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Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.
Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya speaks to the UN General Assembly on March 27.

Live Blog: UN Backs Ukraine Integrity

Final Summary For March 27

-- The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution that affirms Ukraine's territorial integrity.

-- The IMF has announced "a staff-level agreement" with Kyiv on assistance of $14 billion-$18 billion in conjunction with a reform program that will "unlock" up to $27 billion over the next two years, pending final approval next month. Tthe U.S. Congress has also passed an aid bill for Ukraine.

-- Ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko has announced plans to run for president.

-- Members of the Right Sector have been holding a demonstration outside the Ukrainian parliament building to vent their anger at the killing of prominent member Oleksander Muzychko earlier in the week.

-- Six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released, including Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, but five others are still being held captive.

-- Anonymous sources quoted by CNN say U.S. intelligence "concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine."

-- U.S. President Barack Obama, in the keynote speech of his visit to Europe, chided Russia for its use of "brute force" in Ukraine and vowed that a determined alliance of the United States and Europe will prevail over time.


*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv
13:48 21.3.2014
13:46 21.3.2014
The Ukrainian navy in Feodosia is preparing for transfer to mainland Ukraine.

13:45 21.3.2014
Here are the names of the 12 additional Russians and Ukrainians the European slapped with an asset freeze and travel ban earlier today, from Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak:

* Dmitry Rogozin, Russian Deputy Prime Minister
* Valentina Matviyenko, head of the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia's parliament
* Sergei Naryshkin, speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament
* Aleksandr Nosatov, deputy commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet
* Vladislav Surkov, Kremlin ideologue and Putin aide
* Sergei Glazyev, Putin presidential aide
* Igor Turchenyuk, commander of the Russian occupation forces in Crimea
* Dmitry Kiselyov, a rising star of Russian journalism who in December was named to head the Russian state media conglomerate Rossia Segodnya and warned recently that Russia could turn the United States "into radioactive ash"
* Yelena Mizulina, a State Duma deputy for A Just Russia
* Valery Kulikov, deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet (corrected)
* Mykhaylo Malyshev, Crimean referendum commission chairman
* Valery Medvedev, chairman of the Sevastopol Electoral Commission
13:33 21.3.2014
Crimea's annexation complete. Putin has appointed his envoy to Crimea: Oleg Belavintsev, a member of the board of directors of state-run defense ministry company Oboronservis and the head of a firm administering defense ministry housing.

13:25 21.3.2014
From our news desk via AFP and Reuters:

France is suspending most of its military cooperation with Russia in response to Moscow's intervention in Ukraine. Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking on a visit to Estonia, also said France is ready to send four fighter jets to Poland and the Baltic states to join NATO air patrols. The United States has already deployed extra fighter aircraft to Poland. Le Drian said the suspension of ties with Russia would concern joint military exercises. He did not address the future of French contracts to supply Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia but on March 20 had said France would not make a decision on the warships until October. The French defense chief’s announcement came as Germany’s Economy Ministry said the government had decided to suspend all defense-related exports to Russia.
13:18 21.3.2014
13:06 21.3.2014
Leaders of the Crimean Tatar community's self-government body, the Mejlis, are calling on Crimea residents of any ethnicity to hold on to their Ukrainian passports. Mejlis member Remzi Ilyasov told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on March 20 in Simferopol that Crimean Tatars are being forced to adopt Russian citizenship.
Crimean Tatar Leaders Urging Crimeans To Keep Ukrainian Passports
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13:02 21.3.2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to Kyiv, reiterates his appeal for a peaceful resolution to the Crimea crisis on the basis of the UN Charter, "including respect for the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine."
12:53 21.3.2014
Putin in televised quips, putting a brave face on the new U.S. sanctions that target a bank (Rossiya Bank) and Russian officials, including individuals said to be within his "inner circle."

"We have to stay away from them. They can compromise us."

"With regard to [the sanctions] against financial institutions, as far as I understand, it [affects] a middle-sized bank. I don't have a personal account there, but definitely on Monday I will open one."
12:53 21.3.2014
Ukraine's finance ministry will issue "war" bonds to fund the country's cash-strapped army.

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