Video: Demining Dog Helps Sappers Clear Battlefields Of Donbas
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has left some areas riddled with mines and mortars even after the combatants have moved on to other battlefields. A team of sappers is working to clear the minefields, a dangerous job that requires courage, patience, and the assistance of a Labrador retriever named Lord. (Produced by Levko Stek of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
That concludes our live-blogging for today. Check back here Friday morning for more of our continuing coverage.
U.S. Condemns Crackdown On Crimean Tatar Media
By RFE/RL
The United States has strongly condemned "Russian occupation authorities" for shutting down several Crimean Tatar language media on the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
In a statement on April 2, the U.S. State Department called the closures on April 1 the "latest in a string of actions that undermine freedom of expression in Crimea."
Spokeswoman Marie Harf said that the media outlets that were closed included ATR TV, the last independent television station serving the Crimean Tatar population of Crimea, as well as QHA news agency, the newspaper Avdet, radio station Meydan FM, and many more.
Harf said the move followed a "yearlong crusade to silence the Crimean Tatar population and others who oppose Russia’s occupation."
She noted Crimean Tatars have been singled out and subjected to a "pattern of discrimination, intimidation, and persecution."
Amnesty International said Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor's failure to register Crimean Tatar media outlets under Russian law amounted to "a blatant attack on freedom of expression, dressed-up as an administrative procedure."
Excerpt:
Parliament may soon enter dangerous territory if it decides to criminalize the public denial of military aggression that Ukraine is facing from Russia. Should the bill, co-authored by the buffoonish Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko, be approved, the offender will receive up to five years in prison. A repeat offender will face 10 year in prison for denying the fact. The authors argue that this law will prevent the nation from breaking up and specifically targets local officials in Ukraine’s east who refuse to use the word “aggression” in describing Russia’s actions.