08:55
16.4.2014
Pro-Russian armed men driving through Kramatorsk on 4 troop transports & 2 trucks, w/Russian flag. Where did they get the armor!?
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) April 16, 2014
08:29
16.4.2014
"The Moscow Times" has been explaining why an orange-and-black-striped ribbon has become de rigeuer for pro-Kremlin Duma deputies:
Read more here
Amid a government drive to rally support behind Russia's move to annex Crimea, this piece of cloth with orange and black stripes known as a St. George ribbon has become an almost obligatory accessory for politicians and pro-Kremlin patriots.
Along with the Russian tricolor, which Moscow City Hall has encouraged residents to hang from their balconies to show their approval of the Crimea takeover, the St. George ribbon, also known as the Georgian ribbon, has seen a major revival as the authorities seek out symbols to unite the country behind its controversial actions in Ukraine.
The ribbons have been worn for years to commemorate the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Now they have been adopted by Russians who oppose the Western-backed regime in Kiev, which the Kremlin says is led by Nazi sympathizers and "fascists." Members of the Berkut, the special units of Ukraine's police notorious for their brutality, also wore the ribbons before being disbanded by the new Ukrainian government.
Along with the Russian tricolor, which Moscow City Hall has encouraged residents to hang from their balconies to show their approval of the Crimea takeover, the St. George ribbon, also known as the Georgian ribbon, has seen a major revival as the authorities seek out symbols to unite the country behind its controversial actions in Ukraine.
The ribbons have been worn for years to commemorate the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Now they have been adopted by Russians who oppose the Western-backed regime in Kiev, which the Kremlin says is led by Nazi sympathizers and "fascists." Members of the Berkut, the special units of Ukraine's police notorious for their brutality, also wore the ribbons before being disbanded by the new Ukrainian government.
Read more here
08:21
16.4.2014
Interesting: This TV clip appears to show the chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Donbass miners saying that no anti-Russian discrimination exists in the region:
07:56
16.4.2014
My photo report from the first day of war in #Ukraine in and around #Kramatorsk is here: http://t.co/PbE3L300cE pic.twitter.com/n0ascypxfp
— Petr Shelomovskiy (@stopnarcotics) April 15, 2014
07:53
16.4.2014
Best lede yet out of E Ukraine, by @pete_leonard & @mashadanilova: "The fuel is local, but the matches are Russian" http://t.co/DymJNV66FA
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) April 16, 2014
07:40
16.4.2014
Locals have used a green mini bus to block the path of a column of Ukrainian APCS in the old city of #Krematorsk
— Eleanor Montague (@EleanorMontague) April 16, 2014
07:37
16.4.2014
Good morning. We'll get the live blog rolling today with the latest update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine is "on the verge of civil war."
The Kremlin said Putin made the comment in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the situation there.
Putin spoke hours after Ukrainian armed forces retook control of a small military air base in the east of the country, where pro-Russian separatists have seized control of buildings and other facilities in at least nine cities.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the base in Kramatorsk had been "liberated."
Another "antiterrorist" operation was also reportedly under way in nearby Slovyansk, although few details have emerged there.
The White House described Ukraine's response to an "untenable" situation in the east as "measured."
The Kremlin said Putin made the comment in a telephone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the situation there.
Putin spoke hours after Ukrainian armed forces retook control of a small military air base in the east of the country, where pro-Russian separatists have seized control of buildings and other facilities in at least nine cities.
Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said the base in Kramatorsk had been "liberated."
Another "antiterrorist" operation was also reportedly under way in nearby Slovyansk, although few details have emerged there.
The White House described Ukraine's response to an "untenable" situation in the east as "measured."
21:46
15.4.2014
Barring any dramatic developments, we are closing the live blog for today.
Before we go, we will leave you with our news desk's report on Moscow's reaction to a UN document published today on the human rights situation in Ukraine:
Before we go, we will leave you with our news desk's report on Moscow's reaction to a UN document published today on the human rights situation in Ukraine:
Russia's Foreign Ministry has criticized a new United Nations report on human rights in Ukraine as "one-sided, politicized, and biased."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said the report issued today "ignores a whole range of flagrant violations of human rights by the self-proclaimed [Ukrainian] authorities, such as abductions, tortures, extrajudicial killings, encroachment upon the court system's independence, [and] crackdown on the mass media and civil society."
Lukashevich said the UN report appeared "fabricated to fit prearranged conclusions."
The report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights analyzed the situation in Ukraine since November 2013.
The report said "excessive use of force" by the Berkut special police and other security forces had radicalized the Euromaidan protesters in Kyiv.
The Berkut force was disbanded after the government of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych collapsed in February.
The report said several measures taken by pro-Russian officials in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula before and after a March 16 referendum are "deeply concerning from a human rights perspective."
It added that while there were some attacks against the ethnic Russian community in Crimea, they were "neither systematic nor widespread."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Lukashevich said the report issued today "ignores a whole range of flagrant violations of human rights by the self-proclaimed [Ukrainian] authorities, such as abductions, tortures, extrajudicial killings, encroachment upon the court system's independence, [and] crackdown on the mass media and civil society."
Lukashevich said the UN report appeared "fabricated to fit prearranged conclusions."
The report from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights analyzed the situation in Ukraine since November 2013.
The report said "excessive use of force" by the Berkut special police and other security forces had radicalized the Euromaidan protesters in Kyiv.
The Berkut force was disbanded after the government of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych collapsed in February.
The report said several measures taken by pro-Russian officials in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula before and after a March 16 referendum are "deeply concerning from a human rights perspective."
It added that while there were some attacks against the ethnic Russian community in Crimea, they were "neither systematic nor widespread."
21:36
15.4.2014
Pro-Russian activists settling in outside the Kramatorsk military airfield. Ukrainian helicopters continue to land. pic.twitter.com/ebdiLAvqHx
— Duncan Crawford (@_DuncanC) April 15, 2014
20:39
15.4.2014
Appalling video of April 13 clashes in #Kharkiv with blonde woman kicking the injured. Apparently she's a doctor. http://t.co/jehT6igNAj
— Myroslava Petsa (@myroslavapetsa) April 15, 2014