Putin slams 'external control' over Ukraine on Crimea visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday slammed alleged "external control" over Ukraine's government as he made his third visit to the Crimean peninsula since Moscow seized the region from Kiev last year.

Ukraine: UN alarmed by intensifying clashes, mounting casualties in country’s east

UN, 8 August 2014 – A senior United Nations human rights official today declared the situation in Eastern Ukraine “extremely alarming” with intensifying fighting, mounting casualties and serious damage to infrastructure.
Briefing the Security Council, Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, expressed concern over the “rapid professionalization of armed groups, which are increasingly well-organized and equipped with heavy weaponry.”

G7 powers warn Russia of more sanctions over Ukraine

Washington. The leaders of the world's major developed economies condemned Russia for destabilizing Ukraine on Wednesday and warned it faces still tougher sanctions if it does not change course, AFP reported.
"Russia still has the opportunity to choose the path of de-escalation, which would lead to the removal of these sanctions," the G7 powers said, in a joint statement released by the White House.
"If it does not do so, however, we remain ready to further intensify the costs of its adverse actions."
The G7 - Britain, France, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - issued the statement one day after Washington and the European Union announced increased sanctions on Moscow.

Eastern Ukraine: UN rights chief says downing of plane may be "war crime," urges probe

UN, 28 July 2014 – The shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine may amount to a war crime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights today said today, releasing a new report that details a total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror inflicted by armed groups in the area.
“I would like to stress to all those involved in the conflict, including foreign fighters, that every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law, including war crimes, will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” Navi Pillay said. “I urge all sides to bring to an end the rule of the gun and restore respect for the rule of law and human rights.”

Obama makes defiant defense of US restraint. Terrorism remains biggest threat to US

US President Barack Obama mounted a defiant defense of his global leadership Wednesday, rebuking critics who see him as weak but warning that not every global threat justifies a US military response.

In a major speech at the West Point military academy, Obama denied US power had ebbed under his watch, after he withdrew troops from Iraq and is doing the same in Afghanistan.

He also pledged to ramp up support for Syrian rebels, vowed to stand up to Russia over Ukraine and promised to make drone strikes against terror suspects more transparent.

Some 1,0,000 people in Ukraine now affected by displacement (UN agency says)

 UN, 20 May 2014 – The United Nations refugee agency estimated today that 10,000 people, most ethnic Tatars, but also Ukrainians, Russians and mixed families, have fled Crimea and restive eastern Ukraine to other parts of the country, out of fear of insecurity or persecution.

“Displacement in Ukraine started before the March referendum in Crimea and has been rising gradually since. Registration numbers are being compiled on the basis of data we are receiving from local authorities,” Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said at a press briefing in Geneva.

Lavrov Says Hysterical US Policy Makes Russia Consider Appropriate Response

Russia will be obliged to take retaliatory measures if the West continues its sanctions policy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday.

“If the West continues these absolutely non-professional hysterical policies, we would have to think what we can do in return,” Lavrov said during an English-language interview with Bloomberg.

The minister, however, emphasized that Russia was not looking for confrontations and would not like to parrot Western countries’ behavior.

“We are not looking for confrontation and we don’t want to mimic the hectic gestures made by Washington, Brussels, some other capitals, reluctantly most of them, by the way,” Lavrov stressed.

US Congress Votes to Aid Ukraine, Penalize Russia. - The same day that the IMF pledged to provide Ukraine with up to $18 billion in loans

The U.S. Congress has sent a strong message to Russia for its annexation of Crimea by passing measures that give aid to Ukraine and penalize Moscow.

Lawmakers in the House and the Senate overwhelmingly approved separate measures on Thursday.

Both bills include $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine and penalize Russia for its actions in Crimea.

Lawmakers in both chambers will have to resolve differences on other provisions before sending a final bill to President Barack Obama.

Intervention du vice-Premier ministre et ministre des Affaires étrangères, E. Vénizélos sur l'Ukraine lors du Conseil des Affaires étrangères de l'UE (Bruxelles, 17 mars 2014)

MAE Hellénique, 17/3/14
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Nous vous communiquons ci-dessous le texte de l'intervention d'aujourd'hui du vice-Premier ministre et ministre des Affaires étrangères sur l'Ukraine lors du Conseil des Affaires étrangères tenu aujourd'hui à Bruxelles:

«Notre réaction d'aujourd'hui, un jour après le référendum en Crimée, est facile et presque automatique. La politique européenne doit être toujours axée sur des principes. L'intégrité territoriale et le respect des frontières existantes sont le fondement du statu quo, de l'ordre légal international, de la paix et de la stabilité dans le monde entier.

United Nations Security Council action on Crimea referendum blocked

UN, 15 March 2014 – Owing to the negative vote of one of its permanent members, the United Nations Security Council today failed to adopt a draft resolution which urged countries not to recognize the results of this weekend's referendum in Crimea.
Thirteen of the Council's 15 members voted in favour of the draft text, Russia voted against, and China abstained. A veto by any of the Council's five permanent members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – means a resolution cannot be adopted.

'No common vision' on Ukraine, Russia says after US talks

 
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Russia and the West do not share a common view of the situation in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with US Secretary of State John Kerry in London on Friday, just two days ahead of a referendum in Crimea.

"We have no common vision of the situation. Differences remain," said Lavrov after the longer-than-expected talks, just two days before the Ukrainian region of Crimea holds a weekend referendum.

Ukraine and the Council of Europe have agreed joint actions to block Russia's aggression in Crimea, Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov says.

Ukraine's acting President and Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov has met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland and Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz to discuss and exchange views on the latest developments in Ukraine.
Joint actions with the Council of Europe have been agreed and an active dialogue about cooperation with the IMF is taking place, a statement from Turchynov said.

Ukraine Making sense of sanctions

Visa bans, freezing assets, boycotts: There is no lack of suggestions of how to tone down Russian aggression. But what good would sanctions do? Politicians are growing increasingly skeptical. DW takes a look. 

The European Union has said it is halting visa talks with Russia following an emergency summit of the bloc's leaders where they discussed ways to punish Russia for its recent exploits on the Crimean Peninsula. If Russia continues to reject negotiations, further measures are to be taken, which could entail economic sanctions.

Ukraine Calls Up Reservists, as PM Warns of Looming 'Disaster'

Ukraine's interim government ordered a full military mobilization Sunday, in an effort to to counter what its new prime minister says is a Russian act of war.

Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in an address to parliament, warned lawmakers "we are on the brink of disaster." He spoke as Russian troops continued to take up positions on Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, and Western governments issued repeated condemnations of the Russian deployments.

Ομόφωνο δεκτό το αίτημα Πούτιν για στρατιωτική επέμβαση στην Κριμαία από τη ρωσική Ανω Βουλή. - FC deputy speaker: Obama’s statement ‘insults Russian people’

Ομόφωνα δεκτό έγινε από το ρωσικό Συμβούλιο της Ομοσπονδίας (Ανω Βουλή) το αίτημα του προέδρου Βλαντίμιρ Πούτιν για αποστολή στρατευμάτων στην Κριμαία. Στην απόφαση, η οποία έχει άμεση ισχύ, γίνεται λόγος για «σταθεροποιητικές στρατιωτικές δυνάμεις στην Ουκρανική επικράτεια».

Ο πρόεδρος Πούτιν απεύθυνε αίτημα νομιμοποίησης της αποστολής στρατευμάτων από τη ρωσική Βουλή νωρίτερα σήμερα, με το σκεπτικό της «απειλής για τη ζωή των Ρώσων πολιτών και στρατιωτικών δυνάμεων που βρίσκονται στις ναυτικές βάσεις στην Κριμαία».

Kiev has no money to pay off debts, financial crisis to follow - Ukraine's ex-minister

Ukraine’s new government is saying that it would try to do its best to stabilize the situation in the country. We have got in touch with Victor Suslov, once Ukraine’s Minister of Economy and now Ukraine’s representative in the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Ukraine’s new Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk says that now, Ukrainians would have to toughly economize for some time. Meanwhile, the head of Ukraine’s National Bank Stepan Kubiv has said that Ukraine has enough money to pay back its foreign debts.