Protests in Ukraine escalate

[Natalka]

gryphon, he's a very evil, scary man.

[Natalka]

Wow!

Today, Mykola Ostashevskyi, 92 (!), came to the Dnipropetrovsk military recruiting office to sign up as a volunteer to the Ukrainian army. He is the veteran of the WWII.

[Natalka]

London, outside 10 Downing St.

[Natalka]

Today, in front the Russian Embassy in Prague. Hands off Ukraine!

[Natalka]

18 April 2014

Pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk say they will not leave the government building there, defying the Kiev authorities and threatening a new international deal on Ukraine.


The separatists' spokesman told the BBC that the Kiev government was "illegal", so they would not go until the Kiev government stepped down.


Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US earlier agreed that illegal military groups in Ukraine must leave official buildings.


Alexander Gnezdilov, spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said his group would evacuate the government building in the eastern city only when the "illegal" Kiev government vacated parliament and the presidential administration.

A statement from the Donetsk separatists said "we cannot accept the values of the Kiev junta, we have our heroic past going back to World War Two, we are the Russian bear which is waking up".

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27076226

[Natalka]

Good editorial here on reasons why Ukraine is reponding as it is -

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1...oesnt-it-shoot

[Natalka]

Ukrainian Paratroopers Recaptured Two Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) Previously Captured by Extremists

On the 18th of April, in the course of the anti-terrorist operation, airborne troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces regained possession of two of the six armored personnel carriers seized by extremists in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, on the 16th of April.

Due to highly professional actions by the airborne officers there were no victims or injured as a result of this special operation.

Background information. On the 16th of April, six APCs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, participating in the anti-terrorist operation.

In the city center the convoy was blocked by locals whom Russian terrorist groups used as a live shield. During the blockade, the extremists captured the vehicles and the convoy was directed to Sloviansk.

[Natalka]

Anti-Terrorist Operation in the Eastern Ukraine is suspended due to Easter and Geneva Agreement

Ukraine’s Security Service suspended active stage of the anti-terrorist operation due to the Easter holidays and the agreements reached by officials in Geneva, stated Maryna Ostapenko, Security Service press secretary at a briefing meeting in the Anti-terrorist Center on the 18th of April.

“The anti-terrorist operation continues. How long it is going to last, it depends on when the terrorists leave our territory. Due to the Easter holidays and the Geneva agreements, the operation is not in its active phase at the moment,” noted the spokesperson. At the same time Ms Ostapenko added that the anti-terrorist HQ continues to operate.

“The efforts are currently focused on securing the safety perimeter around armed separatists in order to avoid having victims amongst peaceful population,” said the press secretary.

[Natalka]

Deadly gun attack in eastern Ukraine shakes fragile Geneva accord

LAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - At least three people were killed in a gunfight in the early hours of Sunday near a Ukrainian city controlled by pro-Russian separatists, shaking an already fragile international accord that was designed to avert a wider conflict.

The incident triggered a war of words between Moscow and Ukraine's western-backed government with each questioning the other's compliance with the agreement, brokered last week in Geneva, to end a crisis that has made Russia's ties with the West more fraught than at any time since the Cold War.


The deal signed in Geneva last week by the European Union, Russia, Ukraine and the United States agreed that illegal armed groups would go home.
So far, the pro-Russian militants have shown no signs of budging, though there was some hope of progress after Kiev said it would not move against the separatists over Easter, and international mediators headed to eastern Ukraine to try to persuade them to disarm.


But the shootings near Slaviansk - already a flashpoint for tensions between Ukraine's rival camps - are likely to make that task even harder, hardening the view of pro-Russian sections of society that they cannot trust Kiev.

[Natalka]

Residents of eastern Ukrainian city Torez (founded in 1778) rallied for the unity of Ukraine today - reminding that Torez is also Ukraine:

[Natalka]

Foreign Ministry employees having their say on a united Ukraine! A flashmob was held in front of the building of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine. The employees lined up to form a map of Ukraine and sang the national anthem.

[Natalka]

Kyivites passed Easter cakes to Donetsk locals at a rally of unity between the two cities in Kyiv. The rally is called 'Give a cake - ressurect hope - Donbas and Kyiv are united!' novosti.dn



Yesterday -
More than 10 000 people stand at a rally for a united Ukraine in Kryviy Rih, a city in Eastern Ukraine with a population of 600 000.

[gryphon]

http://www.timesofisrael.com/source-...medium=twitter Ukrainian synagogue firebombed

[Natalka]

That's awful, the video is here

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014...llance-camera/

But how was there someone who 'happened to be walking by with a fire extinguisher'? That's odd.

[Darth Penguin]

That's awful, the video is here

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014...llance-camera/

But how was there someone who 'happened to be walking by with a fire extinguisher'? That's odd.

I'd read about some fire-bombings back in February...

But the Fire Extingusher guy is bizarre..


However..I haven't seen the reports or the video on anything other than a few possibly biased sites...There's nothing on BBC, CNN or Fox about this attack...

I find that odd given how many reporters the Beeb have currently in Ukraine.