08:00
27.3.2014
Moscow's prosecutor in Crimea, the meme-friendly Natalya Poklonskaya, as Anna from "Frozen."
07:48
27.3.2014
07:40
27.3.2014
Interfax quotes Russian Economic Development Minister Aleksei Ulyukayev saying capital outflow is likely to reach $60 billion in the first quarter, roughly equal to all of last year.
07:36
27.3.2014
Claims that leaflets are being left on doors in Odesa calling for the return of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
07:33
27.3.2014
"The Guardian's" Simon Jenkins goes straight to the point in a bleak assessment titled "Crimea: all this virile cold war talk won't force Vladimir Putin to slink back." He concludes that "the real job is somehow to get out of this mess...[and] I imagine Putin agrees":
We know where this is likely to end. We will accept Russia's sovereignty over Crimea. Sanctions will be quietly dismantled, Moscow will reassure Kiev with a deal on neutrality. Nato will agree no further eastward expansion. The G7 will again become G8; and Crimea will join Tibet, Kosovo, East Timor, Chechnya, Georgia and other territorial interventions which history students will struggle to remember. But how do we get from here to there?
We all seem much wiser about Russia and Ukraine than we were a month ago. Vladimir Putin is not Hitler and Crimea is not Sudetenland, despite the efforts of Russophobic chest-beaters to pretend so. He is a dictator, brutal, proud, controlling, intolerant of criticism and infused with obsessive patriotism. But we get on fine with the Chinese politburo. The triumphalism of western diplomacy towards Russia since 1989 is now seen as the provocative taunting not just of Putin but of all his still benighted nation.
We all seem much wiser about Russia and Ukraine than we were a month ago. Vladimir Putin is not Hitler and Crimea is not Sudetenland, despite the efforts of Russophobic chest-beaters to pretend so. He is a dictator, brutal, proud, controlling, intolerant of criticism and infused with obsessive patriotism. But we get on fine with the Chinese politburo. The triumphalism of western diplomacy towards Russia since 1989 is now seen as the provocative taunting not just of Putin but of all his still benighted nation.
07:13
27.3.2014
Sergei Markov, a Russian political analyst with close ties to the Kremlin and a former State Duma deputy from the ruling United Russia party, has published an op-ed in "The Moscow Times" in which he points out that "Russia's understanding [of conflicts in Crimea and Ukraine] differs significantly from the West's."
He spells out "our reality," including the perception that the government in Kyiv lacks legitimacy and the accusation that "the U.S. and EU are trying to help the Russian opposition overthrow Putin and form a Maidan-style government in Moscow."
Markov adds:
He spells out "our reality," including the perception that the government in Kyiv lacks legitimacy and the accusation that "the U.S. and EU are trying to help the Russian opposition overthrow Putin and form a Maidan-style government in Moscow."
Markov adds:
Do Western leaders really believe that Putin will reconcile himself to their distorted vision of reality? By insisting that Putin capitulate, the West is actually leaving him no option but to respond with force.
And in the face of this harsh reality, Russia has always chosen war over capitulation.
And in the face of this harsh reality, Russia has always chosen war over capitulation.
06:39
27.3.2014
From CNN's Barbara Starr:
A new classified intelligence assessment concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine, CNN has learned.
Two administration officials described the assessment but declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.
The officials emphasized that nothing is certain, but there have been several worrying signs in the past three to four days.
“This has shifted our thinking that the likelihood of a further Russian incursion is more probable than it was previously thought to be,” one official said.
Two administration officials described the assessment but declined to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the information.
The officials emphasized that nothing is certain, but there have been several worrying signs in the past three to four days.
“This has shifted our thinking that the likelihood of a further Russian incursion is more probable than it was previously thought to be,” one official said.
06:32
27.3.2014
You can find our Ukrainian Service's story HERE (apologies, our Twitter embeds are misbehaving).
06:31
27.3.2014
Our Ukrainian Service says that six Ukrainian military officers detained by pro-Russian troops in Crimea have been released but five still remain in custody. The pro-Russian forces took the officers captive during their storming of Ukrainian military bases in Crimea.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said the released officers included Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, a commander who has been hailed by Ukrainians for defying the pro-Russian forces who besieged his base for almost three weeks.
Defense Ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said five more servicemen are still in pro-Russian detention.
A Defense Ministry spokesman said the released officers included Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, a commander who has been hailed by Ukrainians for defying the pro-Russian forces who besieged his base for almost three weeks.
Defense Ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said five more servicemen are still in pro-Russian detention.