17:00
8.3.2014
AP reports on all those military vehicles we've been seeing moving through Crimea today:
SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of military trucks transporting heavily armed soldiers rumbled over Crimea's rutted roads Saturday as Russia reinforced its armed presence on the disputed peninsula in the Black Sea. Moscow's foreign minister ruled out any dialogue with Ukraine's new authorities, whom he dismissed as the puppets of extremists.
The Russians have denied their armed forces are active in Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter trailed one military convoy Saturday afternoon from 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Feodosia to a military airfield at Gvardeiskoe north of Simferopol, over which a Russian flag flew.
Some of the army green vehicles had Russian license plates and numbers indicating that they were from the Moscow region. Some towed mobile kitchens and what appeared to be mobile medical equipment.
The Russians have denied their armed forces are active in Crimea, but an Associated Press reporter trailed one military convoy Saturday afternoon from 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Feodosia to a military airfield at Gvardeiskoe north of Simferopol, over which a Russian flag flew.
Some of the army green vehicles had Russian license plates and numbers indicating that they were from the Moscow region. Some towed mobile kitchens and what appeared to be mobile medical equipment.
16:37
8.3.2014
Writing in "Novaya gazeta," Yulia Latynina argues that the West should start an oil-and-gas war with Russia by driving down energy prices.
16:34
8.3.2014
Want to know how Russia took Crimea? The position of Russian vessels? The comparative military strength of Russia and Ukraine?
Check out this feature from "The New York Times" - Ukraine Crisis In Maps.
Check out this feature from "The New York Times" - Ukraine Crisis In Maps.
16:30
8.3.2014
Wire services are reporting that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and Ukraine's Ambassador to Moscow, Volodymyr Yelchenko, have met in Moscow.
From Deutsche Welle:
From Deutsche Welle:
Russia's deputy foreign minister and Ukrainian ambassador to Moscow met in the Russian capital on Saturday to discuss rising tensions in the Crimea region, the Russian foreign ministry said.
"On the 8th of March, a meeting took place between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and Ukraine's Ambassador to Russia Volodymyr Yelchenko during which, in an open atmosphere, questions of Russia-Ukrainian relations were discussed," a statement from the foreign ministry said.
"On the 8th of March, a meeting took place between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and Ukraine's Ambassador to Russia Volodymyr Yelchenko during which, in an open atmosphere, questions of Russia-Ukrainian relations were discussed," a statement from the foreign ministry said.
16:20
8.3.2014
Pro-#Ukraine rally in #Crimea in the face of #Russian occupation. MT @mikekomar #Russia #CrimeaInvasion pic.twitter.com/qTyJjzfoj4
— Ukrainian Updates (@Ukroblogger) March 8, 2014
16:17
8.3.2014
15:57
8.3.2014
From our latest story on the EU fast-tracking political chapters of an Association Agreement with Ukraine:
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the European Union has decided to sign "immediately" the political chapters of an Association Agreement with Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Russia's involvement in Crimea.
Barroso, speaking at a summit of European regions and cities in Athens on March 8, said the EU has a "debt, a duty of solidarity" with Ukraine.
In a reference to an official crackdown against the so-called Euromaidan protests and related unrest sparked by ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to turn his back on an Association Agreement in November, Barroso said that "more than 100 people [have] already died for these values in Europe, in Ukraine [wanting] to follow the values of Europe."
"I think we have debt, a duty of solidarity with that country, and we will work to have them as close as possible to us," Barroso said. "We have decided also, immediately to sign -- because it was requested by the prime minister of Ukraine [Arseniy Yatsenyuk] -- sign the political chapters of the Association Agreement. Which means that Ukraine will seal its association with the European Union. That's I think we can do and should do now, but of course we'll do it in a way, we are trying to do it in a way that is peaceful."
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the European Union has decided to sign "immediately" the political chapters of an Association Agreement with Ukraine, amid heightened tensions over Russia's involvement in Crimea.
Barroso, speaking at a summit of European regions and cities in Athens on March 8, said the EU has a "debt, a duty of solidarity" with Ukraine.
In a reference to an official crackdown against the so-called Euromaidan protests and related unrest sparked by ousted President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to turn his back on an Association Agreement in November, Barroso said that "more than 100 people [have] already died for these values in Europe, in Ukraine [wanting] to follow the values of Europe."
"I think we have debt, a duty of solidarity with that country, and we will work to have them as close as possible to us," Barroso said. "We have decided also, immediately to sign -- because it was requested by the prime minister of Ukraine [Arseniy Yatsenyuk] -- sign the political chapters of the Association Agreement. Which means that Ukraine will seal its association with the European Union. That's I think we can do and should do now, but of course we'll do it in a way, we are trying to do it in a way that is peaceful."
15:21
8.3.2014
Russian "pseudojournalists" detained in Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk, according to our Ukrainian Service:
Сімох псевдожурналістів із Росії затримала міліція у Дніпропетровську http://t.co/VDDOeDBTWe
— Радіо Свобода (@radiosvoboda) March 8, 2014
14:57
8.3.2014
Agencies: European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso says the European Union has decided to sign "immediately" the political chapters of an Association Agreement with Ukraine.
14:55
8.3.2014
Some 250 people protested by Rus. consulate in Istanbul. Placed marker in front of consul-"Istanbul-Crimean tatars" pic.twitter.com/VzdqyEDQN9
— Glenn Kates (@gkates) March 8, 2014