11:20
19.4.2014
Interesting piece in the Kyiv Post about Russian banks allegedly financing pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The banks under investigation include:
It appears that the stealth invasion of eastern Ukraine is flush with cash. A Ukrainian soldier who had been captured by separatists near the town of Kramatorsk, in a video testimony released by the State Security Service, said he was offered Hr 3,500 per week if he switched sides and $400 to move his family immediately. He said similar offers were made to others.
Prosecutor General Oleh Makhnytskiy said to Channel 5 on April 16 that his office was investigating 14 banks for financing pro-Russian separatists in the east, including the big state-owned Russian bank Sberbank, which has some 900,000 clients in Ukraine and is Russia’s biggest lender.
Sberbank has strenuously denied breaking any Ukrainian laws and says it has not received official notification from Ukrainian authorities regarding the accusations.
Sberbank has strenuously denied breaking any Ukrainian laws and says it has not received official notification from Ukrainian authorities regarding the accusations.
The banks under investigation include:
Sberbank Russia
Prominvestbank
VTB Bank
Alfa Bank
Russian Standard
Energobank
Folksbank
Petrocommerz Ukraine
Trust
Interbank
Finance Bank
Prominvestbank
VTB Bank
Alfa Bank
Russian Standard
Energobank
Folksbank
Petrocommerz Ukraine
Trust
Interbank
Finance Bank
11:08
19.4.2014
Administration #Donetsk. 40 Stunden nach Genf weiter keine Anzeichen, dass Belagerer Gebäude räumen. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/4FrMtc7fZl
— Dirk Emmerich (@DEmmerich) April 19, 2014
11:06
19.4.2014
Our news desk has some details of a poll about how residents of the eastern Donetsk region actually feel about joining Russia:
A Ukrainian survey shows that the majority of inhabitants in the country's eastern Donetsk region, a hub of separatist protests, do not want to join Russia.
The poll, published on April 19 by Kyiv's Institute for International Sociology, says 52.2 percent of local residents questioned were against joining Russia, while 27.5 percent favored being ruled by the Kremlin.
Just over 38 percent of respondents in the region, where pro-Moscow militants occupy a dozen government buildings, said they want Ukraine's federalization and 41 percent said they wanted a decentralization of power.
57.2 percent of those polled said they don't feel their rights have been violated and 66.3 percent said they were against a Russian military intervention.
Among the 3,200 respondents, 69.7 percent said they are against Russian control.
The poll, published on April 19 by Kyiv's Institute for International Sociology, says 52.2 percent of local residents questioned were against joining Russia, while 27.5 percent favored being ruled by the Kremlin.
Just over 38 percent of respondents in the region, where pro-Moscow militants occupy a dozen government buildings, said they want Ukraine's federalization and 41 percent said they wanted a decentralization of power.
57.2 percent of those polled said they don't feel their rights have been violated and 66.3 percent said they were against a Russian military intervention.
Among the 3,200 respondents, 69.7 percent said they are against Russian control.
10:59
19.4.2014
Russian Military Intelligence spetsnaz man posing in Slavyansk.Service outfit patch still hidden via @ukrpravda_news pic.twitter.com/DPBnTfSXsz
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) April 19, 2014
10:58
19.4.2014
Via AP:
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday promised it would offer strong assistance to Ukraine to overcome its crisis, but emphasized that the ultimate responsibility for reducing tensions lies with Ukrainians rather than outsiders.
The comments in a statement came two days after top diplomats from Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union issued a statement calling for an array of actions including the disarming of militant groups and the freeing of public buildings taken over by insurgents.
Those terms quickly became a heated issue as pro-Russian armed groups that have seized police stations and other government buildings in eastern Ukraine said they wouldn't vacate unless the country's acting government resigned.
The comments in a statement came two days after top diplomats from Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union issued a statement calling for an array of actions including the disarming of militant groups and the freeing of public buildings taken over by insurgents.
Those terms quickly became a heated issue as pro-Russian armed groups that have seized police stations and other government buildings in eastern Ukraine said they wouldn't vacate unless the country's acting government resigned.
10:57
19.4.2014
Via Reuters:
KREMLIN SPOKESMAN SAYS ADDITIONAL RUSSIAN TROOPS NEAR BORDER WITH UKRAINE ARE THERE IN RESPONSE TO EVENTS IN UKRAINE
10:46
19.4.2014
A sign of the times. Tweet from Kyiv Post editor Christopher Miller:
Was just at Kyiv's Boryspil Airport, where I watched 6 armed #Ukraine soldiers & bomb-sniffing dog inspect arriving Russian Aeroflot plane.
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) April 19, 2014
10:45
19.4.2014
Channel 5 now reporting that Mustafa Dzhemilev has been allowed into Crimea.
Джемілєв і Чубаров змогли проїхати в АР Крим http://t.co/760eP3dig2 #Крим #братУворот
— 5 канал (@5channel) April 19, 2014
10:29
19.4.2014
More on Dzhemilev:
Russian authorities deny entry for the most famous Crimean #Tatar leader, former dissident Mustafa Cemilev on the border with Ukraine.
— Rim Gilfanov (@guilfanr) April 19, 2014
10:21
19.4.2014
It's unconfirmed, but there's a lot of Twitter chatter about Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev being allowed back into Crimea:
"Good" news: Mustafa Dzhemilev, famous Crimean tatar politician was allowed to enter his homeland #Crimea today although on a black list
— Ann-Dorit Boy (@anndoritboy) April 19, 2014