11:29
12.3.2014
Scores of Russian cultural figures have come out variously in support of and in opposition to Russia's actions in Crimea.
RFE/RL's Russian Service reports that more than 80 people, including conductor Valery Gergiev; Irina Antonova, the head of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts; actor Sergei Bezrukov; Yelena Gagarina, daughter of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin; and violinist Yuri Bashmet signed an open letter of support for Putin. In a letter published on the website of the Culture Ministry, they say they "cannot be indifferent observers with cold hearts" and that they "firmly state support for the position of the president of the Russian Federation on Ukraine and Crimea."
Others, including film critic Anton Dolin, writers Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Viktor Yerofeyev, and legendary film actress Lia Akhedzhakova, signed open letters last week in which they condemned the occupation of Crimea by Russian forces.
RFE/RL's Russian Service reports that more than 80 people, including conductor Valery Gergiev; Irina Antonova, the head of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts; actor Sergei Bezrukov; Yelena Gagarina, daughter of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin; and violinist Yuri Bashmet signed an open letter of support for Putin. In a letter published on the website of the Culture Ministry, they say they "cannot be indifferent observers with cold hearts" and that they "firmly state support for the position of the president of the Russian Federation on Ukraine and Crimea."
Others, including film critic Anton Dolin, writers Lyudmila Ulitskaya and Viktor Yerofeyev, and legendary film actress Lia Akhedzhakova, signed open letters last week in which they condemned the occupation of Crimea by Russian forces.
11:26
12.3.2014
A reminder that five Ukrainian activists and journalists who went missing in Crimea have reportedly resurfaced, according to RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and other local reports.
A member of the Automaidan activist group, Serhiy Khadzhinov, said late on March 11 that the group's press secretary, Kateryna Butko, as well as independent blogger Oleksanda Ryazantseva, "Ukrainian Week" reporter Olena Maksymenko, journalist Yevhen Rakhno, and photographer Oles Kromplyas have been freed.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Butko, Ryazantseva, and Maksymenko had been detained at a checkpoint manned by Russia Unity, a pro-Russia political party. The five are currently in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson.
They and several pro-Ukrainian activists, including Igor Kiryushchenko, the head of the Ukrainian Republican Party's Crimean branch, Andriy Shchekun, the head of Crimea's Ukrainian Council, and Anatolyy Kovalskiy, the director of the board of trustees of the Ukrainian School in Simferopol, all went missing March 9 or 10.
Ukrainian police sources confirmed the release of Ryazantseva, Butko, and Maksymenko only.
A member of the Automaidan activist group, Serhiy Khadzhinov, said late on March 11 that the group's press secretary, Kateryna Butko, as well as independent blogger Oleksanda Ryazantseva, "Ukrainian Week" reporter Olena Maksymenko, journalist Yevhen Rakhno, and photographer Oles Kromplyas have been freed.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Butko, Ryazantseva, and Maksymenko had been detained at a checkpoint manned by Russia Unity, a pro-Russia political party. The five are currently in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson.
They and several pro-Ukrainian activists, including Igor Kiryushchenko, the head of the Ukrainian Republican Party's Crimean branch, Andriy Shchekun, the head of Crimea's Ukrainian Council, and Anatolyy Kovalskiy, the director of the board of trustees of the Ukrainian School in Simferopol, all went missing March 9 or 10.
Ukrainian police sources confirmed the release of Ryazantseva, Butko, and Maksymenko only.
11:24
12.3.2014
The press service of Ukraine's SBU security service reports that its officers found and detained a Russian military espionage unit in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, outside Crimea. The SBU said the Russians were attempting to gauge the readiness of Ukrainian troops in Kherson -- specifically the 3rd antimissile battalion of the 208th air defense missile brigade.
Some Ukrainian social-media watchers are having fun with the fact that the head of the group, a military intelligence officer born in 1981, had entered the country illegally with a Ukrainian passport under the name of Arbuzov -- the same name as the former deputy prime minister and (oh-so briefly) interim prime minister between Mykola Azarov and Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
11:19
12.3.2014
RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service reports:
The veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Jemilev, who is in Moscow for talks, hopes to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Our main condition is the withdrawal of Russian forces. Then we can talk about everything else."
Jemilev went to Moscow at the invitation of the former president of Russia's Tatarstan Republic, Mintimer Shaimiyev.
The veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Jemilev, who is in Moscow for talks, hopes to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Our main condition is the withdrawal of Russian forces. Then we can talk about everything else."
Jemilev went to Moscow at the invitation of the former president of Russia's Tatarstan Republic, Mintimer Shaimiyev.
11:13
12.3.2014
Article and good infographic (in Russian) on Russia's Black Sea Fleet and its future: http://t.co/1hOoQxxVLU
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) March 12, 2014
11:04
12.3.2014
Simferopol this morning #Crimea #Ukraine #stopputin pic.twitter.com/4JtBZ39RHj
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) March 12, 2014
11:00
12.3.2014
BREAKING: #OSCE military observer team say evidence #Russia military involved in #Crimea roadblocks – more soon.
— U.S. Mission to OSCE (@usosce) March 12, 2014
10:55
12.3.2014
Flights to #Crimea to be limited until March 17 to keep provocateurs out - authorities http://t.co/ezl6gixHzV
— The Voice of Russia (@VoiceofRussia) March 12, 2014
09:58
12.3.2014
Mustafa Jemilev, the former head of the Crimean Tatar assembly, or Mejlis, spoke to RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service shortly before departing for talks in Moscow this morning.
Jemilev said a meeting with Vladimir Putin is not yet certain, and that the Crimean Tatar community's sole demand is the withdrawal of Russian forces from Crimea. He said none of the decisions adopted by the Crimean parliament in recent days are legitimate, and that the parliament -- which is proceeding with an independence referendum this weekend -- is a "separatist structure."