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Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.
Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.

Live Blog: UN Backs Ukraine Integrity

Final Summary For March 27

-- The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution that affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity.

-- The IMF has announced "a staff-level agreement" with Kyiv on assistance of $14 billion-$18 billion in conjunction with a reform program that will "unlock" up to $27 billion over the next two years, pending final approval next month. Tthe U.S. Congress has also passed an aid bill for Ukraine.

-- Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced plans to run for president.

-- Members of the Right Sector have been holding a demonstration outside the Ukrainian parliament building to vent their anger at the killing of prominent member Oleksander Muzychko earlier in the week.

-- Six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released, including Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, but five others are still being held captive.

-- Anonymous sources quoted by CNN say U.S. intelligence "concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine."

-- U.S. President Barack Obama, in the keynote speech of his visit to Europe, chided Russia for its use of "brute force" in Ukraine and vowed that a determined alliance of the United States and Europe will prevail over time.


*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
17:33 15.3.2014
Russian blogger/activist Ilya Varlamov compares todays pro-Kremlin and anti-war rallies in Moscow (in Russian).
17:36 15.3.2014
A little clarity on the apparant Russia incursion outside Crimea. The latest from AP:

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces backed by helicopter gunships and armored vehicles Saturday took control of a village near the border with Crimea on the eve of a referendum on whether the region should seek annexation by Moscow, Ukrainian officials said.

The action in Strilkove appeared to be the first move outside Crimea, where Russian forces have been in effective control since late last month. There were no reports of gunfire or injuries. The incident raises tensions already at a high level before Sunday's referendum.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry denounced the foray outside Crimea, and said Ukraine "reserves the right to use all necessary measures to stop the military invasion by Russia."

The village is on a long spit reaching northward from the main part of the Black Sea peninsula, about 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the border between Crimea and the Kherson region.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian border guard service, Oleg Slobodyan, told The Associated Press the Russians, about 120 in all, took control of a natural gas distribution station in the village. The Foreign Ministry said the force consisted of about 80 and didn't mention the station, but said the village was seized.
17:51 15.3.2014
Scene from todays Peace March in Moscow. "Russia Is Us, Not Putin."

17:52 15.3.2014
17:53 15.3.2014
A snarky tweet from Anders Ostlund:

18:07 15.3.2014
RFE/RL's newsdesk has a few more details on the reported Russian incursion outside Crimea:

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry has released a statement expressing "its strong and categorical protest against the landing" of Russian troops in an area some 10 kilometers north of Crimea.

The Ukrainian ministry's statement said some 80 troops of the "Russian Federation Armed Forces" backed by four helicopter gunships and three armored combat vehicles had seized the village of Strilkove in the Kherson region today.

The ministry called it an "invasion" of Ukrainian territory and demanded Russia withdraw its forces from Strilkove immediately.

Ukrainian border guard spokesman Oleh Slobodan told the Associated Press some 120 Russian troops had taken control of a natural gas distribution station at Strilkove.

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said Ukraine reserves the right to use all necessary measures to stop the military invasion by Russia."

The United States Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powers called news of the Russian troop movement into Ukraine an "outrageous escalation" of the crisis. (with reporting from AP)
18:40 15.3.2014
18:41 15.3.2014
18:44 15.3.2014
Where on Earth is Strilkove?

18:45 15.3.2014

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