Ukraine president’s son leading in his constituency with 68%

However, only 0.86% of protocols have been processed in his 12th constituency in west-central Ukraine’s Vinnitsa region.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXguJ82gqvzVBEi9UM_NxgmkDLy7o0KixlC2BTQp2ZysITYJ7jmKb9x7yrm-R4Koh_u8z16Rx4lib3Ud94ZGT5z5BwoSd_scqsLO3Oy0mafoslhxn_4F8Tth2s5aawljVaVnZV6ULL20/s1600/u39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXguJ82gqvzVBEi9UM_NxgmkDLy7o0KixlC2BTQp2ZysITYJ7jmKb9x7yrm-R4Koh_u8z16Rx4lib3Ud94ZGT5z5BwoSd_scqsLO3Oy0mafoslhxn_4F8Tth2s5aawljVaVnZV6ULL20/s1600/u39.jpg" width="320" /></a>Ukrainian president’s son Aleksey Poroshenko is leading in his constituency with 68%, the country’s Central Elections Commission said.<br /><br />However, only 0.86% of protocols have been processed in his 12th constituency in west-central Ukraine’s Vinnitsa region.<br /><br />Aleksey Poroshenko is the main VIP candidate in parliament. His father was earlier elected as a lawmaker in this 12th constituency. Elected president, Poroshenko Sr. has dropped his powers of lawmaker.<br /><br />The president said that his son decided to run for lawmaker himself. “I was bringing up my son so that he will take his decisions himself. He has decided to run for deputy. He did not consult with me,” Petro Poroshenko told a news conference.-TASS

Ukraine president’s son leading in his constituency with 68%

However, only 0.86% of protocols have been processed in his 12th constituency in west-central Ukraine’s Vinnitsa region. Ukrainian president...

Ukraine ready to pay gas debt to Russia within 10 days at $268

Russian Energy Minister said, that Ukraine had no right to revise the price of gas from Russia unilaterally.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0j-9MUUHVshg45X9t7UPZSGi_Np1lj_olz9r8dcq5Jdg8rEBRQs3MoLy6B5AJeuZNwdUS7WqxfgVGqfRliz6iIDd4WwxpSJa0uVaBicDEc7f3j3v4OMWz879KDSzGMQ_8uJSWNlSztfg/s1600/rtxz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0j-9MUUHVshg45X9t7UPZSGi_Np1lj_olz9r8dcq5Jdg8rEBRQs3MoLy6B5AJeuZNwdUS7WqxfgVGqfRliz6iIDd4WwxpSJa0uVaBicDEc7f3j3v4OMWz879KDSzGMQ_8uJSWNlSztfg/s1600/rtxz.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Ukraine is ready to pay the debt for Russian gas within ten days if its price is set at $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres, parliament-appointed Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said on Wednesday, May 7.<br /><br />“We have sent a proposal to Russia’s Gazprom to extend the contract at a price of $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres as in the first quarter of 2014. As soon as this price is set and an additional agreement is signed, Ukraine will be prepared to pay all debts within ten days, including the debts of the previous government,” Yatsenyuk said.<br /><br />Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said, however, that Ukraine had no right to revise the price of gas from Russia unilaterally.<br /><br />He said the issue of gas price had been raised by the Ukrainian delegation at the trilateral consultations in Warsaw on May 2. “We did not want to discuss this issue at the consultations because we think that there are no grounds for discussing it,” Novak said.<br /><br />He recalled that the contract signed 2009 was still in force. “The contract has been in effect for five years and has been implemented. Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Yuri Prodan reaffirmed this yesterday,” he said.<br /><br />Under the contract, the price of gas supplied to Ukraine is determined by the formula that is pegged to the price of oil. “This formula is used everywhere in the world for pipeline gas supplies.<br /><br />Therefore there are no grounds to discuss the price today and especially unilaterally offer the first quarter price of $268 per 1,000 cubic metres as the Ukrainian authorities are doing,” Novak said.<br />Parliament-appointed acting President Alexander Turchinov on May 1 instructed the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry to secure gas supplies from Russia at the price that was in effect in February and March 2014. If Russia disagrees to meet the demand, the relevant Ukrainian ministries and agencies have been instructed to “file a corresponding lawsuit with an international court of arbitration within a month of the receipt of the notice”.<br /><br />Prodan said Ukraine was ready to pay its debt to Russia’s Gazprom for gas supplies at a price of $268.5 per 1,000 cubic metres. “Ukraine is ready to pay the debt. But we cannot pay the price Gazprom set from April 1. It is unjustifiably high and is about 500 U.S. dollars. We are ready to pay under our obligations,” the minister said.<br /><br />He disagreed with price of gas set by Gazprom which put Ukraine’s debt for gas at $3.5 billion. Yatsenyuk also reiterated that Ukraine was prepared to pay the price of $268 per 1,000 cubic metres of Russian gas.<br /><br />This is 45% below the established price of gas. If Moscow disagrees, Kiev will be prepared to contest its debt in court, he said.<br /><br />Gazprom spokesperson Sergei Kupriyanov said Ukraine had so far not paid the gas debt. “The deadline for payments for April has passed. Nothing was paid. Ukraine’s overdue debt for the Russian gas has increased to $3.508 billion, he said.<br /><br />Now that the debt has not been paid, Gazprom will start supplying gas to Ukraine against advance payments from June.<br /><br />Russian Energy Minister Novak said this was not a restriction but an option stipulated by the contract between Gazprom and Naftogaz of Ukraine. “If no payment for the gas supplied is made on May 7, Gazprom on May 16 will issue a preliminary bill for the supply of gas in June. Ukraine will have an opportunity to pay this bill by May 31, in which case the amount of gas to be supplied in June under the advance payment will not exceed the volume paid for until May 31,” Novak said.

Ukraine ready to pay gas debt to Russia within 10 days at $268

Russian Energy Minister said, that Ukraine had no right to revise the price of gas from Russia unilaterally. Ukraine is ready to pay the deb...

Kiev authorities to continue punitive operation in Southeast,says spokesman

<blockquote class="tr_bq">Ukraine’s incumbent authorities have no plans to renounce the punitive operation in the Southeast of the country, the chief spokesman for the regime, acting foreign minister Andrei Deshchytsia said Thursday in an interview with the CNN.</blockquote><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIKv_vocvz_q9D-I5s5rVDT_IDdxY242nZrO3Y6AWQ1TmXN-wx2BNpfkQSAKJnkRGi9MzI7UO5pzbSgyKJgr7gn1oD43IMafLEHwDnaXlM4PmOOzfTW4LcjiSQeWdw8E0imzXu02tLYY/s1600/145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHIKv_vocvz_q9D-I5s5rVDT_IDdxY242nZrO3Y6AWQ1TmXN-wx2BNpfkQSAKJnkRGi9MzI7UO5pzbSgyKJgr7gn1oD43IMafLEHwDnaXlM4PmOOzfTW4LcjiSQeWdw8E0imzXu02tLYY/s1600/145.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />He claimed the operation,which had caused dozens of deaths among the residents of the Southeastern regions,had been suspended for several days for a variety of reasons,including actions in line with the April 17 Geneva accords and in the efforts to free a group of military observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).<br /><br />He gave the assurances,however,that it would continue.<br /><br />Deshchytsia said he thought that the Ukrainian government and law enforcement agencies should act more resolutely.<br /><br />Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a telephone conversation with the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry,earlier in the day that it was important for the Kiev regime to stop the punitive operation as soon as possible,to lift the blockade of all the population centers in the Southeast, to release all the political prisoners, and to launch a comprehensive constitutional reform.<br /><br />“Lavrov voiced a deep concern over the negative reaction of the Kiev authorities to the results of the Russian-Swiss negotiations and their refusal to stop using the Armed Forces and the units of nationalistic radicals against the protesters in the Southeast,” the ministry said.

Kiev authorities to continue punitive operation in Southeast,says spokesman

Ukraine’s incumbent authorities have no plans to renounce the punitive operation in the Southeast of the country, the chief spokesman for th...

Suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine cannot be ruled out - envoy

"I cannot rule out anything, given unpredictable events in that country", - russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ9ef15mmW9ybs7urt6JL8A-PaS0e9tbD1VXR2xNb0IoNJljKeUUrI8iUKbQHmObBBSIdgUlHQSs0vLF5ZVVqNCoKFhmpmfXzHYgr2VqwizlcYnf87WNMEPyiWVxMIFu2R5ycnQhzMcc/s1600/147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKZ9ef15mmW9ybs7urt6JL8A-PaS0e9tbD1VXR2xNb0IoNJljKeUUrI8iUKbQHmObBBSIdgUlHQSs0vLF5ZVVqNCoKFhmpmfXzHYgr2VqwizlcYnf87WNMEPyiWVxMIFu2R5ycnQhzMcc/s1600/147.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov said he does not rule out the possibility of suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine given the unpredictable situation in that country, if the gas debt problem is not settled.<br /><br />"As for the possibility of halt in gas supplies to Ukraine, I cannot rule out anything, given unpredictable events in that country, if the problem of the gas debt which reaches some 3.5 billion dollars is not settled in time," Chizhov told Russian reporters.<br /><br /><b>Ministerial meeting</b><br /><br />“A technical meeting of experts on gas will be held in Brussels May 12, and we think have the level of chiefs of departments [at appropriate governmental agencies and corporations - Itar-Tass] he told a group of Russian reporters, adding that it should be a prelude to a ministerial meeting, the date of which has not been discussed yet.<br /><br />“As for the ministerial meeting, there is high probability it will be held May 16 and the Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, the European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, and the Ukrainian minister Yuri Prodan meet at the conference table,” Chizhov said. “Athens is very likely to be the venue of these talks, as an informal meeting of EU energy ministers will be held there May 16.”<br /><br />He indicated that the discussion on gas is developing along three main directions now.<br />“In the first place, there’s the problem of payment for gas and a return of the debt, the existence of which is not denied by anyone, even the authorities in Kiev, which however have claims against the amount of debt,” Chizhov said.<br /><br />“Secondly, it’s the assuring of uninterrupted transits of Russian gas to EU countries, including the problem of replenishment of reserves in the underground tank farms on the territory of Ukraine where extra volumes of gas are dispatched to Europe from in the wintertime if the demand for gas makes unexpected hikes,” he said.<br /><br />“The third issue is the alternative reversed supplies of gas to Ukraine from the EU member-states,” Chizhov said.<br /><br />The first meeting in the trilateral format on gas that involved Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, European Commissioner Guenther Oettinger and Ukrainian minister Yuri Prodan took place May 2 in Warsaw. An agreement on holding another two meetings of the same time - in the middle and at the end of May - was reached there.<br /><br /><b>IMF money</b><br /><br />Authorities in Kiev can hope only for the money from the IMF as a source for which they will pay off the debt for natural gas, which has reached $ 3.5 billion, not for the money from the European Commission, Chizhov said.<br /><br />“As for Ukraine’s debt for natural gas, it is Naftogaz Ukrainy (the national oil and gas monopoly - Itar-Tass) as the signatory of the contract that should make payments,” he said. “And where will they take the money from? From the IMF loans, most obviously because no other sources are in sight - the European Commission is insolvent as such.”<br /><br />“That’s why one of the problems discussed today is whether they’ll be able to use the IMF monies for the purpose and if their amount will be enough for these payments.

Suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine cannot be ruled out - envoy

"I cannot rule out anything, given unpredictable events in that country", - russian Ambassador to the European Union Vladimir Chiz...

Putin:Troops have pulled back from Ukraine border

Russian President Vladimir Putin softened his tone in the confrontation with the West on Wednesday, declaring that Russia has pulled its troops away from the Ukrainian border and calling for a delay of Sunday's referendum on autonomy in Ukraine's restive east.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/37/35cc015dced06417f1a2c943809f/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" class="decoded" height="359" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/37/35cc015dced06417f1a2c943809f/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks during a meeting with Swiss Federal President Didier Burkhalter, left, in the Kremlin in Moscow, Wednesday, May 7, 2014.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />But there were no immediate signs that either move was truly happening or that they would cool the Ukrainian crisis. NATO and Washington said they saw no indication of a Russian pullback, and the pro-Russia insurgents behind the referendum have not agreed to go along with Putin's proposal.<br /><br />In a Moscow meeting with Swiss President Didier Burkhalter, Putin said Russian troops have been pulled back to their training grounds and locations for "regular exercises," but he did not specify whether those locations were in areas near its border with Ukraine.<br /><br />A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman declined to say where the troops were now positioned.<br /><br />White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. had "no evidence" of a pullback, and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters that the alliance had "not seen any sign that Russia is withdrawing its troops."<br /><br />Putin also reiterated Russia's demand that Ukraine's military halt all operations against the pro-Russia activists who have seized government buildings and police stations in at least a dozen towns in eastern Ukraine.<br /><br />Ukraine launched an offensive late last week to take back the buildings and towns under insurgent control. At least 34 people, including many rebels, have died in that offensive, the government said.<br /><br />Many had feared that Sunday's vote would be a flashpoint for further violence between the rebels and Ukrainian troops. Insurgents were calling the ballot a vote on giving regions more autonomy, but Kiev authorities feared it could be a pretext for separatists or those who want the region to join Russia.<br /><br />Russia annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March after residents there held a vote and overwhelmingly backed secession.<br /><br />"We believe that the most important thing is to create direct, full-fledged dialogue between the Kiev authorities and representatives of southeast Ukraine," Putin said. "Because of this, we ask that representatives of southeast Ukraine, supporters of federalization in the country, postpone the May 11 referendum in order to create the necessary conditions for such a dialogue."<br /><br />A spokesman for the militant group in eastern Ukraine that calls itself the Donetsk People's Republic was quoted by Russia's ITAR-Tass news agency as saying the group would discuss Putin's proposal on Thursday.<br /><br />However, it is unclear how much influence Moscow has with the insurgents. The Kiev government and Western countries allege Russia is fomenting the unrest, but Russia denies it has agents there. Last month, after Russia, Ukraine, the U.S. and the European Union reached a pact calling for Ukrainian militants to disarm, the insurgents in the east flatly rejected it, saying Russia had not negotiated on their behalf.<br /><br />Many Donetsk residents appear eager to go ahead with the vote.<br /><br />"That Putin's personal opinion. He's a very wise man, but we have decided to do things our own way: to become the Donetsk Republic," said Ludmila Radchenko, 52, standing in a city square.<br /><br />If the insurgents go ahead with the referendum, it could bolster Moscow's insistence that it is not directing the unrest. But it could also anger Western countries and increase the pressure for additional sanctions against Russia.<br /><br />The referendum has been hastily arranged, with ballot papers being churned out by two clattering photocopy machines. There's been negligible campaigning for it, mostly consisting of graffiti. Many sidewalks have been spray-painted from stencils showing the word "referendum" next to a crossed-out swastika, reflecting the insurgents' contention that the government that took power in Kiev in February is fascist.<br /><br />"Do you support the act of proclamation of independent sovereignty for the Donetsk People's Republic?" the referendum asks.<br /><br />Despite the phrasing, organizers say only after the vote is held will they decide whether they want actual independence, greater autonomy within Ukraine or annexation by Russia.<br /><br />The head of the insurgents' elections commission was confident Wednesday that the ballot would successfully take place.<br /><br />"We are certain that people are fully familiar with the issues," Denis Pushilin told The Associated Press.<br /><br />Ukraine, meanwhile, is holding a nationwide presidential election on May 25. After his meeting with Burkhalter, who also is chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Putin said that presidential election was a "step in the right direction" but reiterated Russia's long-standing contention that it should be preceded by constitutional reforms.<br /><br />The interim government in Kiev says Russia has no business telling it what type of government to set up and has been trying to interfere with the presidential vote for months.<br /><br />Russia consistently characterizes Ukraine's acting government as putschists. They took power after President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in February after months of protests in which more than 100 people died from sniper fire and in clashes with police. A democratic presidential election, however, could undermine Russia's stance.<br /><br />In Berlin, a leading Ukrainian presidential candidate said he was prepared to negotiate some decentralization of power as the pro-Russia insurgents in the east have demanded. But Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire chocolate magnate, added that some insurgents in the east understand only force and that restoring law and order was a key priority.<br /><br />"We should speak to the people living in the east — speak and understand them," said Poroshenko. But "for those people who are terrorists, we should find out the right language they understand — and that would be the language of force."<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/8e/b19b2cf8b4efca57412e98b4368cf/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" class="decoded" height="417" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/8e/b19b2cf8b4efca57412e98b4368cf/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relatives mourn in front of the casket of a person killed during last week's operation, during a commemorative service in the center of Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, May 7, 2014. The U.S. and European nations have increased diplomatic efforts ahead of Ukraine's May 25 presidential election, as a pro-Russian insurgency continues to rock the country's eastern regions.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The U.S. and European nations have increased diplomatic efforts ahead of Ukraine's presidential election. Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, met with Ukraine's acting president Oleksandr Turchynov on Wednesday after visiting Moscow a day earlier. British Foreign Secretary William Hague also arrived in Kiev to speak with the nation's leaders.<br /><br />Ukrainians "cannot be bullied out of having their elections by disorder that is deliberately fomented and coordinated from another country, in this instance Russia," Hague said.<br /><br />In one sign of compromise from the authorities in Kiev, Pavel Gubarev, the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" of Donetsk who was detained by Ukrainian authorities in March, was set free Wednesday. His release had been a top demand of the militants.

Putin:Troops have pulled back from Ukraine border

Russian President Vladimir Putin softened his tone in the confrontation with the West on Wednesday, declaring that Russia has pulled its tro...

2 helicopters shot down, 3 killed in Ukraine

3 killed in Ukraine offensive near Slovyansk.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/ab/b1eecbd0e1c41ca3e40f1fc2c/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/ab/b1eecbd0e1c41ca3e40f1fc2c/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ukrainian soldiers guard a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk, on Friday, May 2, 2014.</td></tr></tbody></table>Ukraine launched what appeared to be its first major assault against pro-Russian forces who have seized government buildings in the country's east, with fighting breaking out in the early hours on Friday around a city that has become the focus of the insurgency. Three deaths were reported in early fighting.<br /><br />Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said the offensive "effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements" which were intended to defuse the crisis.<br /><br />Two Ukrainian helicopters were shot down and their pilots killed on Friday morning, both sides said. The Ukrainian Security Service said one of the helicopters was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, which it said undercut Russia's claims that the city is under control of civilians who took up arms.<br /><br />Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian militants, said one of their men was killed and another injured. She offered no further details.<br /><br />The center of Slovyansk appeared quiet but empty and tense while fighting outside the city seemed to be over by Friday morning when an Associated Press crew got into town.<br /><br />Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the Kremlin had sent an envoy to Ukraine's southeast to negotiate the release of foreign military observers who were captured by pro-Russian militia in Slovyansk.<br /><br />In comments to Russian news agencies, Peskov said the Kremlin has not been able to get in touch with the envoy, Vladimir Lukin, since Ukraine launched the offensive. However, Russia's Interfax and RIA Novosti quoted Lukin's aides as saying he was in touch and safe.<br /><br />The action came a day after Putin said that Ukraine should withdraw its military from the eastern and southern regions of the country. Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops along the Ukrainian border as it warns Ukraine's military not to move against the insurgents in the east.<br /><br />The Ukrainian Security Service said its forces were fighting "highly skilled foreign military men" in Slovyansk.<br /><br />The Security Service said one helicopter was shot down with a surface-to-air missile, a sophisticated weapon, which they said countered Russia's claims that the city is under control of civilians who took up arms.<br /><br />Ukraine's acting president, Oleksandr Turchynov, said this week that some troops were "either helping or cooperating with terrorist organizations."<br /><br />The Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said in a statement that government troops met fierce resistance, but had managed to take control of nine checkpoints on roads around Slovyansk.<br /><br />Avakov called on the insurgents to lay down the arms and release the hostages they have taken.<br /><br />"We are ready to negotiate with protesters and their representatives," Avakov said on Friday. "But for terrorists and armed separatists there is only punishment."<br /><br />The official spokesman for the military wing of the pro-Russian forces, who will give only his first name, Vladislav, said fighting had broken out at several points around the city. He said government armored vehicles were seen on roads leading into Slovyansk and claimed that Ukrainian troops had made incursions into the city itself.<br /><br />Details of these claims could not be independently confirmed.<br /><br />On the road leading into Slovyansk from Kramatorsk to the south, an Associated Press reporter saw six Ukrainian armored vehicles parked on the side of the road Friday morning.<br /><br />An AP cameraman saw black plumes of smoke on the edge of the city. An emergency siren had sounded at dawn.<br /><br />The armed element of the insurgency is focused on Slovyansk, a city 160 kilometers (100 miles) west of Russia in which seven European military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe remain held by pro-Russia gunmen.<br /><br />Putin said Thursday that Ukraine should withdraw its military from the eastern and southern regions of the country.<br /><br />Hours later, Torchynov ordered that the military draft be renewed, citing "threats of encroachment on the nation's territorial integrity" and interference by Russia in its internal affairs.<br /><br />Moscow has consistently denounced Ukrainian security forces' largely ineffectual operation against the eastern insurgents and warned against committing violence against civilians.<br /><br />In a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin said the removal of military units was the "main thing," but it was unclear if that could be construed as an outright demand.<br /><br />Earlier in the week, the acting president said police and security forces had been effectively "helpless" against insurgents in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the heart of the unrest, and that efforts should be focused on preventing the instability from spreading to other parts of the country.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/2a/88d6e016af26157a7fb9ac14bf41c5/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/2a/88d6e016af26157a7fb9ac14bf41c5/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pro-Russian armed man guards a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk, east Ukraine.</td></tr></tbody></table>

2 helicopters shot down, 3 killed in Ukraine

3 killed in Ukraine offensive near Slovyansk. Ukrainian soldiers guard a checkpoint near the town of Slaviansk, on Friday, May 2, 2014. Ukra...

Russia assures U.S. it won't invade Ukraine: Pentagon

Russia has assured the United States that it will not invade Ukraine, said the U.S. Department of Defense Monday.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVaISoU4va965Bc61_k2NXN3c7OY3zb1aUmiiWZJL9A1L0SHmP2olkhGgVD7_7wZyXsFxvpQz00Vc4WHqCh3gPFyS9F7Oyxw8igPWXrGDwJTVekew-ClRHEt2PY1qnU2A5U5piWW3xP4/s1600/Purin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVaISoU4va965Bc61_k2NXN3c7OY3zb1aUmiiWZJL9A1L0SHmP2olkhGgVD7_7wZyXsFxvpQz00Vc4WHqCh3gPFyS9F7Oyxw8igPWXrGDwJTVekew-ClRHEt2PY1qnU2A5U5piWW3xP4/s1600/Purin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The assurance was given by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, according to a statement released by the U.S. Defense Department.<br /><br />"Secretary of Defense (Chuck) Hagel spoke today by phone with Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu (and) Shoigu reiterated his assurance that Russian forces would not invade Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in the statement.<br /><br />The two officials discussed a wide range of issues related to the situation in Ukraine, with Hagel requesting clarification of Russia's intentions in Eastern Ukraine, said Kirby.<br /><br />Hagel emphasized in the phone call "how dangerous the situation remains and expressed his desire to find a responsible way forward, " and that Ukraine must be included in diplomatic talks, according to Kirby.<br /><br />Tensions are continuing unabated in eastern Ukraine, where pro- Russia militants are engaged in conflicts with government troops and detaining eight military observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Slovyansk, Ukraine, Friday before freeing one of them Sunday. Mayor Gennady Kernes of Kharkiv, also in Ukraine, was shot and seriously wounded Monday.<br /><br />Hagel also asked Russia's help in securing the release of the other seven observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe currently being held in eastern Ukraine.<br /><br />The White House on Monday announced fresh sanctions on Russia, targeting seven government officials and 17 companies linked to the inner circle of President Vladimir Putin.<br /><br />The EU is also expected to move against Russia as the leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations and the bloc issued a joint statement Friday saying they had agreed to "move swiftly" to impose more sanctions on Russia in response to its inaction in helping to ease growing tension in eastern Ukraine.

Russia assures U.S. it won't invade Ukraine: Pentagon

Russia has assured the United States that it will not invade Ukraine, said the U.S. Department of Defense Monday. The assurance was given by...

Russia,(EU) European Union,Ukraine gas talks planned for May:ministry

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger agreed to hold three-party talks over Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine in early May, the Russian Energy Ministry said Monday.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ku9eh7vPJbdTf00Co8Ted39tvIGD4s9sYXLtLXrgA1OxEXlwRrJEUdCEMvm0cAgnJjYkUuhCwf5WRTQ7YmN11lGhXOW-xIxyvhGa3v3b3-XBtxfVPVRVE_eJA-v8b2dck97xmKGFRuE/s1600/putin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ku9eh7vPJbdTf00Co8Ted39tvIGD4s9sYXLtLXrgA1OxEXlwRrJEUdCEMvm0cAgnJjYkUuhCwf5WRTQ7YmN11lGhXOW-xIxyvhGa3v3b3-XBtxfVPVRVE_eJA-v8b2dck97xmKGFRuE/s1600/putin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The two officials agreed in a phone conversation to hold the talks on May 2 in the Polish capital of Warsaw, the ministry said in a statement.<br /><br />The Ukrainian authorities have yet to confirm its participation in the meeting aimed to solve the lasting crisis over Kiev's debt for the Russian gas supplies, according to the ministry.<br /><br />Talks scheduled for last Thursday in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava between Ukraine, Russia, Slovakia and the European Commission (EC) over the gas crisis were called off after Russian and EC representatives pulled out.<br /><br />Ukraine's direct debt to Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has exceeded 2.2 billion U.S. dollars and kept growing, Russian Ministry for Economic Development said in early April.<br /><br />On April 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin again warned Kiev that Moscow would not wait forever for Ukraine to settle its gas debts.<br /><br />Putin warned EU leaders earlier this month that the region's energy security was at risk due to Ukraine's mounting gas debts. EC President Jose Manuel Barroso responded by agreeing to gas security talks with Russia and Ukraine and he also urged Moscow not to cut off supplies to Ukraine.<br /><br />Russia supplies about a quarter of Europe's gas needs, although most of the those supplies pass through transit pipelines in Ukraine.<br /><br />To trim its reliance on Russian supplies which cost 485 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters in the second quarter of 2014, Kiev is seeking to launch a reverse gas flow from Western Europe through Slovakia.<br /><br />On Monday, Slovak gas-pipeline operator Eustream signed a memorandum of understanding on reverse gas flow to Ukraine with Ukrainian operator Ukrtransgaz.

Russia,(EU) European Union,Ukraine gas talks planned for May:ministry

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger agreed to hold three-party talks o...

Ukraine mayor shot;US announces new sanctions.

The mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city was shot in the back Monday and hundreds of men attacked a peaceful pro-Ukraine rally with batons,bricks and stun grenades,wounding dozens as tensions soared in Ukraine's volatile east.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes speaks at the congress of provincial lawmakers and officials in the Ukrainian eastern city of Kharkiv, Saturday, Feb. 22. 2014" class="image" data-src="{"default":"http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/ca/b1e2d8a36224bcc72bf83a8f827eb9/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg"}" height="361" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/ca/b1e2d8a36224bcc72bf83a8f827eb9/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes speaks at the congress of provincial lawmakers and officials in the Ukrainian eastern city of Kharkiv, Saturday, Feb. 22. 2014.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One presidential candidate said the mayor was deliberately targeted to destabilize the entire city of Kharkiv, a hub of 1.5 million people.<br /><br />Armed insurgents tacitly backed by Moscow are seeking more autonomy in eastern Ukraine — and possibly even independence or annexation with Russia. Ukraine's acting government and the West have accused Russia of orchestrating the unrest, which they fear Moscow could use as a pretext for an invasion.<br /><br />Ratcheting up the pressure, President Barack Obama's government levied new sanctions Monday on seven Russian officials and 17 companies with links to President Vladimir Putin's inner circle. The U.S. also revoked licenses for some high-tech items that could be used by the Russian military.<br /><br />In Brussels, the European Union moved Monday to add 15 more officials to its Russian sanctions list to protest Moscow's meddling in Ukraine. That decision, reached by the ambassadors to the EU's 28 nations, was being formally confirmed by the EU's governments, officials told The Associated Press.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Pro-Russian activists hunt participants of a pro-Ukrainian rally in central Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, April 28, 2014. About a thousand pro-Russian activists armed with sticks and steel rods attacked the participants of pro-Ukrainian rally in center of Donetsk." class="image articleimage" data-class="img1" height="441" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/e9/812a743b1830d73124907d408c6218/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pro-Russian activists hunt participants of a pro-Ukrainian rally in central Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, April 28, 2014. About a thousand pro-Russian activists armed with sticks and steel rods attacked the participants of pro-Ukrainian rally in center of Donetsk.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />In the eastern city of Donetsk, about 1,000 demonstrators carrying Ukrainian flags marched through the streets to hold a pro-Ukrainian rally Monday night. They were attacked by several hundred armed men shouting "Russia!"<br /><br />Police attempted to hold the pro-Russia men back but then largely stood aside as dozens of protesters were battered.<br /><br />Hennady Kernes, the mayor of Kharkiv, was shot in the back Monday morning while cycling on the outskirts of the city, his office said. He underwent surgery and was reported by the hospital to be in "grave but stable" condition.<br /><br />Officials have not commented on who could be behind the attack on the mayor — but Kernes was a man who could have angered both sides.<br /><br />Kernes' friend and former Kharkiv governor, Mykhailo Dobkin, told journalists the attackers had aimed at Kernes' heart and wanted to kill him to destabilize the city.<br /><br />"If you want to know my opinion, they were shooting not at Kernes, but at Kharkiv," he said.<br /><br />Dobkin is among several candidates running in Ukraine's May 25 presidential election, which the interim government says Russia is trying to derail.<br /><br />Kernes was a staunch opponent of the pro-West Maidan movement that toppled President Viktor Yanukovych in February and was widely viewed as the organizer who sent activists from eastern Ukraine to harass demonstrators in Kiev.<br /><br />But he has softened his stance toward the new Kiev government. At a meeting of eastern Ukrainian leaders and acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk earlier this month, Kernes insisted he does not support the armed pro-Russia insurgents and backed a united Ukraine.<br /><br />Kharkiv is in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russia gunmen have seized government buildings and police stations and set up roadblocks to demand greater autonomy or even annexation by Russia. But unlike the neighboring Donetsk region, Kharkiv had been largely unaffected by the insurgency — something Kernes has been credited with. Its administration building was briefly seized earlier this month but promptly cleared of pro-Russia protesters.<br /><br />The Russian Foreign Ministry said the attack on Kernes, along with other events, "indicates that it isn't possible to speak of any 'peaceful' pre-election campaign in Ukraine."<br /><br />Elsewhere in the east, pro-Russia militants wearing masks gained another foothold, seizing a city hall building and police station in the city of Kostyantynivka, 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the Russian border. The city is 35 kilometers (22 miles) south of Slovyansk, a major city that has been in the hands of insurgents for more than three weeks.<br /><br />After the seizure, about 15 armed men guarded the city hall building. Some posed for pictures with residents while others distributed St. George's ribbons, the symbol of the pro-Russia movement.<br /><br />Moscow has repeatedly pushed for a referendum on federal autonomy in Ukraine, but Kiev and its Western allies have refused, accusing Russia of fomenting separatist sentiment in an attempt to foil the May presidential vote.<br /><br />However, Justice Minister Petro Petrenko said the parliament in Kiev would debate the idea of a referendum on Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported.<br /><br />The increasingly ruthless pro-Russia insurgency, meanwhile, is turning to an ominous new tactic: kidnapping. About 40 people are being held hostage in makeshift jails in Slovyansk — including journalists, pro-Ukraine activists and seven military observers from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, Ukraine's Security Service said Monday.<br /><br />The German government called Monday for the immediate release of the European military observers, who were detained Friday on allegations they were spying for NATO.<br /><br />Pro-Russia militants in camouflage and black balaclavas paraded some of the captive military observers before the media on Sunday. They also showed three Ukrainian security guards bloodied, blindfolded and with their arms bound.<br /><br />On the other side, Russia's foreign ministry said Ukraine's efforts to detain pro-Russia activists has turned into the "mass persecution of dissenters." The foreign ministry also said it had information that Ukraine was building large temporary detention centers for these prisoners.<br /><br />"Those structures being constructed very much remind one of fascist concentration camps," the Russian statement said.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Pro-Ukrainian activists wave Ukrainian flags during a pro-Ukrainian rally in Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, April 28, 2014." class="image articleimage" data-class="img1" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/19/4684b7d43f523a4cd175bafaa5869a/_h0_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pro-Ukrainian activists wave Ukrainian flags during a pro-Ukrainian rally in Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, April 28, 2014.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Ukraine mayor shot;US announces new sanctions.

The mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city was shot in the back Monday and hundreds of men attacked a peaceful pro-Ukraine rally with ba...

Ukraine says Putin behind protesters' seizure of state buildings

DONETSK/KIEV, Ukraine- Ukraine accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the seizure of state buildings in two eastern Ukrainian cities by pro-Russia protesters on Sunday, in a further escalation of tension between Kiev and Moscow.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="A pro-Russia protester scuffles with police near the regional government building in Donetsk" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/68/4271e6d7219adb58aee674866ab/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pro-Russia protester scuffles with police near the regional government building in Donetsk</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />The protesters seized the regional government building in the industrial hub of Donetsk and security service offices in nearby Luhansk, waving Russian flags and demanding a Crimea-style referendum on joining Russia.<br /><br />Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said police would restore order in both cities without recourse to violence. He accused Ukraine's ousted president Viktor Yanukovich, whose political base was in Donetsk, of conspiring with Putin to fuel tensions.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.kyivpost.com/media/images/2014/04/06/p18krtqq2mdjn1nn9quoij01r3h4/big.jpg" /><br /><br />"Putin and Yanukovich ordered and paid for the latest wave of separatist disorder in the east of the country. The people who have gathered are not many but they are very aggressive," Avakov said in a statement on his Facebook page.<br /><br />"The situation will come back under control without bloodshed. That is the order to law enforcement officers, it's true. But the truth is that no one will peacefully tolerate the lawlessness of provocateurs," he said.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.trbimg.com/img-53416e6e/turbine/sns-rt-us-ukraine-crisis-storm-20140406/400/400x225" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.trbimg.com/img-53416e6e/turbine/sns-rt-us-ukraine-crisis-storm-20140406/400/400x225" /></a>Ukraine's Acting President Oleksander Turchinov called an emergency meeting of security chiefs in Kiev and took personal control of the situation, the parliamentary press service said.<br /><br /><br />Mainly Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in tensions since Yanukovich's ouster in February and the installation of a pro-European government in Kiev.<br /><br />Branding the new Kiev government illegitimate, Russia has annexed Ukraine's Crimea region citing threats to its Russian-speaking majority, a move that has sparked the biggest standoff between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.<br /><br /><h4>REFERENDUM DEMAND</h4><br />More than 1,000 people protested in Donetsk on Sunday before breaking into the regional administration building where they hung a Russian flag from a second floor balcony, a Reuters witness said. Protesters outside cheered and chanted "Russia!".<br /><br />In the Luhansk protest, Ukrainian television said three people were injured. Police could not confirm the report.<br /><br /><img height="449" src="http://static.businessinsider.com/image/5341bd5e6da811342675afc7/image.jpg" width="640" /><br /><br /><br />Talking to the crowd over a loudspeaker, protest leaders in Donetsk said they wanted regional lawmakers to convene an emergency meeting to discuss a vote on joining Russia like the one in Ukraine's Crimea region that led to its annexation.<br /><br />"Deputies of the regional council should convene before midnight and take the decision to carry out a referendum," said one of the protest leaders without identifying himself.<br /><br />A local Internet portal streamed footage from the seized building, showing people freely entering and exiting. Soviet-era music was being played over loud speakers outside.<br /><br />The building houses the offices of regional governor Serhiy Taruta, a steel baron recently appointed by Kiev to rule a region with close economic and historic ties to Russia.<br /><br />"Around 1,000 people took part (in the storming of the building), mostly young people with their faces covered," said Ihor Dyomin, a spokesman for Donetsk local police.<br /><br />"Around 100 people are now inside the building and are barricading the building," he added.<br /><br />In Luhansk, Reuters television showed images of hundreds of people outside the state security services building in Luhansk and a policeman in riot armor being carried away on a stretcher.<br /><br />Ukrainian television said the Luhansk protesters were demanding the release of people detained by security services in recent days as well as a referendum on joining Russia.<br /><br />"We don't want to join the EU, we don't want to join NATO. We want our children to live in peace," an unnamed woman told Ukraine's Channel Five in Luhansk.<br /><br />Ukraine's state security services said on Saturday they had detained 15 people in Luhansk suspected of planning to overthrow the authorities and had confiscated hundreds of rifles, grenades and petrol bombs.<br /><br />Pro-Russian demonstrators have held rallies in several eastern Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, not far from the border with Russia, where Moscow has assembled tens of thousands of troops. (Reuters) .<br /><br /><img height="400" src="http://america.aljazeera.com/content/dam/ajam/images/articles_2014/03/Ukraine_Putin_US_protest_030714.jpg" width="640" />

Ukraine says Putin behind protesters' seizure of state buildings

DONETSK/KIEV, Ukraine- Ukraine accused Russia's President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the seizure of state buildings in two eastern ...

Ukraine's president said to be in Russia

Yanukovych to hold news conference Friday, report says.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aYJDYJwXUUhKEzICNLSnTeL9II7hBvYWVGSzH6nDoTlOZjmnt9NkjaTD1O1cfXJeLqIOCpTqKSYUNCnon-ACFq1B_qHPXRnNNz10ksWU0p4lQAjW2p6k5JCOErIe5QPNkAAyjog4W94/s1600/Viktor-Yanukovych.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-aYJDYJwXUUhKEzICNLSnTeL9II7hBvYWVGSzH6nDoTlOZjmnt9NkjaTD1O1cfXJeLqIOCpTqKSYUNCnon-ACFq1B_qHPXRnNNz10ksWU0p4lQAjW2p6k5JCOErIe5QPNkAAyjog4W94/s1600/Viktor-Yanukovych.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Ukraine's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych went missing in the midst of upheaval in his country, but his whereabouts probably won't be secret for long -- assuming he shows up at his own news conference Friday.<br /><br />Yanukovych will hold the conference at 5 p.m. Friday in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, Russian state news agency Itar-Tass said Thursday.<br /><br />Ria Novosti, another state news agency, reported that anonymous government sources said Thursday that Yanukovych was in Russia and that Russian authorities accepted his request for security.<br /><br />The fugitive president issued a statement to Russian news agencies condemning the country's interim government and alleging that recent actions in the Ukrainian Parliament are illegitimate.<br /><br />Months of anti-government protests reached a bloody climax last week, when street clashes between demonstrators and security forces left more than 80 dead. The protesters' anger was focused on Yanukovych.<br /><br />Ukrainian authorities issued a warrant for Yanukovych's arrest last week over civilian deaths during the protests.<br /><br />Meanwhile, lawmakers in Kiev approved opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk of the Batkivschina, or Fatherland, Party as prime minister.<br /><br />Yanukovych wouldn't be the first controversial figure facing criminal charges to find safe haven in Russia. U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has been there since June, having been granted a one-year asylum.<br /><br />Russia has strong ties to Ukraine that extend beyond the supply lines providing most of the country's natural gas.<br /><br />Ukraine gained independence in 1991; before that, it had, like Russia, been part of the Soviet Union. More historically, most ethnic Ukrainian territory had been part of the Russian Empire. Russian language is spoken by 24 percent of the population, according to the CIA World Factbook. About 17 percent of the Ukrainian population is ethnic Russian.<br /><br />During the Soviet era, in 1954, Russia gave Ukraine a region called Crimea, which has since been in the south of Ukraine and is experiencing unrest this week. Dozens of armed men seized the regional government administration building and parliament there Thursday.<br /><br />Many ethnic Russians still live in Crimea, where support for Russia is strong. Part of Russia's navy is based in Crimea; a base in the city of Sevastopol that has been there for 230 years.<br /><br />The eastern part of Ukraine is also heavily influenced by Russia in terms of language, culture and business. CNN's Fred Pleitgen reported this week that many pro-Russians there "are very afraid of what might happen next, who are afraid that their culture, their heritage are in danger, who feel that the Russian language -- which has always had a special status here in Ukraine -- might be in danger of becoming marginalized as well."

Ukraine's president said to be in Russia

Yanukovych to hold news conference Friday, report says. Ukraine's ousted President Viktor Yanukovych went missing in the midst of upheav...

Opinion: Ukraine should not repeat the mistakes of its past two revolutions

Another chance for change in Ukraine.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBqbimP8TbP4atLiqcCczwYBc3uXP6xAMXr3gNVNGeQaS5prPFw_i5SG8c8KRRfOKjKSgqcaDclxSWcuotcsqFaI_wwvIziVXKBfyRjBi4Qnk_SXmTfZH7Q0TuDLrhBH9o5O5WoPnkUE/s1600/620.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvBqbimP8TbP4atLiqcCczwYBc3uXP6xAMXr3gNVNGeQaS5prPFw_i5SG8c8KRRfOKjKSgqcaDclxSWcuotcsqFaI_wwvIziVXKBfyRjBi4Qnk_SXmTfZH7Q0TuDLrhBH9o5O5WoPnkUE/s1600/620.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Throughout the weekend Ukrainians were mourning the victims of the Maidan - more than 70 people were massacred on Thursday morning by squads of snipers who took positions on buildings overlooking the area. It is still not quite clear who ordered the blood-bath that day but the fact is that most victims got very precise shots into their heads or chests - a clear proof that the main goal of the "operation" was killing.<br /><br />The very labelling [Ua] of the protesters as "terrorists" was actually brand new in Ukraine. Until Yanukovych's return from Sochi, the protesters were smeared as "radicals", "fascists" and "putschists" in the pro-government propaganda machine, but the top officials refrained, in most cases, from employing this language. As long as they negotiated (or pretended to) with the leaders of opposition, they preferred to distinguish the "fascists" and "radicals" from the "healthier" part of protesters, prompting the latter to distance themselves from the former.<br /><br />The sudden emergence of the Putinesque term "anti-terrorist operation" in Yanukovych's post-Sochi parlance was highly ominous. It meant that everything was permitted and one should expect the worst. In 1999, as Anne Applebaum points out, "[t]he term granted Russian soldiers carte blanche to destroy Grozny, the Chechen capital". This is why so many reacted with horror when the Ukrainian defence ministry warned that the army "might be used in anti-terrorist operations on the territory of Ukraine".<br /><br />The path to violence<br /><br />The ruthless killing of peaceful protesters with no firearms has completely delegitimised the regime - both domestically and internationally. Despite the regime's expectations, the protesters in the Maidan did not run away after the bloodshed but stood defiant. New people from all over the country rushed to support them bypassing police cordons and transport blockades. Local councils in western regions took over local government, subordinated the local police, and renounced obedience to the capital.<br />The prospect of civil war in a 45-million country [Ua] has finally forced the EU to move from words to deeds and impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials. This  - predictably -  triggered the split within the ruling party as more and more of its members rushed to distance themselves from the criminal policies of the government. Within a day the regime fell down as a house of cards, resembling the split within the Soviet leadership in 1991 and that of their East European satellites two years earlier.<br /><br />Back then, the Ukrainian democratic and national liberation movement was hijacked by the communist nomenklatura who got rid of their party membership cards but not of old habits. In 2004, Ukrainians made a second attempt to complete the unfinished business. They staged a spectacular non-violent Orange revolution that brought new people to power but failed to enforce the much-needed institutional changes. They allowed their leaders to play with the rules rather than by the rules. This lawless, dysfunctional democracy compromised itself to such a degree that the orange electorate punished the leaders by staying at home and watching how the supporters of Yanukovych voted him by a slight majority into office.<br /><br />The result was disastrous. In a less than four years, the president and his team destroyed all the trances of an independent judiciary, privatised the police and security service and effectively monopolised both Ukrainian politics and economy. The country fell in the hands of the "Family" - the president, his two sons and their close friends, mostly natives of the Donbas region.<br /><br />Under these circumstances, the third Ukrainian revolution turned regretfully violent, following rather Romanian than the Polish, East German and Czechoslovak pattern of peaceful transition. This was actually what Alexander Motyl, a political science professor from Rutgers University, predicted a year ago. He wrote that violence is very likely to occur when "the society is humiliated and exploited, when oppressors look vulnerable and weak, and when individuals or groups with violent agendas exist."<br /><br />The way forward<br /><br />The cleaning up of the house is the major task for the new Ukrainian government. As Motyl foretold back in 2013:<br /><br />"Following the extensive institutional destruction wrought by Yanukovych and the Party of Regions, Ukraine will have to be reconstructed from top to bottom. Mere reform will no longer be enough. Even 'radical reform' may not quite accurately capture the magnitude of change that Ukraine will have to endure to emerge from the 'Yanukovych Ruin' politically energised and rejuvenated, rather than enervated and ossified."<br /><br />But the problem is that the new Ukrainian government faces not only this strategic task but also numerous mundane issues like paying domestic and international bills, keeping the order and curbing attempts at mob justice against the most hated members of the ancien regime.<br />The EU further guardianship is highly important in these circumstances, but probably even more important is advance of new people with no tails of corruption, nepotism, or dubious business activity in the past.<br /><br />The old politicians like Yulia Tymoshenko or Viktor Yushchenko should stay off the political process. They had a chance to build a new Ukraine in 2005 but pathetically failed.<br /><br />Today, after the bad experience of two previous revolutions, Ukrainians broadly believe that the Maidan should stay - at least for some time - and watch the new government. The real threat to the revolution comes not from Moscow or Kremlin-sponsored Crimean separatism. Nor does it come from the far-right groups that got some prominence during the struggle.<br /><br />The biggest threat comes from within:  from old habits and old-boy networks, from sophisticated corruption schemes and shadow funds accumulated by oligarchs, from lack of much needed skills on part of the revolutionaries and lack of political will on part of the politicians.<br /><br />The rapid fall of ancien regimes are often deceptive. In most cases they are as resilient. The two Ukrainian revolutions - of 1991 and 2004 - rather pitifully illustrate the rule.<br /><br />The new revolution, however, was not that peaceful. It cost the lives of so many bright and courageous people that Ukrainian politicians have simply no moral right to spoil it by pursuing their selfish, partisan, and parochial goals.<br /><br />

Opinion: Ukraine should not repeat the mistakes of its past two revolutions

Another chance for change in Ukraine. Throughout the weekend Ukrainians were mourning the victims of the Maidan - more than 70 people were m...

Russia forces 'block Crimea airport'

Russian military forces are blockading Sevastopol airport in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, Ukraine's interior minister has said.<br /><br /><h4>Ukraine's interior minister accuses Russian military of blockading Sevastopol airport in Crimea, in "armed invasion"</h4><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Armed men patrol at the airport in Simferopol, Crimea on 28 February 2014" height="359" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73272000/jpg/_73272447_32d0ffdb-5163-4da6-b081-f877cd8eed23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was unclear who the men in Simferopol were - they arrived at the airport in the early hours</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />Arsen Avakov called their presence an "armed invasion".<br /><br />Armed men also briefly took over the other main Crimean airport, Simferopol, on Friday morning.<br /><br />Relations between Russia and the Ukraine have been strained since the ousting of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanokovych, who is now in Russia.<br /><br />These tensions have been particularly evident in Crimea, Ukraine's only Russian-majority region.<br /><br />On Thursday, pro-Russian armed men stormed the Simferopol parliament, ousted the existing cabinet and appointed a new prime minister.<br />Witnesses told Interfax-Ukraine news agency that around 50 men arrived at Simferopol airport carrying Russian navy flags.<br /><br />The airport is said to be operating as normal.<br /><br />A man called Vladimir told Reuters he was a volunteer helping the group, though he said he did not know where they came from.<br /><br />"I'm with the People's Militia of Crimea. We're simple people, volunteers," he said.<br /><br />"We're here at the airport to maintain order. We'll meet the planes with a nice smile - the airport is working as normal."<br /><br />On Thursday, a separate group of unidentified armed men entered Crimea's parliament building by force, and hoisted a Russian flag on the roof.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Armed men patrol at the airport in Simferopol, Crimea on 28 February 2014. " height="359" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73272000/jpg/_73272449_a9b47d80-7d4a-423c-8b8b-c7e7f4085577.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Despite their presence, Simferopol airport was said to be operating normally</td></tr></tbody></table>The Crimean parliament later announced it would hold a referendum on expanding the region's autonomy on 25 May.<br /><br />Recent developments in the Crimea region - which traditionally leans towards Moscow - heightened tensions with Russia, which scrambled fighter jets to monitor its borders on Thursday.<br /><br />US Secretary of State John Kerry called on all sides to "step back and avoid any kind of provocations" on Thursday.<br /><br />The US has sought assurances from Russia after President Vladimir Putin ordered snap military drills to test the combat readiness of troops in central and western Russia, near the border with Ukraine earlier in the week.<br /><br />Mr Kerry said he had spoken to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who vowed to respect Ukraine's "territorial integrity".<br /><br />Crimea - where ethnic Russians are in a majority - was transferred from Russia to Ukraine in 1954.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnF7NRr8ox8LmvgsvlBQ8oThImj-qqMtI5IUF-piscsfWY9wzZl8h3edVDeTS7u7OpxstHOFWyVjBYwMxywSZINmTCH_zLNhcW6TISgLaT26AXNlEeBPscBATGyNBo_8O9wDVlf6zZEU/s1600/zzz3272.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnF7NRr8ox8LmvgsvlBQ8oThImj-qqMtI5IUF-piscsfWY9wzZl8h3edVDeTS7u7OpxstHOFWyVjBYwMxywSZINmTCH_zLNhcW6TISgLaT26AXNlEeBPscBATGyNBo_8O9wDVlf6zZEU/s1600/zzz3272.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Ethnic Ukrainians loyal to Kiev and Muslim Tatars - whose animus towards Russia stretches back to Stalin's deportations during World War Two - have formed an alliance to oppose any move back towards Moscow.<br /><br />Russia, along with the US, UK and France, pledged to uphold the territorial integrity of Ukraine in a memorandum signed in 1994.

Russia forces 'block Crimea airport'

Russian military forces are blockading Sevastopol airport in the Ukrainian region of Crimea, Ukraine's interior minister has said. Ukrai...

Russia Mobilizes Military, But Who Really Threatens Ukraine?

Kremlin announces 'readiness drills' near border, but vows to refrain from intervening amid political upheaval.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvud8Zu6tw5MX45TJbxXAhb5sFqhUj6zgw8zmarIVS1kZ7fQHSGyN4kQhcVChQmYbTALtF9IC2O1GjGaIQA_9LReDuTOR5Koqe1lKyAeFDYm0yPaxdTa8wKHmJFLCL4dWJ7u2wVDjggog/s1600/Purin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvud8Zu6tw5MX45TJbxXAhb5sFqhUj6zgw8zmarIVS1kZ7fQHSGyN4kQhcVChQmYbTALtF9IC2O1GjGaIQA_9LReDuTOR5Koqe1lKyAeFDYm0yPaxdTa8wKHmJFLCL4dWJ7u2wVDjggog/s1600/Purin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />A Wednesday announcement that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered ‘readiness’ military exercises in the areas closest to its border with Ukraine are stirring already anxious concerns that the political upheaval that has gripped the country in recent weeks could continue to spiral out of control as the threat of outside intervention—particularly of a military nature—could dramatically escalate the fragile situation.<br /><br />As news circulated about the announcement in global outlets, a local protest in the Crimean city of Simferopol—where Russian ties remain strong—Ukrainians upset about the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych clashed with those who supported the protest movement.<br /><br />Whereas supporters of the opposition coalition whose protests in Kiev led to the removal of Yanukovych last weekend are hoping that the interim government now forming will lead to new parliamentary elections and a new prime minister, those more closely aligned with Russia are not so sure that their rights and interests will be protected now that Yanukovych has fled and key institutions dissolved.<br />While the U.S. and the European Union have issued warnings to Russia not to involve itself militarily, Russian diplomats have repeatedly said that its interests and allies inside Ukraine will be protected.<br /><br />In announcing the military drills on Wednesday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was specific in saying that the drills should not be misconstrued as preparations for any kind of intervention in Ukraine. As the Associated Press reports:<br /><br />[Shoigu] said the exercise is unrelated to the developments in Ukraine, where tensions remain [...]<br /><br />But Shoigu added that the exercise will be held near Russian borders, including the border with Ukraine. He also said, according to Russian news reports, that his ministry will take steps to strengthen security of the facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, without elaborating.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Russian lawmaker Valentina Matvienko, who heads the upper chamber of parliament, known as the Federation Council, indicated that though the Russian government has strong opinions and interests about the continuing situation in Ukraine, there was no plan to intervene militarily.<br /><br />“Russia has been stating and reiterating its stance that we have no right and cannot interfere in domestic affairs of a sovereign state,” said Matvienko, adding that Russia does not support the idea of dividing the country along East-West, or any other lines.<br /><br />“We are for Ukraine as a united state, and there should be no basis for separatist sentiments,” she said.<br /><br />As the situation continues to develop, foreign policy analyst John Feffer argues in a new piece Wednesday that one striking fact about the complex situation in Ukraine is how despite attempts by key global powers—namely the established Ukraine government, the US, the EU, and Russia—to dictate or control the situation within Ukraine, all were out-manuevered by the opposition forces on the ground in Kiev.<br /><br />Writing at Foreign Policy In Focus, Feffer sums it up this way: “Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych tried to hang on to power, and failed. Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to maintain Russian influence, and failed. The EU tried to mediate, and failed. And the United States tried to…well…”<br /><br />Feffer breaks down some of the recent developments and then lays out this explanation:<br /><br />Ukraine is part of the Great Game left over from the Cold War that the United States is still playing, a game that consists of keeping the Russians down, NATO in, and the oil and gas flowing outward. But the 21st-century chessboard is now very different. The EU is playing a major role, perhaps even the dominant one — and thus the vehemence of Nuland’s dismissal. Russia may well talk tough and spend considerable sums on reviving its military — and the Sochi Olympics elevated Moscow’s international cred a couple notches — but it is a shadow of its former Soviet self. And the United States might privately like to style itself as puppet master — or kingmaker — but these are not the “glory days” of the 1950s for the CIA and the State Department. Washington can’t even control the airing of its dirty laundry, from Wikileaks to Snowden to the Nuland phone call. The United States, particularly in these cash-strapped times, has nothing on the order of EU membership to hold as both carrot and stick over Kiev.<br /><br />The very fact that Ukrainian protesters can oust their leader and plunge their country into political uncertainty testifies to the diminished influence of the major international players trying to control outcomes in Kiev. But ouster is easy compared to rebuilding an entire country the size of Ukraine. In this ongoing struggle between the street and the elite, let’s hope that the Ukrainians manage an outcome considerably better than their Egyptian, Libyan, or Syrian comrades-in-protest.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><em style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: Georgia, Palatino, 'Palatino Linotype', Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 26.600000381469727px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">This article first appeared on <a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/02/26-3" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 0px; color: #743399; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></blockquote>

Russia Mobilizes Military, But Who Really Threatens Ukraine?

Kremlin announces 'readiness drills' near border, but vows to refrain from intervening amid political upheaval. A Wednesday announce...

'Mass Killing' Arrest Warrant Issued for Ukraine's Yanukovych

<br /><div style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ukrainian President whereabouts: Viktor Yanukovych" class="image" data-src="{"default":"http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/e9/7cfbe03c758a881068d39924b3e2f/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg"}" height="224" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/e9/7cfbe03c758a881068d39924b3e2f/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" width="400" /></div>Ukraine's acting interior minister issued an arrest warrant for embattled President Viktor Yanukovych, the Associated Press reported Monday.<br /><br /><br />The warrant issued for Yanukovych and several other officials was for the "mass killing of civilians," Interior Minister Arsen Avakhov said on his official Facebook page.<br /><br />“I report to Ukrainian people: Yanukovych is missing,” Avakhov said.<br /><br />Yanukovych arrived in the Russian stronghold of Crimea on Sunday and relinquished his official security detail in a handwritten note before driving off to an unknown location, according to Avakhov. A few officers remained loyal to Yanukovych, however, and left with him after relinquishing their state-issued weapons, the interior minister added.<br /><br />The country's parliament has been passing new laws since Yanukovych left the capital after signing a deal Friday with protesters who demanded early elections and that he step down.<br /><br />On Saturday, a charter plane carrying Yanukovych was blocked from taking off in the eastern city of Donetsk.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div><div>Three months of protests against Yanukovych, who had turned away from closer ties with Europe and towards Vladimir Putin's Russia, burst into deadly violence last week.</div><div>More than 80 people were killed in battles with police.</div></div>

'Mass Killing' Arrest Warrant Issued for Ukraine's Yanukovych

Ukraine's acting interior minister issued an arrest warrant for embattled President Viktor Yanukovych, the Associated Press reported Mon...

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

KIEV — Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday after tough anti-protest legislation, which the political opposition says paves the way for a police state, was rushed through parliament last week.<br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ukraine protests: Protesters surround police officers.: Protesters suround two police officers during demonstrations Sunday, Jan. 19, against new anti-protest laws in Kiev." class="image" data-src="{"default":"http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/79/3bd3da623e8ae8facfa18a81ef8f99/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg"}" height="358" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/79/3bd3da623e8ae8facfa18a81ef8f99/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Protesters suround two police officers during demonstrations Sunday, Jan. 19, against new anti-protest laws in Kiev.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br /><br />A group of young masked demonstrators attacked a cordon of police with sticks and tried to overturn a bus blocking their way to the parliament building after opposition politicians called on people to disregard the new legislation.<br /><br />Despite appeals from opposition leaders not to resort to violence, and a personal intervention from boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, protesters continued to throw smoke bombs and hurl fireworks and other objects at police.<br />The police appeared to show restraint during that fracas. The Interior Ministry said 30 police were hurt, including more than 10 admitted to hospital and four in serious condition.<br /><br />A spokeswoman for Klitschko tweeted that President Viktor Yanukovich had agreed to meet Klitschko immediately at the presidential residence outside Kiev, although there was no confirmation from Yanukovich's side.<br /><br />Klitschko later tweeted that the president had agreed to set up a committee on Monday to settle the political crisis.<br /><br />As tensions continued into the night, police used water cannons against demonstrators gathered near the parliament building and the heavily protected government headquarters, eyewitnesses said.<br /><br />Earlier, some distance away from the clashes, up to 100,000 Ukrainians massed on Kiev's Independence Square in defiance of the sweeping new laws, which ban rallies and which Washington and other Western capitals have denounced as undemocratic.<br /><br />In Washington, the White House said it was "deeply concerned" about the violence on Sunday in Kiev and urged both sides to "de-escalate the situation."<br /><br />"The increasing tension in Ukraine is a direct consequence of the government failing to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of its people," National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said in a statement. "Instead, it has moved to weaken the foundations of Ukraine's democracy by criminalizing peaceful protest and stripping civil society and political opponents of key democratic protections under the law."<br /><br />Urging the Ukraine government to repeal the "anti-democratic legislation," withdraw riot police from downtown Kiev and begin a dialogue with the opposition, Hayden added, "The U.S. will continue to consider additional steps — including sanctions — in response to the use of violence."<br /><br />The rally, the biggest of the new year, was the latest in a cycle of public protests in the former Soviet republic since Yanukovich made a policy U-turn in November away from the European Union towards Russia, Ukraine's former Soviet overlord.<br /><br />Several big protests in December attracted hundreds of thousands of people, while thousands maintained a vigil in a Kiev square demanding Yanukovich resign. Since the new year demonstrations have become smaller, but hundreds of people are still camping in the square and 50,000 turned out a week ago.<br /><br />COURT BAN<br /><br />The court ban on protests published on Wednesday, and last Thursday's legislation aimed at prohibiting all form of public protests, have inflamed tensions again.<br /><br />The laws ban any unauthorized installation of tents, stages or use of loudspeakers in public.<br /><br />Heavy jail sentences were imposed for participation in "mass disorder" and the wearing of face-masks or protective helmets. Dissemination of "extremist" or libelous information about the country's leaders was outlawed.<br /><br /><a href="http://img1.catalog.video.msn.com/image.aspx?uuid=6236d9ca-ba1d-2ce7-1e7a-1732af4470be&w=300&h=169&so=4" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Smoke covers Kiev as public defies new anti-protest laws" border="0" class="image" data-src="{"default":"http://img1.catalog.video.msn.com/image.aspx?uuid=6236d9ca-ba1d-2ce7-1e7a-1732af4470be&w=300&h=169&so=4"}" src="http://img1.catalog.video.msn.com/image.aspx?uuid=6236d9ca-ba1d-2ce7-1e7a-1732af4470be&w=300&h=169&so=4" width="300" /></a>In a gesture of scorn for the helmet ban, many protesters on Sunday wore saucepans and colanders on their heads.<br /><br />The crisis has highlighted a divide in the country of 46 million people between those, particularly in Russian-speaking eastern areas, who identify more closely with a shared past with Russia, and those, especially in the Ukrainian-speaking parts of<br /><br />western and central Ukraine, who look westwards.<br /><br />Opposition leaders announced an action plan to gather people's signatures expressing no confidence in the leadership of Yanukovich and parliament.<br /><br />Denouncing as unconstitutional last Thursday's hurried vote in parliament by Yanukovich loyalists, they called for moves to set up a parallel structure of power — including a people's assembly and a new constitution.<br /><br />"Yanukovich and his henchmen want to steal our country. Ukraine is united as never before in its struggle against those in power today, in its determination not to allow a dictatorship," Klitschko, the strongest potential challenger for the presidency, told the crowds on Independence Square.<br /><br />CALLS FOR RESTRAINT<br /><br />Opposition leaders were at pains to urge protesters not to resort to action that would provide a pretext for a crackdown.<br /><br />When clashes broke out about 500 yards from Independence Square, Klitschko went to the scene and sought to persuade protesters to refrain from attacking police.<br /><br />"Stop your actions," he called to groups of young people — some of them masked. "We are a peaceful protest." Protesters sprayed a powder fire extinguisher at police, catching Klitschko whose face was covered in white.<br /><br />As police later appeared to be readying to take a tougher line against protesters, he tweeted: "Viktor Yanukovich, do not go down the same road as (late Romanian dictator Nicolae) Ceausescu and (late Libyan leader Muammar) Gaddafi. Stop conducting war on the citizens of Ukraine."<br /><br />Arseny Yatsenyuk, another opposition leader, told the crowds on Independence Square, "Our victory is not in using physical violence but in moral and spiritual strength."<br /><br />Although setting up an alternative power structure may not be realistic, Sunday's turnout suggested it could also be difficult for the authorities to try to solve the crisis by use of force despite the court ban and the new laws.<br /><br />Another opposition leader, far-right-nationalist Oleh Tyahnibok, dismissed the laws as unconstitutional as he spoke from the tribune on Kiev's main Independence Square.<br /><br />"So we have a right not to carry them out and we will sabotage them," he said.<br /><br />Yanukovich triggered the pro-Europe rallies when he did an about-turn last November and ditched a free trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer economic ties with Russia.<br /><br />Russia has since thrown Ukraine a $15 billion lifeline in credits as well as a softer deal for purchases of strategic supplies of natural gas.

Protesters clash with police at large Ukraine rally

KIEV — Protesters clashed with riot police in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday after tough anti-protest legislation, which the political oppo...

Ukraine police station stormed after brutal rape

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />The 29-year-old Ukraine woman says she was heading home when she was shoved into a car, driven to some woods, raped and savagely beaten by two policemen.<br /><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Ukraine rape: Irina Krashkova, 29, from the town of Vradiyevka, Ukraine." class="image" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/43/248bef688e7bd2c552f9521312acb/_h353_w628_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Irina Krashkova, 29, from the town of Vradiyevka, Ukraine, says she was driven to the woods, raped and savagely beaten by two local policemen.</td></tr></tbody></table>KIEV, Ukraine — Protesters hurling firebombs stormed a local police station unit in southern Ukraine after authorities refused to detain one of two police officers implicated in the brutal gang-rape of a young woman.<br /><br />Residents of Vradiyevka, some 200 miles south of Kiev, continued to rally outside the station Tuesday, booing the local governor and vowing to continue their vigil until the officer is arrested. During the storming late Monday, protesters smashed windows, broke doors and set fire to the building, while police fought back with tear gas.<br /><div><div>The case has caused widespread anger among Ukrainians, who say that corruption, lawlessness and the impunity of government officials and their wealthy friends has increased markedly since President Viktor Yanukovych came to power three years ago.</div><div><br /></div><div>The victim, a 29-year-old local woman, was returning home from a bar last Wednesday when she says she was shoved into a car, driven to the woods, raped and savagely beaten by two policemen, aided by a driver. The woman remains in the hospital in a serious condition, having sustained multiple fractures to her skull and bruises all over her body.</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the police officers and the driver have been detained, but the second policeman — whom the woman identified as the main perpetrator — has remained free, claiming he was on duty at the local police headquarters when the crime happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>But the victim, identified as Irina Krashkova, said in a video interview with local media that the police officer was lying.</div><div><br /></div><div>"This is not true, I know 100 percent that he was there. Why? Because he was the first to rape me; he beat me and called me all kinds of names," Krashkova said, in a low, timid voice sitting on a hospital bed. Her head was shaven and bandaged after surgery, and her face was swollen and bruised.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Associated Press does not generally identify victims of sexual assault, but makes an exception where the victim has publicly identified herself, as Krashkova has done.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two senior regional police officials and a prosecutor have been fired for failing to properly respond to the crime. President Yanukovych ordered a thorough investigation and Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko was summoned to the parliament.</div><div><br /></div><div>Zakharchenko put the blame on his subordinates, saying they initially withheld the fact that police officers were implicated in the crime. He said authorities were now checking a surveillance video from the police station, which the alleged perpetrator claims proves his alibi. Zakharchenko also called for a reform of the Interior Ministry and a boost in its funding to provide incentives for the best people to serve in the police.</div><div><br /></div><div>The minister expressed his condolences to the victim and her family, though he stopped short of an apology.</div><div><br /></div><div>The speech caused anger among the opposition. "I do not believe your words that you want to reform anything, same as your party," said opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk. "Do a heroic deed, write a letter of resignation."</div><div><br /></div><div>The crime brought to back memories of last year's brutal attack on an 18-year-old in the same Mykolayiv region. Oksana Makar was raped, strangled and set on fire by three young men, some of whom had well-connected relatives. She died of her burns two weeks later.</div><div><br /></div><div>Two of the three suspects were initially released and were re-arrested only after nationwide protests. The case galvanized Ukrainians fed up with the corruption that allows people with money and connections to avoid punishment, whether for violating traffic laws or for more serious crimes.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="media hover"></span></div><div><a href="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/34/a426a9d574162a519a91f60ef7e21/_h0_w295_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ukraine rape: Police fire tear gas at angry residents." border="0" class="image articleimage" data-class="img1" src="http://newsbcpcol.stb.s-msn.com/amnews/i/34/a426a9d574162a519a91f60ef7e21/_h0_w295_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg" /></a><span class="media hover">Police fire tear gas at angry residents storming the local police headquarters in the town of Vradiyevka, Ukraine.</span></div><div><span class="media hover"><br /></span></div><div><span class="media hover"></span></div>

Ukraine police station stormed after brutal rape

The 29-year-old Ukraine woman says she was heading home when she was shoved into a car, driven to some woods, raped and savagely beaten by t...

'Gas contract with Russia is killing us’ -Ukrainian President

<blockquote class="tr_bq">Ukraine’s 10-year gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom is costing the country $6bln according to President Viktor Yanukovych. </blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6tMTaq0cBxcxiakfUOD8XnQDwTiAIUFbKLITWC_LvosHqgopLePpyy87W3LNF_dIEFDhEjvqm74D0X9AaQm1esGry8-X3Qt4Ds2ZebeTGI1t2LB_tID21DWhISFgFEbic3KQsxY7AF4/s690/Ukrainian+President+Viktor+Yanukovych.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6tMTaq0cBxcxiakfUOD8XnQDwTiAIUFbKLITWC_LvosHqgopLePpyy87W3LNF_dIEFDhEjvqm74D0X9AaQm1esGry8-X3Qt4Ds2ZebeTGI1t2LB_tID21DWhISFgFEbic3KQsxY7AF4/s690/Ukrainian+President+Viktor+Yanukovych.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The deal was brokered in 2009 by then Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.<br /><br />"It [the gas contract] is killing us,” he told a press conference in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.<br /><br />“These losses place a burden on each citizen of Ukraine,” Yanukovych added.<br /><br /><br /><br />“Ukraine currently pays about $510-515 for gas. It’s not a market price; I have no clue how it [Russia] found a way to convince [Tymoshenko] to sign the contract,” Ukrainian President said, adding he does not blame Russia for signing the gas deal.<br /><br /><br /><br />Tymoshenko is currently in jail on charges of abuse of power stemming from that agreement.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"It's very difficult for us to accuse Russia of something. They secured their national interests […] It's now their right to change the contract or not to change it. For this reason, we now need to seek ways to resolve this issue," Interfax has quoted Yanukovych as saying.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ukraine is a transit state for up to 70 percent of all Russian gas shipped to the European Union. Being fully dependent on Russian supplies, Ukraine has been in dispute with Russia over its gas bills.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"How can we protect our country from this unfair price? We have only one way – cutting down on gas pumping, consumption of gas, and we are following this way," he said, according to the Kiev Post, adding that consumption has dropped from 42 to 34 billion cubic meters since 2010.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />"We don't want to trade in our sovereignty in this issue and we won’t do so,” Yanukovych added. “But it's clear that we have to make concessions to find a price that Russia will accept to change the contract," the Ukrainian President said.<br /><br /><br /><br />In February Yanukovich said Kiev wouldn’t pay Gazprom $7 billion for failing to import the agreed volume of natural gas in 2012.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />“I can’t imagine even in my wildest dreams that Ukraine will refuse to fulfill its obligations. The 'take or pay' principle means you have to pay even if you don’t want to,” Gazprom Deputy CEO Aleksandr Medvedev said in an earlier interview with The Financial Times.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ukraine is going to cut gas supplies from Russia despite the agreements. In 2013 Kiev is planning to buy between 18 and 20 bln cubic meters regardless of existing contracts stating it should buy twice as much.<br /><br /><br /><br />According to the deputy chief of national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy, Vadym Chuprun, Ukraine is looking to sign agreements for the reverse delivery of natural gas from Germany through Hungary and Slovakia in the amount of 7 billion cubic meters.<br /><br /><br /><br />Next week Ukraine's President is due to discuss Russian gas imports at a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.<br /><br />The challenge is to try to bring down the price it pays for strategic supplies of Russian gas.<br /><div><br /></div>

'Gas contract with Russia is killing us’ -Ukrainian President

Ukraine’s 10-year gas contract with Russia’s Gazprom is costing the country $6bln according to President Viktor Yanukovych.  Ukrainian Presi...

Ukrainian gas pipelines worth over $26 billion

<blockquote class="tr_bq">Accountants looking at the Ukranian gas transit network have put a value on it of between $26-29 billion. </blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEYIpO3iD1p3l7Px-qDoc0FtarJICSgceDGbNdFaRu2Xkw6n39GkANWySydcgsYFTgW7T36DcJzLqRAkIUfqDC1T6E5o15ARnsawssZzuzPTst1JnpPgAK-frtxCyQA97JoJyPuwUfL4/s690/rtxz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEYIpO3iD1p3l7Px-qDoc0FtarJICSgceDGbNdFaRu2Xkw6n39GkANWySydcgsYFTgW7T36DcJzLqRAkIUfqDC1T6E5o15ARnsawssZzuzPTst1JnpPgAK-frtxCyQA97JoJyPuwUfL4/s690/rtxz.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The figures have been presented to the Ukrainian government before a decision on whether Russia's Gazprom is allowed to take over the network.<br /><br />Ukraine is considering a deal which would see the country get cut price gas from Russia in exchange for the pipeline reports Kommerstant Ukraine newspaper. <br /><br />The newspaper says the figures come from a source within the Ukraine Energy Ministry, but they have not been confirmed officially, nor have advisers Baker Tilly who say the information is confidential. <br /><br />Several companies have calculated the value of the Ukrainian gas transportation system in recent years. In 2007 Ukraine's the pipe network was valued at $24.8 billion. Two years later in 2009 brokerage Uvekon calculated the value at between $9.9 billion and $16 billion, but this didn't include the vast underground gas storage facilities. <br /><br />The new estimates, according to the Ukrainian newspaper, take such facilities into account. <br /><br />Earlier this year there already have been reports in the Ukrainian media suggesting the value of the country’s gas transportation system was between $20 billion and $26 billion. Reports also referred to Baker Tilly. <br /><br />New estimates of the gas pipeline network started to emerge in the media after Ukrainian authorities resumed talks over transferring Ukraine’s gas pipelines to Gazprom in exchange for slashing prices of imported gas and guarantees of safe transit.<br /><br />Earlier this week reports said the Ukrainian authorities are ready to let Russia control the main gas pipeline, while the Ukrainian East European fuel and energy company (Vetek) will oversee local gas distribution, according to a Kommersant source. <br /><br />Current Ukrainian legislation does not allow the pipe network to be leased or sold.<br /><br />Forbes-Ukraine has reported that Russia considers the fair value for the Ukrainian gas transportation system at between $15 billion and $17 billion.<br /><br />The gas transportation web of Ukraine spans 37,600 kilometers of trunk pipelines delivering Russian gas to Europe. In recent years Gazprom has been trying to diversify transit routes, increasing exports through Belarus and via the Nord Stream route running through the Baltic Sea.<br /><br />However, the Ukrainian gas transportation system remains the main channel for Russian gas supplies to Europe.<br /><div><br /></div>

Ukrainian gas pipelines worth over $26 billion

Accountants looking at the Ukranian gas transit network have put a value on it of between $26-29 billion.  The figures have been presented t...

Ukraine can’t pay its debt to Russia

<blockquote class="tr_bq">Ukraine is asking for $390 million owed by United Energy Systems to Russia’s Defence Ministry to be deferred because Kiev doesn’t have the cash.</blockquote><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEknhgRWwMIyMrQHI6DgbxzLPKxBsFioLMqFKsd7l_sPgECb4VLecQMvsqNY3fNrvqSWDjPRGw_a5jwCt2mrkWVyaYwkiVY_ljGO92wvnu0wrNLheVbaE3sKvwS2CON9bvfEAZhuWOoA/s690/gas-kiev-field.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEknhgRWwMIyMrQHI6DgbxzLPKxBsFioLMqFKsd7l_sPgECb4VLecQMvsqNY3fNrvqSWDjPRGw_a5jwCt2mrkWVyaYwkiVY_ljGO92wvnu0wrNLheVbaE3sKvwS2CON9bvfEAZhuWOoA/s690/gas-kiev-field.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />­In 2012 Russia’s Defense Ministry appealed to the Kiev Commercial Court to get Ukraine to pay a $405 million debt which accumulated in the late 1990s.<br /><br />Then United Energy Systems of Ukraine was the biggest importer of Russian natural gas and failed to reach an agreement to supply Russia’s Defense Ministry.<br /><br />The then head of the Ukrainian government Pavel Nazarenko provided state guaranties the debt would be paid.<br /><br />The court ruled in favor of Russia in September last year however the sum was cut to $390 million.<br /><br />The Supreme Commercial Court has upheld the appeal and obliged Kiev to pay the debt in January this year.<br /><br />Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka says Kiev has paid off $1.8 million already.<br /><div><br /></div>

Ukraine can’t pay its debt to Russia

Ukraine is asking for $390 million owed by United Energy Systems to Russia’s Defence Ministry to be deferred because Kiev doesn’t have the c...