-- 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 Muzychkoearlier 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
"[Annexation of Crimea] is not a done a deal in a sense that the international community by and large is not recognizing the annexation of Crimea. Obviously, the facts on the ground are that the Russian military controls Crimea. There are a number of individuals inside of Crimea that are supportive of that process. There is no expectation that they will be dislodged by force. And so what we can bring to bear are the legal argument, the diplomatic arguments, the political pressure, the economic sanctions that are already in place to make sure there is a cost to that process."
"I think it would be dishonest to suggest that there is a simple solution to resolving what is already taking place in Crimea, although history has a funny way of moving in twists and turns and not just in a straight line. So how the situation in Crimea evolves in part depends on making sure that international community stays unified in indicating that this was an illegal action on the part of Russia."
"With respect to the Russian troops that are along the borders of Ukraine at the moment, right now they are on Russian soil. And if they stay on Russian soil, we oppose what appears to be an effort of intimidation, but Russia has a right legally to have its troops on its own soil. I don't think [further Russian incursion into Ukraine] is a done deal and I think that Russia is making a series of calculations. And again, those calculations will be impacted in part by how unified the Untied States and Europe are, and the international community is, in saying to Russia that this is not how in the 21st century we resolve disputes."
"I think it is particularly important for all of us to dismiss this notion that somehow Russian-speakers or Russian nationals inside Ukraine are threatened and that somehow that would justify Russian action. There has been no evidence that Russian-speakers have in any way been threatened. If anything, what we have seen are provocateurs who have created scuffles inside of Ukraine. But when I hear analogies, for example, to Kosovo, where you had thousands of people that were being slaughtered by their government, it is a comparison that makes absolutely no sense."
19:1725.3.2014
19:3825.3.2014
Interesting development from Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region of Transdniester, where authorities have claimed to have shot down a drone they say came from Ukraine.
The region's security services said in a statement the drone was conducting video surveillance before it was shot down on Sunday.
The statement said Transdniester special services have recovered the video from the drone. The security service cautioned against attempts to conduct surveillances and increase tensions on its border with Ukraine.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it was looking into the report, but didn’t give further details. Transdniester declared independence from Moldova in 1990.
The two sides fought a brief war in 1992 that ended when the Russian military intervened on the side of Transdniester.
Transdniester's independence is not recognized by any nation.
20:1925.3.2014
A chilling list of traitors to Mother Russia.
20:4425.3.2014
Big news from Washington.
The U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has passed a $1 billion aid bill for Ukraine that had been held up over a debate on reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The bill passed Tuesday after House Democrats dropped their insistence that any aid package to Ukraine include IMF reforms.
The bill backs the $1 billion loan to Ukraine and includes sanctions on Ukrainians and Russians for Moscow's incursion into Ukraine.
The bill now goes to the full House for a vote.
21:3125.3.2014
Meanwhile...
NATO member Norway has announced it is suspending all bilateral military activities with Russia until the end of May.
Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide made the announcement Tuesday and said the decision was made "in light of the development of the situation in Ukraine."
Russia's defense minister and naval chief were due to visit Norway next month and Norway had planned to participate in a naval exercise with Russia and the United States in May.
Soreide said Norway would consult with its NATO allies about cooperation with Russia after May.
07:5726.3.2014
Good morning, kicking off the live blog again for another day. Today, Barack Obama is expected to reinforce U.S.-EU opposition to Russia's annexation of Crimea and push for speeding up trade talks with the European Union.
The last warship in Ukraine has now been seized. From our news desk:
Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov has posted a statement on his Facebook site that Russian forces were in the process of taking control of the last Ukrainian warship in Crimea.
Seleznyov said late Tuesday "there were several explosions from the direction of the minesweeper Cherkasy in the Donuzlav Bay."
Seleznyov said Mi35 helicopters were flying over the ship as troops rushed aboard.
Ukrainian warships along the Crimean Peninsula have been seized one-by-one for nearly a week.
Russian naval vessels had been blocking them from leaving their docks.
Ukrainian troops in Crimea are caught in a no-man's-land. Correspondents from our Ukrainian Service yesterday reported from Crimea about the tricky situation they face.Should they abandon their lives on the peninsula and move to an uncertain future on the Ukrainian mainland? Or should they become Russian citizens in order to stay?
08:3226.3.2014
Russia is accusing Ukrainian authorities of barring crews of Russian commercial airliners from leaving their aircraft when parked at Ukrainian airports.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Ukrainian border guards have been preventing Aeroflot cabin crews from leaving their aircraft.
The ministry said the decision violates international laws and ultimately "poses a threat to the safety of civil aviation" because the crews cannot rest properly.
The ministry said it had sent protest notes to the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine are high following Moscow's occupation and eventual annexation of Crimea.
09:1726.3.2014
Meanwhile, Russia is continuing to look into its transport options regarding Crimea. As RT reported last week:
The long delayed Kerch Strait Bridge project, which would connect the Crimean peninsula and mainland Russia, has been given a green light, with President Putin saying the bridge would provide both road and rail links.
Vladimir Putin held a meeting with members of the government on Wednesday in order to discuss transport links with the Crimea, a day after the treaty of accession of the republic to the Russian Federation was signed.
The latest initiative is a high-speed catamaran link between the Russian port of Anapa and the Crimean port of Kerch (See map). This from ITAR-TASS:
High-speed direct sea passage is in prospect between the Russian port of Anapa in the southern Krasnodar region and the Crimean port of Kerch.
The first trial voyage on the sea-going 40-meter catamaran Sochi-1 is scheduled for March 26, the region's administration told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
Sochi-1 is a double-deck vessel with glassed-in passenger salons opening on a panoramic view and fitted with comfortable seats, bar counters, radio and television. The vessel can embark 300 passengers and reach a flowing speed of 63 kilometers an hour (34 knots).
“Now, citizens and visitors of Anapa, the main location of children’s holiday camps, do not need to go to the district ferryboat port to reach Crimea,” an administration official said.
Crossings between the two central ports will be operational from April 1, making two journeys a day in each direction.
