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Aleksandr Malykhin, chairman of Luhansk's separatist election commission, announces results of the referendum in the Luhansk region on May 12.
Aleksandr Malykhin, chairman of Luhansk's separatist election commission, announces results of the referendum in the Luhansk region on May 12.
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Live Blog: Crisis In Ukraine (Archive)

Latest News

-- Self-appointed leaders of the Ukrainian separatist region of Donetsk appealed to Russia to consider absorbing it to "restore historic justice" and to send in troops.

-- Pro-Russian separatists in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk said they would not allow voting for the May 25 presidential election to be conducted.

-- Diplomats say the European Union agreed to impose sanctions against 13 additional individuals and two companies, believed to be the first time the EU has targeted companies over the Ukraine crisis.

-- Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov called the votes a "sham" and the United States said they were illegal and merely "an attempt to create further division and disorder in the country."

-- RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service said one of its affiliate radio stations in Donetsk was taken off the air by gunmen and replaced by a pro-Russian broadcaster.

-- The Kremlin said Ukrainian officials in Kyiv should hold talks with pro-Russian separatists on the results of the self-rule referendums, adding that it respected the "expression of the people's will."

-- Insurgents in eastern Ukraine said nearly 90 percent of voters backed self-rule in the votes.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
12:42 26.4.2014
From Konstantin Rykov's Twitter feed: "An interesting map of Ukraine showing the language residents use when posting on VKontakte."

12:37 26.4.2014

12:35 26.4.2014
This just in from Reuters:
(URGENT):EU diplomats set for emergency talks on Monday to discuss Russia sanctions

BRUSSELS, April 26 (Reuters) - Senior EU diplomats have agreed to hold emergency talks in Brussels on Monday to discuss the deterioration on the ground in Ukraine and extra sanctions on Russia, EU sources said on Saturday.

Three sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a meeting was expected to take place around midday on Monday.

Leaders of the Group of Seven major economies agreed on Saturday at a meeting in South Korea to impose extra sanctions on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, where armed pro-Moscow separatists detained a group of international observers and accused them of being NATO spies.

12:14 26.4.2014
The Kremlin now says Vladimir Putin has not cut off contacts with BArack Obama. This from "The Kyiv Post" (via Interfax-Ukraine):
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied reports alleging that Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama have stopped their dialogue because of the situation in Ukraine.

12:07 26.4.2014
U.S. Senators John McCain, John Barrasso, John Hoeven and Ron Johnson pen op-ed in "The Washington Post" - "It Is Time For The West To Move Ahead Without Russia."

Some choice quotes:
We recently visited Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Moldova. In each country, our allies want a stronger immediate response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its ongoing subversion of Ukraine. They also believe, as we do, that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest acts of aggression require an enduring strategic response from the United States, Europe and NATO. It should be clear to all that Putin’s Russia has taken a dark turn. There is no resetting this relationship. We cannot return to business as usual...

[snip]

Ultimately, Putin’s actions in Ukraine require a strategic response. This does not mean a new Cold War. But it does require recognizing Putin’s geopolitical challenge to the post-Cold War order in Europe and preparing for a more competitive relationship with Russia.

NATO must recommit to its core missions of deterrence and collective defense. This requires a rebalancing of the alliance’s force posture and presence. NATO military capabilities must be increased and more evenly distributed across the alliance, including a more robust and persistent presence in Central Europe and the Baltic countries. Some steps in this direction are underway; these actions must be sustainable and enduring...
Read the whole piece here.

12:00 26.4.2014
Some informative tweets from Leonid Rogozin on Sloviansk military commander Igor Strelkov:

11:50 26.4.2014

11:49 26.4.2014
Video shows pro-Russian forces seizing a border post in Dolzhanski:

11:47 26.4.2014

11:46 26.4.2014
MIkhail Khodorkovsky rides the bus in Kharkiv. Pavel Sheramet tweets: "Khodorkovsky masters fashionable gadgets..."


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