11:50
25.3.2014
The World Public Forum--Dialogue Of Civilizations that was founded by Vladimir Yakunin, the Russian Railways boss and purported Putin crony, has criticized the U.S. sanctions announced last week targeting Yakunin and others in the Kremlin's "inner circle." The group "demands that Dr. Yakunin enjoys [sic] free access to all United Nations Headquarters, including New York." It says in a statement spotted by RFE/RL Washington correspondent Carl Schreck:
Here's what the U.S. Treasury says about him:
We consider it to be a particular mistake to "sanction" Vladimir Yakunin who is not only President of Russian Railways but also the founder and president of the World Public Forum -Dialogue of Civilizations which enjoys consultative status in United Nations' ECOSOC. For more than a decade Vladimir Yakunin has devoted a lot of efforts and activities to dialogue among different religions, cultures and nations as the alternative to armed conflicts. He has stood up against hatred, xenophobia, antisemitism as well as Islamophobia.
Many people around the world know of and greatly value Dr. Yakunin's extraordinary and tireless work for peace and justice and the resolution of conflicts.
Many people around the world know of and greatly value Dr. Yakunin's extraordinary and tireless work for peace and justice and the resolution of conflicts.
Here's what the U.S. Treasury says about him:
Yakunin is being designated because of his official position in the Russian government, but he is also a close confidant of Putin. Yakunin regularly consults with Putin on issues regarding the Russian Railways company. In addition, Yakunin accompanies Putin on many domestic and international visits. Yakunin met Putin while both were working in St. Petersburg. Yakunin decided to create a business center in the city and contacted Putin for his support. In addition, Yakunin became a member of the board of the Baltic Maritime Steamship Company on Putin’s instructions. Yakunin and Putin were also neighbors in the elite dacha community on the shore of Lake Komsomolsk and they served as cofounders of the Ozero Dacha Cooperative in November 1996.
11:21
25.3.2014
NATO has expressed concern about all those Russian troops deployed to the border with Ukraine. From our newsroom:
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is "very much concerned" about a Russian military buildup on Ukraine's borders. Speaking in Brussels following talks with Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic, Rasmussen said that NATO stood ready to defend all its members and that the alliance was discussing with Kyiv ways to enhance its support for nonmember Ukraine. Djukanovic said his country hopes to be offered NATO membership at a summit of the alliance in September. Bosnia, Georgia, and Macedonia have also expressed interest in joining NATO, but Rasmussen said the alliance has yet to make any final decision on membership applications.
11:16
25.3.2014
NEWS FLASH: Crimean attorney-general inspiring Japanese anime art:
Quick draw Natalia Poklonskaya (Наталья Поклонская) #Crimea #NataliaPoklonskaya #НатальяПоклонская pic.twitter.com/pFH9sSvL9r
— IK (@Itachi_Kanade) March 17, 2014
11:14
25.3.2014
The fates of up to six Ukrainian military officers remain unknown following the takeover of Crimean bases by Russian forces. The commander of a Ukrainian air base in Crimea, Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, was captured on March 22 after Russian forces stormed the Belbek air base. As we noted earlier, Mamchur's wife, Larisa, told our Ukrainian Service that she has had no communication with her husband but believes he remains under arrest. Mamchur's aides believe he is being held in the Russian Black Sea Fleet's home port of Sevastopol in Crimea.
Yesterday, Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian military base in Feodosia and captured the commander of a marine battalion, Dmytro Delyatytskyy, and his deputy, Rostislav Lomtev.
The New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) says three other Ukrainian military officers and three activists also remain missing in Crimea.
Yesterday, Russian forces stormed a Ukrainian military base in Feodosia and captured the commander of a marine battalion, Dmytro Delyatytskyy, and his deputy, Rostislav Lomtev.
The New York-based watchdog Human Rights Watch (HRW) says three other Ukrainian military officers and three activists also remain missing in Crimea.
11:12
25.3.2014
FYI: New Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhaylo Koval, the former head of the State Border Service, was briefly kidnapped earlier this month.
Here's the Interfax report:
Colonel-General of the State Border Service of Ukraine Mykhailo Koval, who has been previously kidnapped by unidentified persons in Yalta, has established contact to inform that he is safe and well.
"Colonel-General of Ukraine's State Border Service Mykhailo Koval has been freed thanks to taken measures. He has established contact to inform that he is safe and well and continues his work in Crimea, the State Border Service's press service said on Wednesday.
Koval was reported to have been kidnapped by 40 unidentified men not far from the State Border Service's Yalta coast guard boats division on Wednesday. Koval was surrounded by a group of men, predominantly bikers, when he left the exit control point with other officers, the press service said. Then he was forced into an SUV, which drove in an unknown direction.
Here's the Interfax report:
Colonel-General of the State Border Service of Ukraine Mykhailo Koval, who has been previously kidnapped by unidentified persons in Yalta, has established contact to inform that he is safe and well.
"Colonel-General of Ukraine's State Border Service Mykhailo Koval has been freed thanks to taken measures. He has established contact to inform that he is safe and well and continues his work in Crimea, the State Border Service's press service said on Wednesday.
Koval was reported to have been kidnapped by 40 unidentified men not far from the State Border Service's Yalta coast guard boats division on Wednesday. Koval was surrounded by a group of men, predominantly bikers, when he left the exit control point with other officers, the press service said. Then he was forced into an SUV, which drove in an unknown direction.
11:07
25.3.2014
Newly appointed acting Defense Minister of #Ukraine Mykhailo Koval. pic.twitter.com/ND8QVxIvfF via @ukrpravda_news
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 25, 2014
11:06
25.3.2014
Just over a week before his death overnight on March 24-25, ultranationalist Right Sector leader Oleksandr Muzychko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that he was urging the government in Kyiv to fight the "foreign occupation" of his country. Here's a clip from that interview:
10:59
25.3.2014
Yulia Tymoshenko's intercepted phone call makes Victoria Nuland's intercepted phone call sound like a PTA meeting. http://t.co/WjpJ8P2bzi
— Ellen Barry (@EllenBarryNYT) March 25, 2014
10:53
25.3.2014
From our newsroom:
Ukrainian lawmakers have approved the nomination of General Mykhaylo Koval to replace Igor Tenyukh as acting defense minister. Two hundred and twenty-eight deputies in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada supported the measure; 226 votes were needed. Tenyukh submitted his resignation today amid reports that he had failed to give timely and proper orders and commands to Ukrainian military units in Crimea during its occupation and annexation by Russia. Earlier in the day, a majority of lawmakers had rejected Tenyukh's resignation. Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, requested that Tenyukh be relieved of his duties and replaced by Koval, who is the director of the State Border Service's administration department.
Turchynov on March 24 ordered the Defense Ministry to withdraw all Ukrainian military forces from Crimea.
Ukrainian lawmakers have approved the nomination of General Mykhaylo Koval to replace Igor Tenyukh as acting defense minister. Two hundred and twenty-eight deputies in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada supported the measure; 226 votes were needed. Tenyukh submitted his resignation today amid reports that he had failed to give timely and proper orders and commands to Ukrainian military units in Crimea during its occupation and annexation by Russia. Earlier in the day, a majority of lawmakers had rejected Tenyukh's resignation. Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, requested that Tenyukh be relieved of his duties and replaced by Koval, who is the director of the State Border Service's administration department.
Turchynov on March 24 ordered the Defense Ministry to withdraw all Ukrainian military forces from Crimea.
10:52
25.3.2014
Did Yulia Tymoshenko shoot herself in the foot?
British historian Mark Almond speaks to RT about Yulia Tymoshenko's leaked phone conversation in which she appears to be saying, among other things, "We should grab a gun and kill the goddamned katsaps" -- a derogatory term for Russians.
(Note: Tymoshenko has acknowledged that the phone call is real, but claims her comments were edited to change their meaning.)
"It does a huge amount to undermine the view of her as possibly a compromise candidate, precisely as a kind of wheeler dealer in the gas industry, somebody who had negotiated with Moscow, as somebody who can perhaps act as the figure who can be both plausible to the Ukrainians but also someone who can dampen the tensions, which obviously exist at the moment."
Read the full interview HERE: