Free Republic

Kiev — A black-and-white photocopy of Vladimir Putin’s face hangs on a dartboard in the meeting room of an old Soviet sanatorium a few miles west of Kiev. The building now serves as a temporary home for several Crimean refugee families, and a couple of young men residing there hand me darts and encourage me to aim well at Putin’s face, which is already speckled with holes. Since Russia annexed Crimea, thousands of refugees have fled. Officials in Lviv region alone say they’re preparing for the influx of around 2,000 refugees. Meanwhile, in late March, Ukraine’s social-policy minister said...

Dozens of pro-Kremlin militants seized the regional television station in Ukraine's eastern city of Donetsk on Sunday, an AFP journalist at the scene said. The insurgents, wearing camouflage uniforms and armed with baseball bats and knives, occupied the interior of the building, preventing anyone from entering. Most wore a red armband bearing the name of the pro-Russian group Oplot (Bastion). They were not carrying visible firearms, but militants carried several heavy bags inside the building and refused to answer reporters' questions. The insurgents covered the trident, Ukraine's national symbol, adorning the entrance with a sticker bearing the name of the...

A collection of photographs that Ukraine says shows the presence of Russian forces in the eastern part of the country, and which the United States cited as evidence of Russian involvement, has come under scrutiny. The photographs were submitted by Ukraine last week to the Organization for Security and Cooperation, an organization in Vienna that has been monitoring the situation in Ukraine. Some of the photographs were also provided by American officials to Secretary of State John Kerry so he could show them when he met in Geneva last Thursday with his counterparts from the European Union, Russia, and Ukraine....

<p>Russia has warned the Ukrainian government to pull its military from the restive southeast of its own territory, saying it could invade to “protect” pro-Russian separatists there – just as it did in Georgia, another former Soviet republic that Moscow invaded six years ago.</p>

SIMFEROPOL, Crimea — After Russia annexed Crimea practically overnight, the Russian bureaucrats handling passports and residence permits inhabited the building of their Ukrainian predecessors, where Roman Nikolayev now waits daily with a seemingly mundane question. His daughter and granddaughter were newly arrived from Ukraine when they suddenly found themselves in a different country, so he wonders if they can become legal residents. But he cannot get inside to ask because he is No. 4,475 on the waiting list for passports. At most, 200 people are admitted each day from the crowd churning around the tall, rusty iron gate. “They set...

Ukraine's Acting President Turchynov appears to be calling for an official break in the "truce" deal... -UKRAINE'S TURCHYNOV URGES RESTART OF ANTI-TERRORIST OPERATION -TURCHYNOV SAYS 'TERRORISTS' HOLDING EAST UKRAINE REGION HOSTAGE -TURCHYNOV SAYS EAST UKRAINE SEPARATISTS SUPPORTED BY RUSSIA So much for Joe Biden's peace-keeping salvation mission to Kiev...

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.