Thursday, February 20, 2014

UKRAINE PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH ITERRUPTS CONVERSATION WITH EU MINISTERS FOR A CALL TO PUTIN

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UKRAINE PRESIDENT YANUKOVYCH ITERRUPTS CONVERSATION WITH EU MINISTERS FOR A CALL TO PUTIN
Posted By: IZAKOVIC [Send E-Mail]
Date: Thursday, 20-Feb-2014 10:14:58

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych interrupted a meeting with the foreign ministers of Poland, France and Germany, which now takes place in Kiev, for a phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin. This was reported by the Polish PAP news agency citing "reliable source".
"Yanukovych calls now Putin. Ministers persuaded him to cut his term to the end of the year" - said the source.
As reported by MIGnews.com.ua, on February 20, President Viktor Yanukovych meets with foreign ministers of Poland, Germany and France.
Source:
http://mignews.com.ua/ru/articles/156001.html
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20 February 2014 Last updated at 14:30 GMT
Ukraine unrest: At least 21 protesters dead in clashes

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Violence in Kiev as truce ends
At least 21 protesters have been reported killed by security forces in Kiev after the breakdown of a truce agreed on Wednesday.
Witnesses have told the BBC that some died as a result of single gunshot wounds, typical of sniper fire.
Witnesses reported live rounds, petrol bombs and water cannon being used at Independence Square.
Meanwhile, three European Union foreign ministers are meeting President Viktor Yanukovych.
Earlier reports had said the foreign ministers of France, Poland and Germany had flown out without seeing Mr Yanukovych but it later emerged the meeting had gone ahead.
The EU will discuss possible sanctions on Ukraine later at an emergency meeting in Brussels.
Eyewitnesses have told international news agencies that they have counted between 21 and 27 protesters' bodies after clashes in Kiev.
Video footage has emerged apparently showing snipers firing on demonstrators who had been trying to retake their protest camp in Independence Square.
One policeman was also killed, officials said, and more than 20 injured.
There are 12 bodies in a makeshift mortuary in the lobby of the Hotel Ukraine, a medical worker there has told the BBC.

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Ukraine's crisis explained - in 60 seconds
The hotel is serving as the base for all foreign media in Kiev, including the BBC. Gunshots pierced the windows of rooms used by the BBC and Sky News.
Earlier, several dozen protesters were using the lobby as a triage centre for the wounded, and a priest arrived, says the BBC's Kevin Bishop, at the scene.
Protesters - some of them armed - asked hotel guests for blankets to use as bandages.
A statement on the presidential website blames the opposition for starting the violence, saying the "calls for a truce and dialogue were nothing but a way of playing for time to mobilise and arm militants from Maidan [Independence Square]".
Opposition leaders called the violence "an act of provocation" by the authorities.
Possible sanctions
The talks between EU foreign ministers and Mr Yanukovych were moved from their original location, for security reasons, officials said, and were at first reported cancelled.
A full meeting of EU foreign ministers and the EU foreign policy envoy Catherine Ashton will take place in Brussels later on Thursday.
Sanctions on Ukraine are likely to be discussed, including a possible ban on sales of equipment that could be used for internal repression.

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Duncan Crawford reports from a hotel lobby that is being used as a makeshift clinic
Separately, the head of the Kiev city administration resigned from Mr Yanukovych's Party of the Regions.
Thursday had been declared a day of mourning for those killed in clashes on Tuesday.

The truce agreed on Wednesday night did not hold for long; violence broke out again on Thursday morning

An armed protester took aim at a suspected sniper near the Hotel Ukraine

The number of people injured rose swiftly - at least 22 people were killed, eyewitnesses reported

This priest was rushing through the streets to give the last sacraments to one of the protesters wounded during Thursday's fighting

EU foreign ministers, including Radek Sikorski of Poland (R), met opposition leaders Vitaly Klitschko, Oleh Tyahnybok and Arseniy Yatsenyuk
In other developments:
Parliament and cabinet buildings have been evacuated because of fears that they could be stormed by protesters
As many as half of the 45 Ukrainian athletes at the Olympics in Sochi have left the games to return home, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Olympic committee has said
Russia wants a "strong government" in Ukraine, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, "so that people don't wipe their feet on the authorities like a doormat"
President Yanukovych's chief of staff has said if sanctions are imposed and the situation escalates, "there is a danger that the country could split into two parts," the Unian news agency reports
Trains between Kiev and the western city of Lviv - one of the protesters' strongholds - have been suspended, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports. A railway spokeswoman said this was because of damage to the lines
The UK Foreign Office has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to ask him to call on his government to stop the violence
VISA BANS
The EU has so far refrained from imposing sanctions on Ukraine, preferring to stress dialogue and compromise.
For its part, the US state department announced visa bans on 20 members of the Ukrainian government but did not provide any names.
The media wing of the opposition Udar party, led by former boxer Vitaly Klitschko, said the next round of negotiations with President Yanukovych would resume later on Thursday.
It is not yet clear whether these talks will go ahead.
The far-right Right Sector protest movement said it had not signed up to the truce and there was "nothing to negotiate".
The protests first erupted in November when President Yanukovych rejected a landmark association and trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.
Since then, the protests spread across Ukraine, with the main demand of snap presidential and parliamentary elections.

Anti-government protesters gutted the district police department in Lviv, western Ukraine, on Wednesday.


The Governor of the Volyn region, Alexander Bashkalenko, was captured by anti-government protesters in Lutsk, north-western Ukraine, on Wednesday, said Reuters.
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-26268620
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YUGOSLAVIA 2.0 BY U.S. (CITY OF LONDON)
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Ukraine truce fails, rioters renew offensive in Kiev, death toll rises to 35
Published time: February 20, 2014 07:43
Edited time: February 20, 2014 11:12
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Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014. (Reuters/David Mdzinarishvili)
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The battle for Kiev’s Independence Square has reignited as rioters clash with security forces amid sniper fire. The death toll has increased to 35, the Ukrainian Health Ministry confirmed.
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It has also announced that 505 people have been injured in the turmoil, with around 300 of those admitted to hospital.
Rioters have reached the Rada building (the country's parliament), while the police have been pushed back into Mariinsky park nearby. An emergency evacuation has been declared and parliament members and employees are leaving the building.
Protesters hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails at the police on Thursday morning as violence broke out once again in spite of the day of mourning that had been declared as a mark of respect for the 35 people who have died in the unrest. Ambulances have been sent to Maidan and video footage shows several people carried away on stretchers. Police are throwing tear gas grenades at protesters, according to Unian news agency.

Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)
Protesters pushed security forces off Independence Square and seized Oktyabrsky Palace - a major concert hall in the Ukrainian capital - and Hotel Ukraine. Gunfire can be heard throughout the Ukrainian capital.
Furthermore, a dozen police officers have reportedly been captured by demonstrators on Independence Square.
Video: /files/news/22/a3/80/00/1346000_plennie_web_480p.mp4
The Interior Ministry of Ukraine said that at least 23 police officers had been injured by sniper fire on Independence Square. The protesters are “openly using fire arms against the Berkut [Special Forces],” wrote the Interior Ministry in a statement.
“The injured are currently receiving emergency medical help,” said the Interior Ministry.
Police say that the sniper fire originated from the roof of Kiev’s Conservatory and targeted officers. The Ukrainian opposition claims that protesters were also caught in the gunfire.

Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)
“I think the opposition has crossed the line. I think the policy of negotiations has exhausted itself,” said the deputy head of the Party of Regions, Oleg Tsarev, in parliament.
Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich met with opposition leaders on Wednesday evening where a temporary truce was agreed to mourn the victims of the mass unrest. Hardline opposition group Right Sector rejected the truce and urged its followers to continue the offensive.
In response to the continuing violence in Ukraine, the international community has threatened sanctions if both sides do not return to the negotiation table.

Independence Square in Kiev February 20, 2014 (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko)
Foreign Ministers from Poland, France and Germany were scheduled to meet with Yanukovich and opposition leaders on Thursday, but left the city unexpectedly for security reasons.
US President Barack Obama spoke out against the violence in Kiev on Wednesday evening, warning of “consequences.”
“We’ll be monitoring very carefully the situation, recognizing that, along with our European partners and the international community, there will be consequences if people step over the line,” Obama said.
More:
http://rt.com/news/ukraine-maidan-rioters-offensive-880/
Live updates:
http://rt.com/news/kiev-clashes-rioters-police-571/
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Ukrainian Police Authorized to Use Live Ammo as Battle Rages
Topic: Pro-EU Protests Erupt in Ukraine

18:59 20/02/2014
Tags: protests, Vitaly Zakharchenko, Kiev, Ukraine
KIEV, February 20 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s Interior Minister confirmed Thursday he had signed a decree to issue service firearms to police officers and authorized the use of live ammunition.
The statement came in the wake of numerous reports from Kiev of both anti-government protesters and police officers being shot dead in ongoing clashes, in which at least 50 people have reportedly been killed.
Until this week, Ukrainian riot police had been using non-lethal weapons, such as tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets, against protesters in street demonstrations that have been taking place around Ukraine since November.
“Law enforcement officers have received service firearms and will use them in accordance with Ukraine’s law on police,” Vitaly Zakharchenko said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.
“The Interior Ministry demands that extremists hand over their weapons and return to peaceful protests. Those opposition leaders and activists who are capable of soberly evaluating the situation should dissociate themselves from the radicals and refrain from supporting them in future,” the statement reads.
At least 10 police officers have been killed in the clashes, the authorities said Thursday. Most of the officers killed reportedly also bore gunshot wounds.
Source:
http://en.ria.ru/world/20140220/187726857/Ukrainian-Police-Authorized-to-Use-Live-Ammo-as-Battle-Rages.html
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