14:20
24.4.2014
13:56
24.4.2014
More complete quotes via our newsroom from Putin's appearance today in St. Petersburg:
"If the current Kyiv regime has really started to use the army against the population inside the country, then it is beyond any doubt that this is a very serious crime against its own people."
"If the current Kyiv authorities have done this, this is already a junta, some kind of clique. They, first of all, don't have a national mandate. They, in the best case, have only elements of legitimacy, and it is only within the parliament."
"And if these people have advanced to the so-called 'acute phase', this is not an acute phase, it is just a punitive operation. And, of course, there will certainly be consequences for the people who make such decisions, including [an impact] on our bilateral relations."
"If the current Kyiv authorities have done this, this is already a junta, some kind of clique. They, first of all, don't have a national mandate. They, in the best case, have only elements of legitimacy, and it is only within the parliament."
"And if these people have advanced to the so-called 'acute phase', this is not an acute phase, it is just a punitive operation. And, of course, there will certainly be consequences for the people who make such decisions, including [an impact] on our bilateral relations."
13:51
24.4.2014
Here's video of U.S. Senator Bob Corker telling RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that Western countries have not done enough to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine. Corker, a Republican member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, also praised Ukraine's leadership for showing restraint during the crisis.
13:49
24.4.2014
13:48
24.4.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports that leaflets were distributed in Slovyansk by pro-Kyiv forces urging residents to remain in their homes as much as possible, ignore instructions from the self-styled local authorities run by separatists, and don't be duped into responses to "provocations."
13:41
24.4.2014
Following this story intently.
13:37
24.4.2014
Video of a tense vehicle check by Ukrainian special forces, purportedly today in Slovyansk:
13:35
24.4.2014
The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on the Kyiv government's reiteration of its commitment to the de-escalation deal reached last week in Geneva:
13:31
24.4.2014
More on Putin's menacing remarks about the Kyiv government's current military operations in the eastern part of Ukraine, from our newsroom:
President Putin, speaking at a gathering in St. Petersburg, described the offensive as a "punitive measure" and called the pro-Western government in Kyiv a "junta or clique."
He also said that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are having some effect on its economy but not a critical one.
He also said that sanctions imposed by the West on Russia over its actions in Ukraine are having some effect on its economy but not a critical one.
13:25
24.4.2014