12:02
11.4.2014
Ukraine to buy its gas from German & French companies - Energy Minister Prodan pic.twitter.com/SHHWMBufie
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) April 11, 2014
12:07
11.4.2014
Meanwhile in Crimea:
Secessionist lawmakers in Crimea have voted to adopt a constitution for what they are calling the “Russian Republic of Crimea.”
All 88 members of the legislature who were present April 11 voted in favor of the document. The Crimean legislature has 100 members.
The newly approved constitution says Crimea is an integral part of Russia.
Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian territory last month has not been internationally recognized.
Western countries have accused Russia of illegally seizing the peninsula.
The constitution says there will be three state languages in Crimea -- Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean-Tatar.
Crimean lawmakers also set new parliamentary elections for September 14 and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to formally appoint Sergei Aksyonov as acting leader of Crimea.
Aksyonov, currently the secessionist prime minister, has led efforts to make Crimea part of Russia.
Also in Crimea, local officials say Ukrainian-based banks are expected to stop their operations on the peninsula within two weeks.
Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev told reporters today that, of all the Ukrainian banks that used to operate there, only four remain.
The majority of Ukrainian banks ended their operations in Crimea after Russia hastily annexed the peninsula following a Moscow-staged referendum on its separation from Ukraine last month.
The remaining four banks announced earlier this month that they will stop operations in Crimea by mid-April and recommended that their clients either withdraw their deposits or use branches of the banks in Ukraine's other regions for their financial needs.
The banks said all debit and credit cards issued by the banks in Crimea will be valid until their expiration dates.
All 88 members of the legislature who were present April 11 voted in favor of the document. The Crimean legislature has 100 members.
The newly approved constitution says Crimea is an integral part of Russia.
Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian territory last month has not been internationally recognized.
Western countries have accused Russia of illegally seizing the peninsula.
The constitution says there will be three state languages in Crimea -- Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean-Tatar.
Crimean lawmakers also set new parliamentary elections for September 14 and urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to formally appoint Sergei Aksyonov as acting leader of Crimea.
Aksyonov, currently the secessionist prime minister, has led efforts to make Crimea part of Russia.
Also in Crimea, local officials say Ukrainian-based banks are expected to stop their operations on the peninsula within two weeks.
Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliev told reporters today that, of all the Ukrainian banks that used to operate there, only four remain.
The majority of Ukrainian banks ended their operations in Crimea after Russia hastily annexed the peninsula following a Moscow-staged referendum on its separation from Ukraine last month.
The remaining four banks announced earlier this month that they will stop operations in Crimea by mid-April and recommended that their clients either withdraw their deposits or use branches of the banks in Ukraine's other regions for their financial needs.
The banks said all debit and credit cards issued by the banks in Crimea will be valid until their expiration dates.
12:32
11.4.2014
RFE/RL's news desk is reporting on Ukraine's latest response to Russia's gas-price hike:
Ukraine says it cannot agree to pay Moscow's new high prices for natural gas and hopes to buy it from Europe.
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Prodan told lawmakers on April 11 in Kyiv that Ukraine will not agree with Russia's "political" price for gas and will refer the matter to an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm.
Prodan says it must challenge Russia's decision last week to increase the gas price for Ukraine to $480 for 1,000 cubic meters, a more than 40 percent increase from the price in March.
Kyiv calls the move a politically motivated measure to prevent Ukraine from pursuing closer ties with the EU.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukrainian and Western European leaders on April 10 that gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted by Ukraine's failure to pay its $2.2 billion gas debt.
Ukrainian Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Prodan told lawmakers on April 11 in Kyiv that Ukraine will not agree with Russia's "political" price for gas and will refer the matter to an arbitration tribunal in Stockholm.
Prodan says it must challenge Russia's decision last week to increase the gas price for Ukraine to $480 for 1,000 cubic meters, a more than 40 percent increase from the price in March.
Kyiv calls the move a politically motivated measure to prevent Ukraine from pursuing closer ties with the EU.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Ukrainian and Western European leaders on April 10 that gas supplies to Europe could be disrupted by Ukraine's failure to pay its $2.2 billion gas debt.
12:58
11.4.2014
Russia Foundation chair David Clark has written a thought-provoking opinion piece for CNN on how Moscow's new assertiveness may have shaky foundations:
Economic data suggests that the Russian economy may have contracted in the first quarter of 2014. Since the start of the year, net capital outflows of up to $70 billion have already exceeded the total for 2013, according to Reuters.
To make matters worse, Putin's threat to seize Western assets in the event that sanctions are expanded has turned Russia into a major investment risk at a time when it urgently needs to attract foreign capital and technology to upgrade infrastructure and create a broader base for economic growth.
It would be a mistake to see these problems as the short-term effect of the diplomatic turbulence over Ukraine.
In reality they are the culmination of serious structural problems that have been ignored and in many case made worse by Putin's lurch towards authoritarian statism.
To make matters worse, Putin's threat to seize Western assets in the event that sanctions are expanded has turned Russia into a major investment risk at a time when it urgently needs to attract foreign capital and technology to upgrade infrastructure and create a broader base for economic growth.
It would be a mistake to see these problems as the short-term effect of the diplomatic turbulence over Ukraine.
In reality they are the culmination of serious structural problems that have been ignored and in many case made worse by Putin's lurch towards authoritarian statism.
13:04
11.4.2014
Our news desk is reporting that Russia is taking steps to get an international arrest warrant issued for a prominent member of Right Sector:
Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika said his office has sent Interpol materials for the arrest of Ukrainian Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh.
Chaika told reporters in the Crimean city of Simferopol on April 11 that Russia's Investigative Committee has filed a criminal case, in absentia, against Yarosh for making public calls for carrying out acts of extremism and terrorism.
Chaika also said Russia would not hand-over former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych since "information available to us suggests that he has not committed any crimes, hence there are no reasons to extradite him."
Chaika said, on the other hand, that "there are scores of questions for the new [Ukrainian] authorities," adding, "a whole succession of crimes was committed and they should be investigated," without specifying what crimes he meant.
Russian Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika said his office has sent Interpol materials for the arrest of Ukrainian Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh.
Chaika told reporters in the Crimean city of Simferopol on April 11 that Russia's Investigative Committee has filed a criminal case, in absentia, against Yarosh for making public calls for carrying out acts of extremism and terrorism.
Chaika also said Russia would not hand-over former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych since "information available to us suggests that he has not committed any crimes, hence there are no reasons to extradite him."
Chaika said, on the other hand, that "there are scores of questions for the new [Ukrainian] authorities," adding, "a whole succession of crimes was committed and they should be investigated," without specifying what crimes he meant.
13:10
11.4.2014
Ukraine will sue Russia’s gas pricing in court #Gazprom http://t.co/Jb1WjfdOkU
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) April 11, 2014
13:32
11.4.2014
RFE/RL's Glenn Kates has just issued a pretty amazing story about some Russian TV stations' rather "confused" reporting from Ukraine:
Meet Andrei Petkhov. Actually, make that Petkov.
He emigrated to Germany some 20 years ago but traveled to the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv recently to act as a mercenary organizing against pro-Russian protesters.
Wait, check that. It seems the 40-year-old is a local pro-Russian patriot who "as per the usual" went to Mykolaiv's central square to peacefully protest the "radical" government in Kyiv.
So who is Petk(h)ov? That depends on whether you're watching the Russian state-run NTV or the state-run Rossia 1 channel...
Is Petk(h)ov a man with a split personality disorder? Was he separated at birth from an identical twin? Or maybe he's just a jobbing actor taking whatever work come his way? Find out more here.
Meet Andrei Petkhov. Actually, make that Petkov.
He emigrated to Germany some 20 years ago but traveled to the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv recently to act as a mercenary organizing against pro-Russian protesters.
Wait, check that. It seems the 40-year-old is a local pro-Russian patriot who "as per the usual" went to Mykolaiv's central square to peacefully protest the "radical" government in Kyiv.
So who is Petk(h)ov? That depends on whether you're watching the Russian state-run NTV or the state-run Rossia 1 channel...
Is Petk(h)ov a man with a split personality disorder? Was he separated at birth from an identical twin? Or maybe he's just a jobbing actor taking whatever work come his way? Find out more here.
13:39
11.4.2014
Here's a little more from our news desk on NATO's claims regarding the Russian troop buildup on the Ukrainian border:
NATO says it stands by the satellite images it released that it says show a massive Russian troop buildup along Ukraine's eastern border with Russia.
NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said in a statement today that the images are accurate and it has released more images of the same area.
Russian officials disputed the images after they were released on April 10, claiming they were of military exercises from August 2013.
SHAPE says the images are accurate and were taken between late March and early April 2014.
It said it is firm in its assessment that there are some 35,000-40,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Sofia today that Russia must withdraw its troops from the border region and begin a "sincere" dialogue with the West.
NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said in a statement today that the images are accurate and it has released more images of the same area.
Russian officials disputed the images after they were released on April 10, claiming they were of military exercises from August 2013.
SHAPE says the images are accurate and were taken between late March and early April 2014.
It said it is firm in its assessment that there are some 35,000-40,000 Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in Sofia today that Russia must withdraw its troops from the border region and begin a "sincere" dialogue with the West.
14:18
11.4.2014
14:19
11.4.2014