19:34
5.5.2014
20:13
5.5.2014
Barring any breaking news, that ends our blogging for May 5. See RFE/RL.org for the latest developments in Ukraine.
05:47
6.5.2014
Reuters has quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying via RIA-Novosti that Moscow will abide by the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, known as New START, despite differences over Ukraine, saying, "There are no reasons today not to fulfill the treaty."
Anonymously sourced reports in March had suggested that the Russian Defense Ministry was considering a suspension of on-site inspections outlined in the treaty.
Anonymously sourced reports in March had suggested that the Russian Defense Ministry was considering a suspension of on-site inspections outlined in the treaty.
06:38
6.5.2014
Prague Lord Mayor Tomas Hudecek was among the guests at a Prague concert to show solidarity and support for Ukraine and its Euromaidan movement. Sixteen-year-old Sasha Kozlowskiy, who was treated in the Czech Republic after losing a leg in Euromaidan-related violence, was also in attendance.
Hudecek stressed that while he was no expert in foreign policy, "the historical experience of the Czech lands is such that I think a real majority of experts and other nationals in Prague believe that the battle at Euromaidan was for a just cause."
Hudecek stressed that while he was no expert in foreign policy, "the historical experience of the Czech lands is such that I think a real majority of experts and other nationals in Prague believe that the battle at Euromaidan was for a just cause."
06:49
6.5.2014
Molodovan President Nicolae Timofti, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca, and parliamentary speaker Igor Corman have announced in a joint statement that, in light of the worsening security situation in Ukraine, Moldovan forces have been placed on alert and ordered “to take all necessary actions to ensure public order inside the country.”
06:52
6.5.2014
The overnight summary from our newsroom:
Kyiv has sent an elite national guard unit to its southern port of Odesa in a bid to stop the spread of fighting between government troops and pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine that has killed combatants on both sides.
Kyiv said the special forces would replace local police who had failed to control pro-Russian activists in Odesa during the weekend.
Odesa saw some of the worst violence in Ukraine's crisis on May 2 when supporters of the government in Kyiv and pro-Russian groups clashed for much of the day.
Pro-Russian supporters fled inside a trade union building that subsequently caught fire, killing dozens of people inside.
The deployment of special forces to Odesa on May 5 came as clashes in the east killed four Ukrainian soldiers and as a government helicopter was shot down.
It was the third helicopter to be downed by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine since Kyiv launched military operations there last week in an attempt to gain control of cities and towns seized by pro-Russian separatists.
Pro-Russian forces say 20 of their combatants were killed as a result of fighting on May 5 in and around the eastern city of Slovyansk.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, during a visit with Ukrainian troops near Slovyansk on May 5, told journalists that there is “a war going on against us on our territory.”
Avakov said Ukrainian troops “hands and feet are tied because of the civilian population” – with some supporting the Kyiv government and others opposed to authorities in Kyiv.
He said Kyiv’s attempt to seize eastern cities from pro-Russian separatists were being limited because “Ukrainian soldiers cannot shoot at civilians. Our enemy is hiding behind them and shooting at us.”
Russia has called on Ukraine's government to stop its military operations in eastern Ukraine and enter talks on resolving the crisis.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a humanitarian crisis is looming in cities where Ukrainian forces have been trying to dislodge pro-Russian separatists.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, meanwhile, had meetings in Vienna on May 5 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya.
Kurz said he hopes a May 6 meeting in Vienna of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Foreign Ministers would be a “good platform to have a direct contact between Ukraine and Russia.”
Kyiv said the special forces would replace local police who had failed to control pro-Russian activists in Odesa during the weekend.
Odesa saw some of the worst violence in Ukraine's crisis on May 2 when supporters of the government in Kyiv and pro-Russian groups clashed for much of the day.
Pro-Russian supporters fled inside a trade union building that subsequently caught fire, killing dozens of people inside.
The deployment of special forces to Odesa on May 5 came as clashes in the east killed four Ukrainian soldiers and as a government helicopter was shot down.
It was the third helicopter to be downed by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine since Kyiv launched military operations there last week in an attempt to gain control of cities and towns seized by pro-Russian separatists.
Pro-Russian forces say 20 of their combatants were killed as a result of fighting on May 5 in and around the eastern city of Slovyansk.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, during a visit with Ukrainian troops near Slovyansk on May 5, told journalists that there is “a war going on against us on our territory.”
Avakov said Ukrainian troops “hands and feet are tied because of the civilian population” – with some supporting the Kyiv government and others opposed to authorities in Kyiv.
He said Kyiv’s attempt to seize eastern cities from pro-Russian separatists were being limited because “Ukrainian soldiers cannot shoot at civilians. Our enemy is hiding behind them and shooting at us.”
Russia has called on Ukraine's government to stop its military operations in eastern Ukraine and enter talks on resolving the crisis.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a humanitarian crisis is looming in cities where Ukrainian forces have been trying to dislodge pro-Russian separatists.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, meanwhile, had meetings in Vienna on May 5 with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukraine’s acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya.
Kurz said he hopes a May 6 meeting in Vienna of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Foreign Ministers would be a “good platform to have a direct contact between Ukraine and Russia.”
07:34
6.5.2014
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on breakaway authorities in eastern Ukraine to free captives and put an end to abductions by armed men acting on their behalf. The statement says in part:
The statement cites several documented cases of beatings and abductions of locals by armed groups.
“Armed men affiliated with anti-Kiev forces have been snatching up activists, journalists, and local officials,” said Anna Neistat, associate program director at Human Rights Watch. “Some who’ve been released are bruised and injured, while the fate of dozens of others is not known.”...
Human rights law is fully applicable to all of Ukraine, including areas under the effective control of self-proclaimed authorities. Everyone involved has the responsibility to respect human rights, and the authorities claiming to exercise power in the territory need to ensure that forces under their control do not abuse human rights. The Ukrainian authorities, including the police, should take all possible measures to fulfill their obligations to protect people from abuse by all armed groups and to punish anyone who commits abuse.
“Anti-Kiev forces should immediately free all captives and rein in the armed men under their command,” Neistat said. “Foreign governments should use their influence to ensure that non-state forces in Eastern Ukraine stop abusing people and to secure the release and well-being of the captives.”
Human rights law is fully applicable to all of Ukraine, including areas under the effective control of self-proclaimed authorities. Everyone involved has the responsibility to respect human rights, and the authorities claiming to exercise power in the territory need to ensure that forces under their control do not abuse human rights. The Ukrainian authorities, including the police, should take all possible measures to fulfill their obligations to protect people from abuse by all armed groups and to punish anyone who commits abuse.
“Anti-Kiev forces should immediately free all captives and rein in the armed men under their command,” Neistat said. “Foreign governments should use their influence to ensure that non-state forces in Eastern Ukraine stop abusing people and to secure the release and well-being of the captives.”
The statement cites several documented cases of beatings and abductions of locals by armed groups.
08:28
6.5.2014
08:32
6.5.2014
Peter Pomerantsev writes in "Foreign Policy" that Russia may not be so 19th-century in its approach to geopolitics after all, and may have grasped the concept of "nonlinear warfare" sooner than the West.
08:34
6.5.2014