11:45
28.4.2014
Latest on shot Kharkiv mayor Kernes:
12:52
28.4.2014
12:55
28.4.2014
12:58
28.4.2014
!!! BREAKING NEWS!!!
The U.S. has announced sanctions against seven Russian government officials and 17 companies with links to President Vladimir Putin.
The measures include asset freezes, U.S. visa bans, and additional licensing restrictions for the targeted companies, the White House said in a statement.
The measures include asset freezes, U.S. visa bans, and additional licensing restrictions for the targeted companies, the White House said in a statement.
MORE TO FOLLOW...
13:08
28.4.2014
Elsewhere, our news desk has this from Berlin:
German officials are calling on Russia to use its influence with pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine who are holding seven monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), four of whom are German nationals.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said today that the entire OSCE team must be released "immediately, unconditionally, and unharmed."
Seibert said Germany wants Russia to "act publicly and internally" for the release of the seven OSCE monitors.
Seibert also said Russia should "distance itself clearly" from the actions of pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian town of Slovyansk who captured the OSCE team on April 25.
Seibert's comments came the same day German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier telephoned his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with a similar message.
Steinmeier told Lavrov that Russian leaders need to send a "clear signal" to the group holding the monitors that such actions are unacceptable.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said today that the entire OSCE team must be released "immediately, unconditionally, and unharmed."
Seibert said Germany wants Russia to "act publicly and internally" for the release of the seven OSCE monitors.
Seibert also said Russia should "distance itself clearly" from the actions of pro-Russian separatists in the Ukrainian town of Slovyansk who captured the OSCE team on April 25.
Seibert's comments came the same day German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier telephoned his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, with a similar message.
Steinmeier told Lavrov that Russian leaders need to send a "clear signal" to the group holding the monitors that such actions are unacceptable.
13:27
28.4.2014
RFE/RL's Washington correspondent Carl Schreck has some more details on the new round of U.S. sanctions:
The United States has slapped sanctions on Igor Sechin, a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as six other senior officials and 17 Russian companies in response to what it calls Moscow’s "indisputable" role in recent violence in Ukraine.
Sechin, chairman of Russian state-owned oil major Rosneft, is widely seen as one of the country’s most powerful individuals after Putin.
The sanctions announced by the White House on April 28 marked the third wave of sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Other officials sanctioned on April 28 include Aleksei Pushkov, a senior Russian lawmaker known for his vocal criticism of the United States.
The targeted companies did not include state-owned Gazprom, the world’s largest gas company, which several U.S. lawmakers had asked the Obama administration to sanction recently.
Sechin, chairman of Russian state-owned oil major Rosneft, is widely seen as one of the country’s most powerful individuals after Putin.
The sanctions announced by the White House on April 28 marked the third wave of sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Other officials sanctioned on April 28 include Aleksei Pushkov, a senior Russian lawmaker known for his vocal criticism of the United States.
The targeted companies did not include state-owned Gazprom, the world’s largest gas company, which several U.S. lawmakers had asked the Obama administration to sanction recently.
13:33
28.4.2014
People have instantly picked up on the fact that it's not just Gazprom, but also its CEO Aleksei Miller, who has been left out of the recent round of U.S. sanctions:
Guys why was Miller left off the sanctions list?
— Ben Judah (@b_judah) April 28, 2014
13:50
28.4.2014
Speaking of Gazprom, our news desk has this item:
Ukraine says it will pay off its $2.2-billion debt to Russia if Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom agrees to sell Ukraine gas at the price of $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a government meeting on April 28 that his government has already sent such a proposal to Gazprom.
Russian officials have cited a range of figures in April for Ukraine's gas debt to Gazprom, some saying the bill was as high as $16 billion.
Yatsenyuk also said Ukraine's state gas company Naftohaz has filed documents to take Gazprom to an arbitration court in Stockholm after Gazprom hiked Ukraine's gas price from $268.5 to $485 earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Slovakia signed a deal on April 28 that could see up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas sent annually from Slovakia to Ukraine.
Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told a government meeting on April 28 that his government has already sent such a proposal to Gazprom.
Russian officials have cited a range of figures in April for Ukraine's gas debt to Gazprom, some saying the bill was as high as $16 billion.
Yatsenyuk also said Ukraine's state gas company Naftohaz has filed documents to take Gazprom to an arbitration court in Stockholm after Gazprom hiked Ukraine's gas price from $268.5 to $485 earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Ukraine and Slovakia signed a deal on April 28 that could see up to 10 billion cubic meters of gas sent annually from Slovakia to Ukraine.
13:54
28.4.2014
!!! BREAKING NEWS !!!
Diplomats say the European Union is adding 15 more names to its list of individuals hit by sanctions in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine.
MORE TO FOLLOW...
13:59
28.4.2014
Slovyansk "People's Mayor" Ponomaryov: "We didn't shoot Kernes" http://t.co/aKp75dg3o3
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) April 28, 2014