Poroshenko: Ukrainians Should Vote On Whether to Join NATO
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has repeated a pledge to put the question of NATO membership before the Ukrainian people in a referendum vote.
Poroshenko told the iTele French television station on April 22 that joining NATO is a "fundamental" issue, and he would "hold a referendum [and] let the people decide."
He did not say when such a vote would be held.
The Ukrainian president has previously stated that Kyiv would not attempt to join the military alliance without getting approval in a referendum.
But Poroshenko said the government's priority is joining the European Union because Ukraine is a European country and "Europe can't be complete without Ukraine."
On the fighting in eastern Ukraine, Poroshenko said bloodshed continues as government troops battle Russian-backed separatists in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions despite a February cease-fire agreement.
More than 6,100 people have been killed in the conflict in the past year.
Based on reporting by Unian and KyivPost.com
Ukrainian Coal Miners Protest In Kyiv
Hundreds of coal miners have marched through Ukraine's capital demanding that the government stop buying fuel from abroad and put an end to the closing of mines.
The miners demanded the resignation of Coal and Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn as they banged their helmets with sticks and waved flags.
The April 23 protest march went from government headquarters to the Coal and Energy Ministry building, which was guarded by dozens of police.
Demchyshyn, who is in the United States for an international energy conference, said he was ending his trip early to return to Kyiv and deal with the protest.
The government says it was forced to buy winter coal supplies from abroad because of the war against Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine where most of the country's largest mines are located.
The miners held an annual congress in Kyiv on April 22, one day before the protest.
Based on reporting by AP and Interfax
Pentagon Says Russian Claim Of U.S. Troops In Eastern Ukraine 'Ridiculous'
The Pentagon has denied a Kremlin claim that U.S. military trainers have been sent into eastern Ukraine, calling the statement a “ridiculous attempt to shift the focus” from Russia’s own military activities there.
A Russian Foreign Ministry statement on April 23 said Lavrov told Kerry in a phone call the previous day that the arrival of U.S. paratroopers in western Ukraine to train Ukrainian forces “and information about the appearance of personnel from the American military company Academi in the ranks of Ukrainian forces” in eastern Ukraine “bear witness to violations by Kyiv of its commitment to withdrawal of all foreign units, military equipment, and mercenaries from Ukrainian territory.”
Pentagon spokeswoman Eileen Lainez said on April 23: “Russia continues to supply lethal weapons, training, and command and control support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine in blatant violation of Moscow’s Minsk commitments and Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Academi is the private U.S. security and military training firm that formerly was known as Blackwater.