10:48
7.4.2014
The naval officer killed in Crimea was reportedly shot in the chest and eye.
10:39
7.4.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports that the Ukrainian naval officer slain in Crimea was killed in his dormitory room. He was scheduled to return to mainland Ukraine on Wednesday. He leaves behind two children.
10:21
7.4.2014
Here's a little more detail from our news desk regarding Yatsenyuk's comments about the seizure of government buildings in eastern regions:
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has accused Russia of being behind several seizures by protesters of regional government buildings in eastern Ukraine.
Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting in Kyiv today that "an anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation under which foreign troops will cross the border" and seize Ukrainian territory.
Yatsenyuk made his comments after pro-Russia activists who had broken into the state security headquarters in the city of Luhansk yesterday seized weapons today from the building's arsenal and set up barriers on a main street.
Police have shut down all entrances into Luhansk.
In Kharkiv, officials said the regional administrative building has been cleared of pro-Russia protesters who stormed the building yesterday.
Pro-Russia activists on also occupied a regional building in Donetsk yesterday.
Yatsenyuk said at a government meeting in Kyiv today that "an anti-Ukrainian plan is being put into operation under which foreign troops will cross the border" and seize Ukrainian territory.
Yatsenyuk made his comments after pro-Russia activists who had broken into the state security headquarters in the city of Luhansk yesterday seized weapons today from the building's arsenal and set up barriers on a main street.
Police have shut down all entrances into Luhansk.
In Kharkiv, officials said the regional administrative building has been cleared of pro-Russia protesters who stormed the building yesterday.
Pro-Russia activists on also occupied a regional building in Donetsk yesterday.
09:54
7.4.2014
BREAKING: Ukraine's Defense Ministry says a Russian soldier has killed a Ukrainian naval officer in Crimea.
09:48
7.4.2014
09:44
7.4.2014
Video from RT of pro-Russia protesters storming the security HQ in Luhansk today.
09:40
7.4.2014
BREAKING: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has accused Russia of being behind a series of seizures by protesters of regional government buildings and said Moscow was trying to "dismember" his country. He told a government meeting, "we will not allow this."
09:04
7.4.2014
More from our news desk on the storming of the SBU HQ in Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials say pro-Russian activists who broke into the state security (SBU) headquarters in the eastern city of Luhansk, seizing weapons, while in Kharkiv the situation has calmed down.
Local police in Luhansk said in a statement Monday activists who had been in the SBU building since yesterday have broken into the building's arsenal.
Police added that they have shut down all entrances into Luhansk after unknown people erected barriers on a main street. Meanwhile, in the nearby eastern city of Kharkiv, officials said the regional administrative building has been cleared of pro-Russia protesters who stormed the building Sunday.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook that "separatist" protesters are no longer in the building. Pro-Russia activists on Sunday broke through police lines and occupied the regional buildings in Kharkiv and Donetsk as well as the SBU building in Luhansk.
Local police in Luhansk said in a statement Monday activists who had been in the SBU building since yesterday have broken into the building's arsenal.
Police added that they have shut down all entrances into Luhansk after unknown people erected barriers on a main street. Meanwhile, in the nearby eastern city of Kharkiv, officials said the regional administrative building has been cleared of pro-Russia protesters who stormed the building Sunday.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Facebook that "separatist" protesters are no longer in the building. Pro-Russia activists on Sunday broke through police lines and occupied the regional buildings in Kharkiv and Donetsk as well as the SBU building in Luhansk.
09:01
7.4.2014
Presidential hopeful Petro Poroshenko gave a long interview to Reuters yesterday, where he focused on the need to fight corruption. Some highlights.
"My country urgently needs modernization in the sphere of freedoms, in the sphere of economy, in the sphere of social life, in the sphere of security. We want to build up [a] powerful European country, influential player in the region."
"The first step in modernization is huge anti-corruption measures, [that will] restore the trust for the investor and [that will] keep all the investors comfortable in Ukraine."
"Look, this is very easy to imagine: to fly to Kyiv from any European capital is just two hours. You don't need any visa for that, you can come here in a very safe, in a very nice country with a very experienced labor, with a very effective cheap cost for creation of businesses and the only obstacle for doing that is the corruption. That's why this is the top priority [for] the modernization."
"It is impossible to provide security for the country without dialogue with Russia. They should fully understand that this is true. But we have two main criteria, two main factors, we should take into account, Russia should take into account. Point number one: we never ever accept the fact of aggression [on] Crimea."
"Point number two: association agreement [with the EU] which we already signed - [the[ political part, and [the] economic part which will be signed by the new president after 25th of May -- Russia [have to take it] into consideration, Ukraine would be a European country."
"If we [will] be ambitious and if our program [for reforms will] be successful, in the very near future we will ask our European partners to grant us [EU] membership perspective just because Ukrainian people [have passed] a very difficult and very important exam for democracy, and for European values. And the name of this exam was 'revolution', and the price we paid for these exams [was] very high."
"I think there are 30,000 well trained Russian troops concentrated on the borders with Ukraine, a very powerful information attack which is designed for the supporters of the Russian Federation in the center of Ukraine and to destabilize the situation in the nine regions in the east and south which is producing the most serious threat from the Russian Federation since the time of the Cold War."
"My country urgently needs modernization in the sphere of freedoms, in the sphere of economy, in the sphere of social life, in the sphere of security. We want to build up [a] powerful European country, influential player in the region."
"The first step in modernization is huge anti-corruption measures, [that will] restore the trust for the investor and [that will] keep all the investors comfortable in Ukraine."
"Look, this is very easy to imagine: to fly to Kyiv from any European capital is just two hours. You don't need any visa for that, you can come here in a very safe, in a very nice country with a very experienced labor, with a very effective cheap cost for creation of businesses and the only obstacle for doing that is the corruption. That's why this is the top priority [for] the modernization."
"It is impossible to provide security for the country without dialogue with Russia. They should fully understand that this is true. But we have two main criteria, two main factors, we should take into account, Russia should take into account. Point number one: we never ever accept the fact of aggression [on] Crimea."
"Point number two: association agreement [with the EU] which we already signed - [the[ political part, and [the] economic part which will be signed by the new president after 25th of May -- Russia [have to take it] into consideration, Ukraine would be a European country."
"If we [will] be ambitious and if our program [for reforms will] be successful, in the very near future we will ask our European partners to grant us [EU] membership perspective just because Ukrainian people [have passed] a very difficult and very important exam for democracy, and for European values. And the name of this exam was 'revolution', and the price we paid for these exams [was] very high."
"I think there are 30,000 well trained Russian troops concentrated on the borders with Ukraine, a very powerful information attack which is designed for the supporters of the Russian Federation in the center of Ukraine and to destabilize the situation in the nine regions in the east and south which is producing the most serious threat from the Russian Federation since the time of the Cold War."
08:53
7.4.2014
BREAKING: Reports say gunmen have seized the local headquarters of the security services in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk.