11:21
18.3.2014
Putin describes Euromaidan protests as "terror, murder, pogroms" staged by "nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites."
11:18
18.3.2014
Putin is now saying that Crimea is an "inseparable" part of Russia and its loss was an "outrageous historical injustice."
11:14
18.3.2014
President Vladimir Putin is addressing a special joint session of the Russian parliament on the Crimea issue.
So far, he's said that the Crimea referendum was democratic and in full accordance with international legal norms.
The outcome of the referendum is "more than convincing," he added.
Putin also says Russia respects all ethnic groups in Crimea. He says there will be three equal languages in Crimea -- Russian, Crimean Tatar, and Ukrainian.
More to follow...
So far, he's said that the Crimea referendum was democratic and in full accordance with international legal norms.
The outcome of the referendum is "more than convincing," he added.
Putin also says Russia respects all ethnic groups in Crimea. He says there will be three equal languages in Crimea -- Russian, Crimean Tatar, and Ukrainian.
More to follow...
11:09
18.3.2014
How much will Crimea cost Russia? As much as 165.8 billion rubles ($4.5 billion) per year just in running expenses, according to Russian opposition party RPR-Parnas.
Российский бюджет в течении ближайших лет заплатит за Крымскую авантюру более триллиона рублей. Содержание Крыма... http://t.co/DhfJA7kY5i
— Boris Nemtsov (@BorisNemtsov) March 18, 2014
10:48
18.3.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has also been talking to people on the streets of Simferopol about the prospect of Crimea seceding from Ukraine:
10:47
18.3.2014
Tusk fears UKR to be black hole "where Russian intel services, org. crime&structures that threaten us will dominate.” http://t.co/ePud9tWV07
— Robert Coalson (@CoalsonR) March 18, 2014
10:32
18.3.2014
Just as Reshat Ametov is buried, another member of Crimea's Muslim community has disappeared. More details here:
У Криму зник ще один мусульманин http://t.co/Pz6eywSaNe
— Радіо Свобода (@radiosvoboda) March 18, 2014
10:32
18.3.2014
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has made this video of National Guard recruits undergoing training near Kyiv:
10:15
18.3.2014
According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, the Crimean conflict is "the most serious crisis since the end of the Cold War."
"If there are no longer any safe and recognized borders," he told Europe 1 radio today, "this means no country, no population is secure."
He says Russia has become "totally isolated."
"If there are no longer any safe and recognized borders," he told Europe 1 radio today, "this means no country, no population is secure."
He says Russia has become "totally isolated."
10:15
18.3.2014
Arseniy Yatsenyuk has been clarifying the status of the Russian language in Ukraine:
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says the Russian language has, in effect, official status and the same capabilities and rights as the Ukrainian language in the regions of Ukraine where Russian-speaking people predominate.
Addressing residents of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions today, Yastsenyuk said guarantees for the Russian language are outlined in Article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution and were reaffirmed by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov recently.
He also said the issue of Ukraine's admission into NATO "is not on the agenda" but confirmed that Kyiv will sign the political part of an Association Agreement with the EU in Brussels on March 21.
But he said Ukraine does not regard relations with the EU and Russia according to the "all-or-none" principle. (ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and AFP)
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says the Russian language has, in effect, official status and the same capabilities and rights as the Ukrainian language in the regions of Ukraine where Russian-speaking people predominate.
Addressing residents of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions today, Yastsenyuk said guarantees for the Russian language are outlined in Article 10 of the Ukrainian Constitution and were reaffirmed by acting President Oleksandr Turchynov recently.
He also said the issue of Ukraine's admission into NATO "is not on the agenda" but confirmed that Kyiv will sign the political part of an Association Agreement with the EU in Brussels on March 21.
But he said Ukraine does not regard relations with the EU and Russia according to the "all-or-none" principle. (ITAR-TASS, Interfax, and AFP)