Protests in Ukraine escalate

[Anna Michele]

BREAKING: Putin calls Obama to discuss resolution to Ukraine crisis
http://www.citynews.ca/2014/03/28/pu...kraine-crisis/




Putin calls Obama to discuss resolution to Ukraine crisis
Obama urges Russia to pull troops back from border
citynews.ca

[Natalka]

Well, that's promising!

The phone call came on the same day an interview aired in which Obama said Russia could ease tensions with Ukraine if it moved its troops back and begin direct talks with the Kiev government


"You've seen a range of troops massing along that border under the guise of military exercises, but these are not what Russia would normally be doing," the President said in the CBS News interview. "It may simply be an effort to intimidate Ukraine, or it may be that they've got additional plans.


"And, in either case, what we need right now to resolve and de-escalate the situation would be for Russia to move back those troops and to begin negotiations directly with the Ukrainian government as well as the international community."

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/28/world/...kraine-crisis/

[Natalka]

Few hundreds people in Kherson (southern Ukraine) took part in creative action. The activists flanked two banks of the Dnieper river with 700-meterof hand-embroidery to show Unity of Ukraine.

[Natalka]

What an amazing gesture, show of unity!



Crimean Tatars offered the Orthodox Christians of Kyiv Patriarchate to hold services in their mosques

The priests of Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate in Crimea are ready to accept the offer made by Crimean Tatars, said archbishop Yevstratiy Zorya, the spokesperson of Kyiv Patriarchate.

Two priests have fled from Crimea already; eleven more, headed by archbishop Klyment, continue to serve there, although the entire Crimean clergy of Kyiv Patriarchate chose to evacuate their families from the peninsula. If threatened or driven out from their churches, the priests and lay believers of Kyiv Patriarchate will accept the Tatars’ invitation to use the premises of their mosques for worship.

“They promised to help us protect our rights” – remarked Zorya.

(translation via Euromaidanpr on FB from
http://www.5.ua/component/k2/item/37...y-v-mechetiakh)

[Natalka]

Last night Lisbon activists (Ukrainian + Georgian communities) commemorated the Heaven's Company and protested against Russian occupation of Crimea - at the local Russian embassy. The activists actually recreated Maidan tire barricades, wore helmets and brought a blue-yellow shield!



in Donetsk



UA is short for Ukraine - Odessa regional administration building

[Natalka]

Yesterday, a human map of Ukraine in Nova Kakhovka (Kherson oblast)

Promo poster for Kyiv Fashion Days

[Natalka]

This is what the stairs to the Maidan Nezalezhnosti monument look like these days - activists formed a Ukrainian national coat of arms (tryzub) out of red flowers to commemorate the fallen heroes of Maidan.

[Natalka]

US Embassy in Moldova



US Embassy in Kyiv





US State Department's twitter campaign

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Unit...raine&src=hash

[Natalka]

After annexing Crimea, Russia has given residents of the peninsula one month to opt out of Russian citizenship. Thousands of them, predominantly Ukrainian speakers and Crimean Tatars, who make up about 12% of the local population, are leaving. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the prime minister of Ukraine, has said that the rest of Ukraine can accommodate 23,000 Crimeans and the government has set up a hotline for locals hoping to leave the peninsula.

Many of those leaving Crimea are seeking refuge in the west of Ukraine. Over 2,000 have already contacted the regional authorities in Lviv, a town in western Ukraine, about temporary residence. They arrive by car or on the daily train from Simferopol, which takes about 24 hours. Some have gone further afield. Last week, a group of 32 people from Yevpatoria, on the western coast of Crimea, crossed the Ukrainian border with Poland and applied for asylum.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/easte....QhRl7pVS.dpbs

[Natalka]

On March 30, light a candle in memory of The Heaven's Hundred. It will be 40 days (a sacral period after a person's death in Orthodoxy) since their death on February 18. They fought for our future and died in great agony. Eternal memory to the heroes!

Events commemorating their memory will start on 12:00 on Maidan's stage at the regular Sunday Viche. Up to date, a total of 118 people have been killed on Maidan (101 euromaidan activist and 17 policemen). More than 150 people are missing.

[Natalka]

Euromaidan today

[Natalka]

Euromaidan Ottawa is convening a solemn memorial service on Parliament Hill on Sunday, March 30^th, to commemorate the victims of the Kremlin-backed Yanukovych regime’s sniper attacks on peaceful Euromaidan protestors.
What: Memorial Service for the sniper victims on Euromaidan
A brief memorial service will be led by both Orthodox and Ukrainian (Greek) Catholic clergy. His Excellency the Ambassador of Ukraine will also be offered an opportunity to give remarks.
When: Sunday, March 30th, 2014 at 2:00PM (EDT)
Where: Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill

Why: In keeping with the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic traditions of holding a requiem vigil for the departed after forty days, Ottawa’s Ukrainian-Canadian Community and its supporters will be gathering to pay tribute to, and remember, those who were brutally and deliberately killed in their struggle for freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Following the memorial service, attendees will proceed to line up along Wellington in silent vigil holding black (f-l-a-g)s and photographs of the departed as a sign of respect to the fallen.

[Natalka]

Kharkiv today



Odessa - They have a 1km long f-l-a-g that is being walked through the city. The crowds are shouting, "Glory to Ukraine," "Odesa is Ukraine!," and "Putin out!"






Zaporizhzhia

[Natalka]

Netishyn is a small Ukrainian city in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, in the west of Ukraine. Local kids came up with the idea to plant roses to commemorate the Heroes of Ukraine, members of the Heaven's Company (also known as Heaven's Hundred or Brigade)

[Natalka]

Before the Dnipro-Dynamo football match in Dnipropetrovsk, fans of both teams together walked the streets of Dnipropetrovsk to show that 'Ukraine is a united country'.