-- 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
RFE/RL's live feed from Kyiv is now back up and running:
14:5819.2.2014
This is Coilin O'Connor taking over live blogging duties from my colleague Luke Allnutt. News just in from AP, dpa, and ITAR-TASS:
Ukraine's Security Service says protesters seized more than 1,500 firearms from security forces during the latest unrest. The service says it's now launching a nationwide "antiterrorist" operation to restore order.
14:5219.2.2014
Stunning photos from Ukraine. View them full size here.
Photo Gallery:
Flames And Chaos In Kyiv
Buildings, tents, and barricades burned on Kyiv's Independence Square after a day and night of clashes that left at least 18 people dead. The violence that erupted on February 18 was the worst since the start of Ukraine's mass antigovernment protests three months ago. (16 PHOTOS)
13:4619.2.2014
A video of what appears to be a horrific shooting incident in the central Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi (WARNING: Graphic Content)
Ukrainian Olympic Committee President Sergei Bubka is urging both sides in Ukraine's political crisis to halt the violence, saying it is putting the country “on the brink of catastrophe."
Bubka, a former Olympic pole vault champion, issued his call on Wednesday after clashes between police and antigovernment protesters in Kyiv left 25 people dead.
In a statement, Bubka said he was "shocked” by the dramatic development occurring in his country at a time when Ukrainian athletes were competing “peacefully and with honor" at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee said the Ukrainian delegation in Sochi led by Bubka had asked the International Olympic Committee if their athletes could wear black bands in competition to remember the dead.
Many videos are emerging on social media of the scale and extent of the violence. Here's one that appears to show a military vehicle ramming into a barricade.
11:2519.2.2014
UNIAN and ITAR-TASS are reporting that paratroopers have been sent to Kyiv.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Pavlo Lebedev says he has sent paratroopers units to the capital, which has been the scene of deadly clashes between police and antigovernment protesters.
Lebedev said on Wednesday that he had ordered the paratroopers units from the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk to be sent to Kyiv to guard military bases with weapons and ammunition.
Ukraine's former Defense Minister Anatolyy Hrytsenko wrote in his Facebook account earlier on Wednesday that 500 troops of the 25th Paratroopers Brigade in Dnipropetrovsk had been sent to Kyiv.
The Ukrainian army has not been involved in the stand-off between the government and antigovernment protesters that started in November after President Viktor Yanukovych suddenly stepped away from signing the Association Agreement with the European Union.
11:1719.2.2014
The information campaign from the Euromaidan protesters has been fascinating to watch, especially in the way in which it has utilised social media channels to sway the narrative. Here is a heartfelt appeal to the West from one protester, which has already got over 700,000 views on YouTube.
