13:06
19.4.2014
Our news desk has some details of a poll about how residents of the eastern Donetsk region actually feel about joining Russia:
A Ukrainian survey shows that the majority of inhabitants in the country's eastern Donetsk region, a hub of separatist protests, do not want to join Russia.
The poll, published on April 19 by Kyiv's Institute for International Sociology, says 52.2 percent of local residents questioned were against joining Russia, while 27.5 percent favored being ruled by the Kremlin.
Just over 38 percent of respondents in the region, where pro-Moscow militants occupy a dozen government buildings, said they want Ukraine's federalization and 41 percent said they wanted a decentralization of power.
57.2 percent of those polled said they don't feel their rights have been violated and 66.3 percent said they were against a Russian military intervention.
Among the 3,200 respondents, 69.7 percent said they are against Russian control.
The poll, published on April 19 by Kyiv's Institute for International Sociology, says 52.2 percent of local residents questioned were against joining Russia, while 27.5 percent favored being ruled by the Kremlin.
Just over 38 percent of respondents in the region, where pro-Moscow militants occupy a dozen government buildings, said they want Ukraine's federalization and 41 percent said they wanted a decentralization of power.
57.2 percent of those polled said they don't feel their rights have been violated and 66.3 percent said they were against a Russian military intervention.
Among the 3,200 respondents, 69.7 percent said they are against Russian control.
12:59
19.4.2014
Russian Military Intelligence spetsnaz man posing in Slavyansk.Service outfit patch still hidden via @ukrpravda_news pic.twitter.com/DPBnTfSXsz
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) April 19, 2014
12:58
19.4.2014
Via AP:
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday promised it would offer strong assistance to Ukraine to overcome its crisis, but emphasized that the ultimate responsibility for reducing tensions lies with Ukrainians rather than outsiders.
The comments in a statement came two days after top diplomats from Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union issued a statement calling for an array of actions including the disarming of militant groups and the freeing of public buildings taken over by insurgents.
Those terms quickly became a heated issue as pro-Russian armed groups that have seized police stations and other government buildings in eastern Ukraine said they wouldn't vacate unless the country's acting government resigned.
The comments in a statement came two days after top diplomats from Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union issued a statement calling for an array of actions including the disarming of militant groups and the freeing of public buildings taken over by insurgents.
Those terms quickly became a heated issue as pro-Russian armed groups that have seized police stations and other government buildings in eastern Ukraine said they wouldn't vacate unless the country's acting government resigned.
12:57
19.4.2014
Via Reuters:
KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS ADDITIONAL RUSSIAN TROOPS NEAR BORDER WITH UKRAINE ARE THERE IN RESPONSE TO EVENTS IN UKRAINE
12:46
19.4.2014
A sign of the times. Tweet from Kyiv Post editor Christopher Miller:
Was just at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport, where I watched 6 armed #Ukraine soldiers & bomb-sniffing dog inspect arriving Russian Aeroflot plane.
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 19, 2014
12:45
19.4.2014
Channel 5 now reporting that Mustafa Dzhemilev has been allowed into Crimea.
Джемілєв і Чубаров змогли проїхати в АР Крим http://t.co/760eP3dig2 #Крим #братУворот
— 5 канал (@5channel) April 19, 2014
12:29
19.4.2014
More on Dzhemilev:
Russian authorities deny entry for the most famous Crimean #Tatar leader, former dissident Mustafa Cemilev on the border with Ukraine.
— Rim Gilfanov (@guilfanr) April 19, 2014
12:21
19.4.2014
It's unconfirmed, but there's a lot of Twitter chatter about Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev being allowed back into Crimea:
"Good" news: Mustafa Dzhemilev, famous Crimean tatar politician was allowed to enter his homeland #Crimea today although on a black list
— Ann-Dorit Boy (@anndoritboy) April 19, 2014
12:02
19.4.2014
Here's an interesting development.
Anti-Terrorist Operation in Eastern #Ukraine is suspended due to Easter and Geneva Agreement https://t.co/JPpfaomRxZ |DefenceUA
— Defence Ministry UA (@DefenceUA) April 19, 2014
12:01
19.4.2014
Reuters' have compiled a special report on the deterioration in U.S.-Russian relations since the George Bush's first term as president. It really provides a nice overview of how things have declined to the current impasse:
Read more here
What Bush and other American officials saw as democracy spreading across the former Soviet bloc, Putin saw as pro-American regime change.View gallery
[File photo of U.S. President Bush walking past Russian …]
U.S. President George W. Bush (R) walks past Russian President Vladimir Putin as G8 leaders and outr …The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, without U.N. authorization and over the objections of France, Germany and Russia, was a turning point for Putin. He said the war made a mockery of American claims of promoting democracy abroad and upholding international law.
Putin was also deeply skeptical of U.S. efforts to nurture democracy in the former Soviet bloc, where the State Department and American nonprofit groups provided training and funds to local civil-society groups. In public speeches, he accused the United States of meddling.
In late 2003, street protests in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, known as the Rose Revolution, led to the election of a pro-Western leader. Four months later, street protests in Ukraine that became known as the Orange Revolution resulted in a pro-Western president taking office there.
Putin saw both developments as American-backed plots and slaps in the face, so soon after his assistance in Afghanistan, according to senior U.S. officials.
In 2006, Bush and Putin's sparring over democracy intensified. In a press conference at the first G-8 summit hosted by Russia, the two presidents had a testy exchange. Bush said that the United States was promoting freedom in Iraq, which was engulfed in violence. Putin openly mocked him.
"We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq," Putin said, smiling as the audience erupted into laughter, "I will tell you quite honestly."
[File photo of U.S. President Bush walking past Russian …]
U.S. President George W. Bush (R) walks past Russian President Vladimir Putin as G8 leaders and outr …The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, without U.N. authorization and over the objections of France, Germany and Russia, was a turning point for Putin. He said the war made a mockery of American claims of promoting democracy abroad and upholding international law.
Putin was also deeply skeptical of U.S. efforts to nurture democracy in the former Soviet bloc, where the State Department and American nonprofit groups provided training and funds to local civil-society groups. In public speeches, he accused the United States of meddling.
In late 2003, street protests in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, known as the Rose Revolution, led to the election of a pro-Western leader. Four months later, street protests in Ukraine that became known as the Orange Revolution resulted in a pro-Western president taking office there.
Putin saw both developments as American-backed plots and slaps in the face, so soon after his assistance in Afghanistan, according to senior U.S. officials.
In 2006, Bush and Putin's sparring over democracy intensified. In a press conference at the first G-8 summit hosted by Russia, the two presidents had a testy exchange. Bush said that the United States was promoting freedom in Iraq, which was engulfed in violence. Putin openly mocked him.
"We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq," Putin said, smiling as the audience erupted into laughter, "I will tell you quite honestly."
Read more here