-- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kyiv as U.S. officials announced Washington is preparing a $1 billion aid package for Ukraine.
-- Speaking at a press conference at his residence, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the change of government in Ukraine an "unconstitutional overthrow and an armed seizure of power."
-- Putin also said there are no considerations to annex Crimea and no intentions to provoke separatist sentiment. He said it is up to the citizens of Crimea to determine their own future.
-- In Crimea, there are standoffs between Russian and Ukrainian troops in their bases, with conflicting reports of ultimatums given to Ukrainian troops to surrender that come and pass.
-- Russian Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin has said that Ukraine's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting that he use the Russian military to restore law and order in his country.
-- In eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian demonstrators have occupied part of the regional government building in the city of Donetsk. Meanwhile, a few hundred pro-Russian activists tried but failed to force their way into the regional administration building in the southern city of Odesa.
NOTE: Live blog updates are listed according to local time in Kyiv
And the Russians have weighed in as well, saying the violence is an attempted coup:
Russia's Foreign Ministry has described the latest events in Ukraine as an attempt to "forcibly seize power."
The Ministry in a statement Wednesday demanded that Ukrainian opposition leaders end the "bloodshed" in their country and resume dialogue "without threats and ultimatums."
It also said Moscow is "outraged" by the absence of reaction from Western nations and Ukrainian opposition leaders to radicals' actions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin spoke with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych late on Tuesday.
Peskov said the Russian president wants to see an early settlement in Ukraine but "does not give advice" to Yanukovych.
Peskov also said Moscow is sticking to its policy of non-interfering in what is happening in Ukraine. He added that at the moment, he could not comment on Russia's releasing a second tranche of a multibillion loan agreed last year.
10:5319.2.2014
It looks like the EU is seriously considering sanctions (from the wires):
EU foreign policy chief Catherine has summoned the bloc's foreign ministers for emergency talks on Ukraine in Brussels Thursday.
Ashton said Wednesday that “all possible options" should be explored, including "restrictive measures against those responsible for repression and human rights violations."
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he expects that “targeted measures against those responsible” for the violence in Ukraine and the use of excessive force during protests can be agreed by EU member states “as a matter of urgency.”
The comments come after clashes between police and antigovernment protesters in Kyiv left 25 people dead.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt blamed President Viktor Yanukovych for the bloodshed, saying he had "blood on his hands."
WATCH: After Night Of Clashes, Fires Burn On Kyiv's Independence Square
08:5119.2.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service is live streaming from the city center this morning. The footage is remarkable: smoke rising above barricades, protesters with masks and construction helmets, an eerie orange half-light pervading everything. In the background the sound of chanted hymns and chipping as stones and paving slabs are being dug up.
