Official Vows To Arm Mexico If U.S. Gives Weapons To Ukraine
By RFE/RL
A senior Chechen official has said that Russia will provide arms to Mexico if Washington supplies weapons to Ukraine.
Chechen parliament speaker Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said the arms would be aimed at reigniting U.S.-Mexican disputes over “territories annexed by the United States in the American states of California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and part of Wyoming.”
“We will perceive arms shipments to Ukraine as a signal to respond in kind,” Abdurakhmanov said in a March 24 statement posted on the Chechen parliament’s website.
Abdurakhmanov is a close associate of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed strongman who rules the Russian region.
Prominent American lawmakers have called on U.S. President Barack Obama to supply Ukraine with weapons they say will allow Kyiv to protect its territory against Russian-backed separatists.
The Obama administration has resisted the calls, saying the move could result in greater bloodshed between Ukrainian forces and the separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 6,000 people since April 2014.
Three Killed After Bus Hits Mine In Eastern Ukraine
Three people have been killed in eastern Ukraine after the bus they were riding in struck a land mine.
Officials said the bus was traveling from Artemivsk, a town controlled by government troops, to Horlivka, in a separatist-held area northeast of the city of Donetsk.
According to reports, the bus struck the mine when the driver tried to go around a checkpoint.
The wounded, numbering at least seven, were taken to a hospital in Artemivsk.
Elsewhere, President Petro Poroshenko was on hand at Kyiv's international airport to oversee a shipment of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, including 10 Humvee vehicles.
In total, Washington plans to send 200 regular Humvees, radios, countermortar radars and other nonlethal equipment worth $75 million.
U.S. President Barack Obama has so far refused to heed calls from Congress to send defensive arms and ammunition to Ukraine.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
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