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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference at his country residence of Novo-Ogaryova outside Moscow on March 4.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a news conference at his country residence of Novo-Ogaryova outside Moscow on March 4.

Live Blog: Ukraine On The Brink

Summary

-- 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

-- Glenn Kates / Luke Allnutt / Coilin O'Connor / Dan Wisniewski
16:23 25.2.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service produced this video of hundreds of people in the Ukrainian capital laying flowers, lighting candles, and leaving crosses at makeshift memorials on February 25 to pay their respects to those killed in clashes with government forces. One of the memorials was on Instytutska Street, where many antigovernment protesters were shot dead on February 20.
Ukrainians Honor Victims Of Clashes In Kyiv
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14:16 25.2.2014
The memorials and shrines to the Maidan dead aren't just on the streets, but online, seen in the countless mashups of footage on video-sharing sites.







14:06 25.2.2014
13:51 25.2.2014
More details on Klyuev being injured from the wires.

Andriy Klyuyev, a close aide to ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, has reportedly been wounded by gunfire.

His spokesman, Artem Petrenko, said he was told that Klyuyev, the head of Yanukovych's administration, had come under fire by unknown attackers and was wounded, but that his life was not in danger.

Petrenko said he had not spoken to Klyuyev himself and did not know where he was. It is not clear when the shooting incident happened.

Ukraine's acting interior minsiter has said Klyuyev, a former National Security Council secretary, is on the run together with Yanukovych, who is wanted for the "mass murder" of dozens of antigovernment protesters.

Ukraine's UNIAN news agency, meanwhile, quoted Klyuyev himself as saying he had met with Yanukovych on Sunday in Crimea to submit his resignation.
13:06 25.2.2014
12:48 25.2.2014
From the wires. Vitali Klitschko has confirmed that he will run for Ukraine's presidency:

"I will be on the ballot for the post of president of Ukraine," Klitschko, the leader of the UDAR party, told journalists on Tuesday.

Parliament called the snap election after voting to oust President Viktor Yanukovych last weekend. Yanukovych's whereabouts remain unknown.

The Central Election Commission said on Tuesday that candidates have until April 4 to register for the race. Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is also seen as a potential candidate.

Tymoshenko, who was Yanukovych's chief political rival, was released from prison on Saturday and has announced her intention to seek medical treatment for chronic back pain in Germany next month.
12:47 25.2.2014
12:44 25.2.2014
Great Reuters piece on Volodymyr Parasiuk, an activist from Lviv who made an impassioned speech from the Maidan stage.

With former boxing champion and opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko looking on stony-faced, Parasiuk, from the western city of Lviv, made an electrifying impromptu speech denouncing the opposition for "shaking hands with this killer".

No-one was going to wait for an election later in the year, he said. Yanukovich had to get out of town by the following morning or face the consequences.

To the dismay of opposition leaders, Parasiuk's emotional address - he broke down on several occasions as he remembered dead comrades - touched a chord deep within the thousands on Independence Square who roared their approval.
12:35 25.2.2014
12:22 25.2.2014
Good piece in "The Guardian" by Natalia Antonova.

"Both Russians and the west have engaged in rather simplistic rhetoric about what is really taking place in Ukraine. For instance, the role played by the rightwing Pravy Sektor organisation in the unrest has been overplayed in Russian coverage, while simultaneously being underplayed in the western press. The truth is, claiming that "the protesters are all cuddly little bunnies who just want to give everyone a hug" is no less silly than "the protesters are all bloodthirsty fascists who want to rape and kill grandmothers and children""

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