-- 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."
RFE/RL's Russian Service managed to speak with a citizen of Slovyansk who asked to be identified only as Vyacheslav.
"Soldiers have completely blockaded the city and traffic in the city is completely shut down. No cars, no trains are moving," he said. "There was a siren at 4:30 this morning and after that a sweep of the city began. We expected something like this. We live at the other end of the city and there hasn't been anything like that on our side -- no military activity. But in other places it has been quite serious. They were shooting from helicopters. We do not plan to go outside today. The city is empty now. We are calling one another to find out what is happening in other districts. Everywhere it is deserted. Ukrainian forces are practically on the edge of town. If they find someone on the street, they advise them to get home quickly and stay inside. Almost everything is closed in the city, although the store next to us is open. But most stores are closed. We want everything to just end quickly. There are a lot of unhappy people in the city. Practically the entire city is paralyzed. Business is shut down; schools are closed. There is no fear, but we are tired."
12:552.5.2014
Russia's Foreign Ministry has picked up on an earlier RIA-Novosti report that foreigners speaking English are involved in the Ukrainian security operation near Slovyansk. "We insist that any external interference in the events in Ukraine is impermissable," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on May 2.
The statement said that "it is well-known that so-called private military organizations do not work abroad without the permission of the U.S. State Department."
13:012.5.2014
If you can't get enough, "The Interpreter" magazine's Ukraine liveblog is now up and running for today. But keep an eye on us too, please!
13:172.5.2014
RT, citing ITAR-TASS, is reporting that Ukraine has barred Russian commercial flights to Donetsk and Kharkiv.
"Novosti Donbassa" reporting that BuzzFeed journalist Mike Giglio has been released by pro-Russia militants. His driver reportedly suffered some health problems and has been hospitalized.
13:402.5.2014
Video from earlier today purportedly shows pro-Russia militants in Slovyansk with a badly wounded pilot from a shot-down Ukrainian military helicopter:
13:512.5.2014
RFE/RL's Russian Service reports that Stepan Poltopak, head of the Ukrainian National Guard, has said the eastern city of Sloyvansk has been almost completely secured from "separatists." He added that no National Guard troops had been killed or injured in the operation.
The Ukrainian government is calling on all militants to lay down their arms and surrender.
14:042.5.2014
The May 2 "New York Times" has an article by Peter Baker and Andrew Kramer arguing that Western sanctions against Russia appear to be having "more psychological than tangible" impact on Russia so far.
"Beyond the targets themselves, large companies like Exxon Mobil, Boeing, Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens and BP have done nothing to curtail operations in Russia. The chief executives of Shell and Siemens even met separately with Mr. Putin in recent weeks, making clear business will continue, although Shell has since added that it will hold off starting new projects for now.
"Exxon Mobil and BP are partners with Rosneft, the Russian state oilcompany led by Igor I. Sechin, who is on the American sanctions list, but both companies can continue working with Rosneft because Rosneft itself was not targeted. Just this week, the Austrian energy company OMV made a pipeline deal with the Russian company Gazprom while Germany said it would not block the sale of RWE’s oil and gas unit to the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman."
Russia -- President Vladimir Putin meeting with Royal Dutch Shell chief executive officer Ben van Beurden on April 18, 2014
14:302.5.2014
In case you missed it, RFE/RL Washington correspondent Carl Shreck (follow him on Twitter at @CarlSchreck) spoke the other day with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius about the crisis in Ukraine and related issues.
Linkevicius told RFE/RL that the EU is sometimes settling on a “common denominator” that is “too low” when it comes to sanctions against Russia due to the range of economic ramifications such measures could have for EU members.
“We are doing sometimes too late, too soft, too little, and this is the problem," he said. "But nevertheless, I have to say that thanks to the coordination with other players, in coordination with the United States, we are producing concerted actions.”
