Pompeo Calls On Russia To Free Hunger-Striking Sentsov
By RFE/RL
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeated U.S. calls for Russia to “immediately release” jailed Ukrainian writer and filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who has been on hunger strike for more than 100 days and is reported to be critically ill.
"The secretary noted our concerns about Sentsov's health and urged Russia to immediately release Sentsov and all Ukrainian political prisoners," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a readout of Pompeo’s phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on August 23.
The Russian Foreign Ministry acknowledged that Pompeo raised the issue of Sentsov in the call and that Lavrov “explained the situation,” without providing specifics.
A vocal opponent of Russia's 2014 takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted by a Russian court in 2015 of conspiring to commit terrorist acts.
The 42-year-old has been on a hunger strike at a penal colony in Labytnangi in Russia's northern region of Yamalo-Nenets since May. He is demanding that Russia release 64 Ukrainian citizens that he considers political prisoners.
Russian authorities have refused to free Sentsov, despite reports of a dramatic decline in his health and pressure from Western governments and human rights groups, which have backed the film director's contention that the charges against him were politically motivated.
On August 21, the State Department marked Sentsov’s 100th day on hunger strike by saying it was “deeply concerned” by his detention and renewed calls for his immediate release.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also said that Lavrov in the phone call demanded that the United States end the prosecution and “immediately” release Russian citizen Maria Butina, who is being held on charges of acting as an agent for Moscow.
She has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include attempting to infiltrate political groups such as the powerful National Rifle Association, to advance Russian interests while reporting back to a high-ranking official in Moscow.
Lavrov also told Pompeo that Washington's "destructive" approach to ties with Moscow is responsible for impeding bilateral cooperation.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have sunk to a post-Cold War low over issues including Russia's seizure of Crimea in March 2014, its role in wars in Syria and eastern Ukraine, and its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Russia 'Disappointed' After Bosnia Denies Entry To Writer, Citing Security Concerns
By RFE/RL's Balkan Service
Authorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina have barred Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin from entering the country, triggering an angry reaction from Bosnian Serb leaders and Russia’s embassy in Sarajevo.
In a statement on August 23, the embassy expressed “concern and deep disappointment” after Prilepin was turned back at the Raca border crossing between Serbia and Bosnia, adding that it has requested an explanation from the Bosnian Foreign Ministry.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said the ban on Prilepin was "shameful, inadmissible, and directed against friends of Republika Srpska,” Bosnia's predominantly Serb entity.
Prilepin said he had been due to attend a literary event on August 24 in Banja Luka, the administrative center of Republika Srpska.
He told Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency that when he tried to cross the border at Raca, he was presented with a document saying he was barred from entering Bosnia because he "represents a threat for the security and international relations” of the country.
Prilepin is associated with Russia-backed separatists that are fighting against Ukrainian government forces in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian writer said he thinks the entry ban may be linked to his involvement in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Bosnia’s Intelligence and Security Agency reportedly issued an entry ban against Prilepin in March, citing security concerns.
Fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk has killed more than 10,300 people since April 2014.
Bosnia is split into two entities: the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosniaks and Croats. The two entities are linked by joint state-level institutions, including a tripartite presidency.
With reporting by Reuters and N1
Poroshenko Declares Ukraine 'Has Cut All Ties With Russian Empire'
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- President Petro Poroshenko has marked Ukraine's Independence Day by announcing at a military parade in Kyiv that his country "has cut all ties with the Russian empire and the Soviet Union."
Poroshenko also said during the August 24 event that Ukraine needs to cut all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church "that blesses" Russia's "hybrid war against Ukraine."
"Our generation's major goal is to make our independence irreversible, to turn Ukraine into a strong and great country without the possibility of returning to the zone of Russian influence," Poroshenko said.
"The issue [of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's split from the Russian Orthodox Church] is of the same importance as such issues as strengthening of our army, defending our language, our struggle to join the European Union and NATO," he said. "That is another aim of our historic path, a significant component of our independence."
Some 4,500 soldiers, 250 military vehicles, and 18 units comprised of 300 foreign troops took part in the parade, which also featured women who are in Ukraine's military forces.
Dispensing with a traditional Soviet-era military greeting used in previous years, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak greeted the marching troops by declaring, "Glory to Ukraine!" The troops replied: "Glory to the heroes!"
Poltorak's greeting had been used by Ukrainian nationalist troops who fought for Ukraine's independence during World War II.
Poroshenko announced that he will propose that parliament pass legislation to make the expression the official military greeting in Ukraine.
Ukraine announced its independence from the Soviet Union on August 24, 1991, almost four months before the official dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Ties between Ukraine and Russia have worsened since Moscow illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea region and instigated a conflict between pro-Kremlin separatists and Ukrainian armed forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
