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The new Ukrainian government says it has been invaded by Russia, and has appealed for the United States and United Kingdom to protect it, as they guaranteed under a 1994 agreement. The move came after pro-Russian gunmen seized both main airports on the Crimean Peninsula early Friday, a day after other militiamen took control of the regional parliament building. With gunmen in the building and the Russian flag flying from the roof, deputies appointed a new government and passed a motion Thursday calling for a referendum on the future as part of Ukraine.

Russia's foreign ministry has expressed outrage at a fatal shooting incident in eastern Ukraine which it blamed on Ukrainian nationalists. Russian state media reported that five people were killed in a gun attack on a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian activists near the town of Sloviansk. Ukrainian officials said one died in a clash between "two groups of citizens". The incident comes as pro-Russian groups continue to occupy government buildings defying a deal to leave. Etrogrul Apakan, who heads the special mission of the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe in Kiev, said his deputy would be in Donetsk to...

Armed pro-Russian insurgents occupying government buildings in more than 10 Ukrainian cities refuse to leave them until the country's interim government resigns, despite Thursday’s diplomatic deal in Geneva. Ukraine and Russia agreed in Geneva to take tentative steps toward calming tensions along their shared border after weeks of conflict since Ukraine's former leader fled to Russia in February and Russia annexed Crimea in March. The deal -- brokered by the United States, Russia, Ukraine and the European Union-- calls for disarming all paramilitary groups and the immediate return of all government buildings seized across the country. But Denis Pushilin—a leader...

A pro-Russian official initially thought to be behind fliers telling Ukrainian Jews to register vehemently denied any involvement on Friday, telling Fox News the leaflets were a "complete lie." The leaflets were first reported in Israel's Ynet News. The news site said the notices were circulated in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, demanding that Jews register -- as well as provide a list of property they own -- or else face deportation and revocation of citizenship. Pro-Russian activists have asserted partial control over some government buildings in that city. Ynet reported that the notices, sent as the Passover holiday...

Secretary of State John Kerry reacted to a report Thursday that Jews in one restive Ukrainian city were sent notices telling them to register, a development he called "grotesque." Kerry's comments follow a report in Israel's Ynet News that a leaflet was circulating in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, demanding that Jews register -- as well as provide a list of property they own -- or else face deportation and revocation of citizenship. Pro-Russian activists have asserted partial control over some government buildings in that city. Ynet reported that the notices, sent as the Passover holiday began, were signed...

The sharp escalation of the Ukraine crisis virtually puts the country on the brink of civil war, Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel during a telephone call. Putin and Merkel discussed the upcoming Ukrainian crisis talks between Russia, Ukraine, the EU and the US, scheduled to be held on Thursday in Geneva. Merkel’s press office noted that, despite some differences of opinion, the upcoming talks were the main focus of the telephone conversation.

The profound and pervasive crisis in Ukraine is a matter of grave concern for Russia. We understand perfectly well the position of a country which became independent just over 20 years ago and still faces complex tasks in constructing a sovereign state. Among them is the search for a balance of interests among its various regions, the peoples of which have different historical and cultural roots, speak different languages and have different perspectives on their past and present, and their country's future place in the world. Given these circumstances, the role of external forces should have been to help Ukrainians...

Representatives of the OSCE tried to drive away in Kharkiv. Dozens of pro-Russian activists demanded that the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe did not intervene in the situation in Ukraine. Protesters called for even begin work. Required the guests to leave Ukraine because they, in their opinion, biased . We recall that yesterday came to Kharkov observers. ***OSCE observers, headed by the Chairman of the monitoring mission in Ukraine Ambassador Adam Koberatsky arrived in Kharkov. The members of the mission will conduct monitoring of the social and political developments in the region and ways...

GOOGLE/BING TRANSLATION: Progress report, 25 day prayer marathon in Donetsk. Today we were visited by brothers and sisters from the Kiev prayer gallop. Brought two big bags calendars - significant assistance to us, as well brought donations that they were given. In the first half of the day was cold and the rain came, there were not many people on this our guests, including myself, have decided to go to the camp of the pro-Russian activists on Lenin Square, with gifts in the form of calendars with the Christian sense. Previously, I called their camp commandant, received permission for a...

The United Nations Security Council will meet Friday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine as concerns mount over new details about Russia's military buildup on the Ukrainian border, including Moscow's reported efforts to camouflage troops and equipment. The council is expected to meet privately Friday afternoon, a day after the U.N. General Assembly approved a resolution affirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and deeming the referendum that led to Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula illegal. The vote came as the Pentagon said there are no indications that Russian forces along the border with Ukraine are carrying out the kind of...

Ukrainian national security service has put Crimea’s chief prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya on its wanted list. She is charged of taking actions aimed at the violent overthrow of constitutional order and takeover of government power. Poklonskaya took the office as Crimea defied the coup-imposed government in Kiev and sought independence from Ukraine. After the peninsula joined the Russian Federation, she was appointed as Crimea's acting chief prosecutor by Russia’s General Prosecutor Yury Chaika. The Ukrainian National Service for Security and Defense accuse her of violating article 109 of the Criminal Code, which deals with overthrow of the government. Poklonskaya became somewhat...

Rallies have swept eastern Ukraine, with residents protesting against Kiev’s coup-imposed government and demanding a referendum to decide on the future of the region. Thousands took to the streets in Kharkov, Donetsk, Lugansk, and Odessa on Sunday. About 5,000 protesters gathered in the city of Kharkov on Sunday to rally in favor of federalizing the country and holding people’s referendums in eastern Ukraine. The demonstrators also demanded to make Russian the official language of the Kharkov region. Russian is the most common first language in the eastern regions. Furthermore, the residents of Kharkov proclaimed illegitimate the political part of the...

GOOGLE TRANSLATION: "No - to the Soviets in the brain, heart and life" - in Lugansk Ukraine rallied for unity. PHOTOREPORTS In Lugansk, social activists staged a rally in support of Ukraine's unity. The protesters were holding placards with the inscription "Lugansk - is Ukraine" transmits Tsenzor.NET citing Radio Liberty. In Lugansk, today held a march "Lugansk - is Ukraine." Procession "Lugansk - is Ukraine" activists and residents of Lugansk held today, March 23. The march started at 11:00 from University of the East. Dal and took to the streets Karpinski - Vatutin - University - Gradusova - Soviet to...

Russian military servicemen have taken weapons from a radar base and naval training facility in Ukraine's Crimea region and urged personnel to side with the peninsula's "legitimate" leaders, Interfax news agency said on Sunday. It quoted a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source as saying the Russian servicemen had taken pistols, rifles and ammunition cartridges from the radar post near in the town of Sudak and taken them away by car. Another group of Russian military had also removed weapons from a Ukrainian navy training centre in the port city of Sevastopol, where Russia's Black Sea Fleet also has a base.

President Obama promised Friday there would be “costs” if Russia moved troops into Ukraine, but he didn’t specify what those costs might be. Sen. John McCain has several suggestions for Obama, including the sanctioning of high-level Russian officials; restarting missile defense plans in Eastern Europe; and bringing Georgia, a former Soviet republic, into NATO. McCain said he plans to push from the Congressional side, he told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview Saturday evening. McCain wants the administration to expand its threat to pull out of the G8 Summit in Sochi scheduled for June. That limited move is unlikely...

In four days of desperate fighting, from 29 February to 3 March 2000, a large force of Chechen fighters wiped out a Russian paratroop company in the harsh defiles and ridges of the Argun Gorge in the mountains of southern Chechnya. Although the battle was a catastrophic tactical defeat for the Russian airborne force, the company's stubborn defense to the last man and the concentration of Russian relief forces inflicted a strategic setback on the Chechens. The Russians stumbled into this catastrophe through poor unit leadership, but Russian blood and valor transformed it into victory. Hatred to the Bone In...

Head of Russia's internal republic of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov is ready to protect the rights of the Russian-speaking people in Crimea that sees disturbances over the change in authorities. "Ukraine and Russia are fraternal peoples. I have many Ukrainian friends, and like them all and regret what has recently been happening there The majority of people living today in Crimea are Russians, Cossacks. We are always with them and if necessary are ready to come to the rescue. We will stand up for Russians, Cossacks and Chechens no matter where they live," Kadyrov told journalists on Wednesday. Chechens are "a...

Signs of fascism and neo-Nazi extremism were evident during the Euromaidan protest, according to independent news magazine AlterNet. White supremacist banners and Confederate flags were draped inside Kiev's occupied City Hall, while demonstrators displayed Nazi SS and white power symbols, AlterNet explained. White supremacist banners inside Kiev's City HallYoutube EuroMaidan protesters also destroyed a memorial to Ukrainians who died battling German occupation during World War II. "The taking down of the 'Soviet Soldier' in the town of Stryi, Lvov region, turns a new page in the chaos that gripped the nation in November, and has taken on dangerously nationalist overtones...

<p>Thousands of pro-Russian demonstrators across eastern Ukraine and Crimea are protesting against the new government. Helga Zepp LaRouche is a German journalist and politician, founder of the Schiller Institute said in an interview with the VoR that the current Ukrainian authority is a result of the Nationalist intervention, and has no legitimacy.</p>

Russian President Vladimir Putin is poised to invade Ukraine with military forces after winning unanimous approval for taking such a step from the notoriously rubber-stamp upper house of parliament. Members of the Russian Federation Council said that the troops are needed to protect the safety of millions of ethnic Russians in Ukraine and that the soldiers should stay until "the constitutional order is restored in Ukraine," which hints at a possible Russian attempt to return to power Viktor Yanukovych, ousted as Ukraine's president on Feb. 22, or install another Kremlin-friendly leader.