18:49
25.4.2014
Reuters quotes Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov as telling German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a telephone conversation today that all violence in Ukraine must be halted, primarily "the use of the army and armed radical nationalists in southeastern Ukraine."
Both reportedly agreed that a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- whose observers have reportedly been abducted by armed pro-Russian forces in Slovyansk -- should play an active role in efforts to defuse tension.
Both reportedly agreed that a mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- whose observers have reportedly been abducted by armed pro-Russian forces in Slovyansk -- should play an active role in efforts to defuse tension.
18:40
25.4.2014
Ukraine's Interior Ministry says armed pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Slovyansk have seized international observers from the OSCE.
The ministry said negotiations were taking place for the release of the group, which includes seven OSCE representatives and five members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
The statement said rebels had seized a bus carrying the observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the group was being held in a State Security Service building held by the Slovyansk separatists.
OSCE observers have been in the region to oversee implementation of the Geneva agreement -- signed April 17 by Ukraine’s government, Russia, the United States, and the European Union -- aimed at de-escalating the situation in Ukraine.
Western states and Russia have accused each other of failing to take steps to implement the accord.
The ministry said negotiations were taking place for the release of the group, which includes seven OSCE representatives and five members of the Ukrainian armed forces.
The statement said rebels had seized a bus carrying the observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the group was being held in a State Security Service building held by the Slovyansk separatists.
OSCE observers have been in the region to oversee implementation of the Geneva agreement -- signed April 17 by Ukraine’s government, Russia, the United States, and the European Union -- aimed at de-escalating the situation in Ukraine.
Western states and Russia have accused each other of failing to take steps to implement the accord.
17:49
25.4.2014
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry says armed separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk have seized a bus carrying OSCE mediators, Reuters reports. (AFP describes them as military observers.)
17:48
25.4.2014
The White House says President Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, and Italy have agreed to "coordinate additional steps to impose costs on Russia" over its actions in the Ukraine crisis.
A White House statement said the leaders agreed that Russia has "continued to escalate the situation through its increasingly concerning rhetoric and threatening military exercises on Ukraine’s border."
A White House statement said the leaders agreed that Russia has "continued to escalate the situation through its increasingly concerning rhetoric and threatening military exercises on Ukraine’s border."
17:41
25.4.2014
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry says National Guard troops have completely blocked off the city of Slovyansk "in order to prevent the terrorists from obtaining reinforcements."
17:32
25.4.2014
AP video of Obama in Seoul saying that, in the U.S. president's second term, Russian President Vladimir Putin "has had an increasing tendency to view the world through a Cold War prism." (h/t: @ChristopherJM)
17:27
25.4.2014
17:22
25.4.2014
Recalling some of the other journalists, politicians, and ordinary citizens that have been kidnapped in eastern Ukraine but, unlike Simon Ostrovsky, remain in captivity.
"The Kyiv Post" and the Committee to Protect Journalists have their own lists.
"The Kyiv Post" and the Committee to Protect Journalists have their own lists.
17:12
25.4.2014
17:11
25.4.2014
A VOA cameraman was among the first on the scene after a Ukrainian military helicopter exploded on the tarmac at a base in Kramatorsk -- reportedly after it was hit by gunfire or a rocket-propelled grenade -- leaving the pilot wounded but alive. Kramatorsk is in pro-Russian hands. (WARNING: graphic language)
