From our news desk on the clashes in Kyiv:
Nationalists and other protesters clashed with police in Kyiv as demonstrators rallied in support of a blockade on coal-producing regions controlled by separatists.
Volunteer battalions last month began halting railway connections with districts in the Donetsk and Luhansk region, a move aimed at cutting off trade with regions controlled by Russia-backed fighters.
But it has also resulted coal shortages across the rest of the country and power shortages. President Petro Poroshenko last week declared a partial state of emergency that called on Ukrainians and industries to conserve electricity.
Demonstrators gathered in downtown Kyiv February 19 in support of the blockade,and some protesters later clashed with riot police.
News reports said protesters chanted "Shame on the corrupt government!" and "The enemy is within!"
Yehor Sobeliev, a member of parliament, told RFE/RL that among the seven detained by police was the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Mykola Kokhanivskyi.
There have been clashes between activists and police in Kyiv. They are commemorating Maidan's "heavenly hundred" and supporting an economic blockade of the Donbas.
Live stream of the rally ongoing in Kyiv in support of the economic blockade of eastern Ukraine:
War dentists:
From our news desk:
U.S. Criticizes Moscow For Recognition Of Ukraine Separatist Documents
The U.S Embassy in Kyiv has said Russia’s decision to temporarily recognize documents issued by Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is incompatible with the Minsk process on regulating the conflict.
The embassy posted on Twitter on February 19 that the decision was “alarming and incompatible with the agreed-on goals of the Minsk peace process.”
The embassy also urged Russia and the separatists to remove heavy weaponry from the line of contact in order to ensure a sustainable cease-fire.
On February 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order authorizing the recognition of documents issued by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, entities created in the areas of Ukraine controlled by Russia-back separatists.
The same day, the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France met in Munich and agreed to a new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine to begin on February 20.
With reporting by AFP, Reuters, and Interfax
Reupping this from yesterday: