16:24
9.3.2014
From Reuters:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone conversation on Saturday that the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political unity of Ukraine needed to be protected at all costs.
They agreed that the risk of confrontation in Crimea needed to be eliminated and that a referendum planned for March 16 on Crimea joining Russia was "extremely dubious" and "illegal", according to a joint press statement issued by the German government on Sunday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan agreed in a telephone conversation on Saturday that the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political unity of Ukraine needed to be protected at all costs.
They agreed that the risk of confrontation in Crimea needed to be eliminated and that a referendum planned for March 16 on Crimea joining Russia was "extremely dubious" and "illegal", according to a joint press statement issued by the German government on Sunday.
16:21
9.3.2014
Our correspondent in Donetsk Tom Balmforth says Vitali Klitchko's spokesperson said the police and authorities asked Klitchko not to address the pro-Ukraine rally as scheduled to avoid stirring up the pro-Russia crowd.
16:14
9.3.2014
"I wanted to cry. It is terrifying. This is not my leadership. I want you to know -- there is a different Russia."
-- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, speaking at Kyiv's Maidan rally today
-- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, speaking at Kyiv's Maidan rally today
16:10
9.3.2014
YouTube footage of assault on Lugasnk regional administration building.
15:35
9.3.2014
Donetsk pro Ukr demo outside cathedral appears to have been abandoned after 100s of pro Rus protesters turn up chanting for referendum
— tom balmforth (@BalmforthTom) March 9, 2014
15:29
9.3.2014
From Itar-Tass:
The legitimate authorities in Crimea are taking steps which are in compliance with international law with an aim to ensure the lawful interests of Crimea's population, Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone on Sunday.
"The Russian president also called his interlocutors' attention to the fact that the current authorities in Kiev were doing nothing to curb the rampage of ultra-nationalist and radical forces in the Ukrainian capital and in many other regions," the Kremlin press service reports.
The legitimate authorities in Crimea are taking steps which are in compliance with international law with an aim to ensure the lawful interests of Crimea's population, Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone on Sunday.
"The Russian president also called his interlocutors' attention to the fact that the current authorities in Kiev were doing nothing to curb the rampage of ultra-nationalist and radical forces in the Ukrainian capital and in many other regions," the Kremlin press service reports.
15:25
9.3.2014
Mikhail Khodorkovsky speaking at Maidan rally in Kyiv:
Ходорковський на Майдані. Фото Мустафи Найєма pic.twitter.com/NTMaD1S1S9
— Hromadske.TV (@HromadskeTV) March 9, 2014
15:21
9.3.2014
The "pro-Ukraine" demonstration in Donetsk was essentially abandoned after hundreds of pro-Russians turned up, according to RFE/RL correspondent Tom Balmforth.
15:19
9.3.2014
Pro-Russia and pro-Maidan rallies taking place on same square in Luhansk result in clashes, according to a Kanal 5 correspondent reporting from the scene. Estimates that at least 10 were injured, with the pro-Russia camp getting the upper hand. Says a crowd carrying Russian flags then headed toward regional administration buiding, after which the Russian tri-color was raised.
15:12
9.3.2014
Russian Foreign Ministry website says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on the telephone with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier today to discuss prospects for normalization of the situation in Ukraine.