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7:59 p.m. -- Following the conclusion of quadrilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia, the U.S., and the EU in Geneva on April 17, the following statement was released:
The Geneva meeting on the situation in Ukraine agreed on initial concrete steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security for all citizens.
All sides must refrain from any violence, intimidation or provocative actions. The participants strongly condemned and rejected all expressions of extremism, racism and religious intolerance, including anti-semitism.
All illegal armed groups must be disarmed; all illegally seized buildings must be returned to legitimate owners; all illegally occupied streets, squares and other public places in Ukrainian cities and towns must be vacated.
Amnesty will be granted to protestors and to those who have left buildings and other public places and surrendered weapons, with the exception of those found guilty of capital crimes.
It was agreed that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission should play a leading role in assisting Ukrainian authorities and local communities in the immediate implementation of these de-escalation measures wherever they are needed most, beginning in the coming days. The U.S., E.U. and Russia commit to support this mission, including by providing monitors.
The announced constitutional process will be inclusive, transparent and accountable. It will include the immediate establishment of a broad national dialogue, with outreach to all of Ukraine's regions and political constituencies, and allow for the consideration of public comments and proposed amendments.
The participants underlined the importance of economic and financial stability in Ukraine and would be ready to discuss additional support as the above steps are implemented. -- Isaac Webb
Kramatorsk: Police prevent armed separatists from breaking up pro-Ukrainian rally
7: 48 p.m. - Nearly one-hundred separatists armed with baseball bats and other weapons are trying to break up a pro-Ukrainian rally in the city of Kramatorsk, reports Espresso TV. Local city councilman Volodymyr Rzhavsky told Espresso TV that there are 500 pro-Ukrainians staging a rally.
Police prevented a full-blown attack, however. - Mark Rachkevych
7:44 p.m. -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference after the conclusion of quadrilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine, the EU, and the U.S. in Geneva that diplomats from those countries are taking steps towards de-escalating the conflict in eastern Ukraine. --
SBU: Over 11,000 Russians banned entry into Ukraine since beginning of week
7:24 p.m. - Since the beginning of the counter-terrorism operation Ukraine launched earlier this week, law enforcement agencies banned over 11,000 citizens of Russia entry to Ukraine, reports Interfax Ukraine.
'In order not to admit penetration of the radically tuned individuals on the territory of Ukraine in the frames of our joint operation, over 11,000 citizens of Russia received a ban from entering Ukraine. Of them, 117 are involved in extremist activities,' spokesperson of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Maryna Ostapenko said a briefing on Thursday, cited by Interfax Ukraine. - Mark Rachkevych
Russian-backed insurgents seize television tower in Sloviansk
7:21 p.m. -- Pro-Russian separatists in Sloviansk in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast have seized control of a television tower and cut broadcasts of Ukrainian channels.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Freedom of Media Representative Dunja Mijatovic condemned the action, saying that 'Citizens' right to access to information must be upheld at all times.'
The tower also provides service to the neighboring cities of Horlivka, Kramatorsk, and Makiyivka.
Separatists are reportedly now broadcasting only Russian channels.
'I am worried that this might become a dangerous pattern and call on the authorities to ensure the protection of media facilities and infrastructure in eastern parts of Ukraine,' Mijatovic said. -- Isaac Webb
Ukrainian tanks spotted in Barvinkove village northwest of Donetsk-Kharkiv oblast border
7:14 p.m. - Danish freelance journalist Johannes Wamberg Andersen writes that he witnessed a force of 'around 30 small tanks and 10 military trucks loaded on flat railway carriages in the village of Barvinkove northwest of the Donetsk-Kharkiv oblast border, between Kramatrosk and Lozova.
'There was some notable military personnel activity around them. It was not clear whether they were loading or unloading or about to move on,' noted Andersen. - Mark Rachkevych
Luhansk governor: Pro-Russian separatists pose public safety threat
7:04 p.m. - The head of the Luhansk regional state administration, Mykhailo Bolotskykh, has said that the actions of separatists, who have seized the building of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) Luhansk office, is posing a threat to public safety in the region, writes Interfax Ukraine.
'I support the Kyiv government's proposal of a local government reform and power decentralization,' he said at a public forum in the Luhansk region on April 17, cited by Interfax Ukraine.
'You should not listen to the demands of those who are speaking out from protest positions. But today these are no longer peaceful demonstrations but threats to the safety of the Luhansk people,' Bolotskykh said.
Russian Defense Ministry returns Ukrainian naval ship
Ukraine's 'Donbas' naval ship has been returned to the Odessa port as a result of an agreement reached between the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries.
The ship was captured by Russian forces during the occupation of Crimea in March. -- Solomiya Zinevych
Pro-Ukrainian demonstration starts in Donetsk
6:11 p.m. - Thousands have started to gather for a rally in support for a united Ukraine in Donetsk The live stream of the event can be we watched here. Over 1,200 law enforcement personnel are expected to provide security, writes Novosti Donbass.
Separatists back away from airport
Accordingt to journalists in Donetsk, hundreds of troops from Ukraine's Interior Ministry are guarding the demonstration to ensure peace. - Mark Rachkevych
SBU: Russian sleeper agent is new Horlivka police chief
6:09 p.m. Pro-Russian separatists withdrew from the Donetsk airport, reports Novosti Donbass. No shots were fired and there was no attempt to storm the airport. - Mark Rachkevych
6 p.m. - The Security Service of Ukraine has identified the new Horlivka police chief as Igor Bezlier, who allegedly served as a Russian military intelligence officer until 2002. He was then sent to Ukraine, the nation's spy agency reported. Then in February, the Russian secret service re-established ties with him after which he went to Crimea to allegedly take part in the seizure of Ukrainian government buildings and takeover of military bases.
In a live question-and-answer session today, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian soldiers had taken part in the annexation of Crimea.
The video of Bezlier being introduced as the new Horlivka chief of police can be watched here: http://ift.tt/1mmBVjT - Mark Rachkevych
US decides not to send military equipment to Ukraine
5:36 p.m. - The U.S. is working on a package of nonlethal aid for Ukraine that could include medical supplies and clothing, but would stop short of providing body armor and other military-style equipment, U.S. officials said, cited by The Moscow Times.
But the aid is unlikely to satisfy the Obama administration's critics, who say what the Ukrainians really need are weapons to defend themselves.
Insurgents set up radar in Slovyansk
'We ought to at least, for God's sake, give them some light weapons with which to defend themselves,' Senator John McCain, a leading Republican, said over the weekend, reported The Moscow Times. - Mark Rachkevych
State Border Guard Service detains three Russians traveling with more than 5 million hryvnia in cash
5:19 p.m. - Pro-Russian separatists placed a radar stolen from the Kramatorsk airfield in front of the Slovyansk City Council, reports Novosti Donbass. - Mark Rachkevych
5:07 p.m. -- The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service is reporting that three citizens of Sevastopol carrying more than 5 million hryvnia in cash were detained on the morning of April 17 at a checkpoint in 'Melitopol.'
The guards at the checkpoint, which is on the road between Crimea and mainland Ukraine, discovered the money hidden in secret compartments within the travelers' luggage.
On April 15, border guards at the same checkpoint detained one man and three women trying to bring 1.8 million hryvnia from Crimea to continental Ukraine. Upon questioning, the State Border Guard Service learned they were cash mules on their way to eastern Ukraine to deliver cash to Kremlin-backed insurgents. -- Isaac Webb
100 pro-Russian separatists heading toward Donetsk Airport
Ukraine severely restricts travel to country for male Russian citizens and Ukrainian men registered in Crimea.
4:55 p.m. Some 100 separatists are heading toward the Donetsk Airport carrying flags of the so-called Donetsk Republic, reports Novosti Donbassa, a local news outlet. In addition vehicles are circling the airport with St. George ribbons. Their numbers are growing, and they are nearing the airport. - Mark Rachkevych
Russian airline Aeroflot announced that the Ukrainian government has imposed heavy travel restrictions to Ukraine from Russia for males aged 16 to 60. To enter they must meet the following criteria: proof of family ties, death or severe illness to close family member, or a certified original copy of an invitation from legal entities or individuals.
Similar restrictions apply to Ukrainians registered in the Autonomous Region of Crimea and city of Sevastopol.
Ukrainian women aged 20 to 35 registered in Crimea or the city of Sevastopol will be let into Ukraine after successfully undergoing a thorough filtration and verification procedures.
American ambassador to UN accuses Russia of orchestrating 'incitement, separatism, and sabotage' of Ukrainian state
4:20 p.m. - Samantha Power, the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations delivered a speech at a Security Council session on April 16 that points the finger at Russia for conducting a 'professional campaign' of separatism in eastern Ukraine.
'Let us be clear: the actions the world witnessed in Crimea - and the denials of Russian involvement in the lead-up to its illegal annexation and occupation - are repeating themselves in eastern Ukraine,' she said.
She continued: 'Again, a region has been transformed almost overnight: from a state of relative calm to manufactured unrest. Over the last several days, heavily armed, pro-Russian separatists have seized the city administration, police stations, and other government buildings in eleven cities in Donetsk Oblast. Every major city in the region has at least one building under occupation. It is clear that these actions were not a set of spontaneous events or homegrown, but rather a well-orchestrated professional campaign of incitement, separatism, and sabotage of the Ukrainian state. And there is substantial evidence of involvement from Russia, which is now diverting attention from its own actions, its own territorial expansion, its own fear-mongering, by trying to change the subject.'
Power demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Crimea and pull its troops back from the border region of Ukraine. - Mark Rachkevych
Prosecutors start criminal investigation into self-proclaimed 'president' of southeastern Ukraine
1:53 p.m. - Authorities are investigating former Luhansk Oblast appellate court head Anatoliy Vyzyr for 'seizure of state power, encroachment on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and for unauthorized appropriation of authority.'
Russian-backed militants take Ukrainian journalist prisoner in Slovyansk
Luhansk's prosecutor general office launched the investigation on April 16. - Mark Rachkevych
1:30 p.m. - Kremlin-backed militants in Slovyansk, Donetsk Oblast, on April 16 took freelance journalist Serhiy Lefter prisoner, reports Open Dialogue Foundation, his employer.
He is being accused of espionage and of being a member of Praviy Sektor (Right Sector), a militant group that took part in EuroMaidan.
According to the foundation, he is currently being held in the basement of the Security Service of Ukraine building in Slovyansk on Karl Marx Street to where he was transferred from the local council building.
He has been in Slovyansk since April 14 where he arrived on an observation mission for Open Dialogue Foundation. - Mark Rachkevych
SBU issues drawing of Russian military commander in eastern Ukraine
1 p.m. - Ukraine's security agency, the SBU, has published a composite drawing of Igor Strelkov, the Russian military intelligence officer who allegedly is commandeering Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine and a network of Russian and Ukrainian agents, who have seized government and police buildings and attacked and killed Ukrainians.
The SBU also says he allegedly is the aide of self-proclaimed Crimean Prime Minister Sergey Aksyonov. Before allegedly committing terrorist acts in eastern Ukraine, according to the SBU, Strelkov coordinated the seizure of government buildings and Ukrainian military bases in Crimea during Russia's annexation of the peninsula in February-March. In Moscow, he allegedly received orders in April to begin a large-scale subversive operation on mainland Ukraine, in particular in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. - Mark Rachkevych
Deshchytsya: Kyiv wants to deescalate situation in Ukraine at Geneva talks
12:20 p.m. Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has approved negotiating guidelines for the four-party talks on the country's crisis in Geneva, acting Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsya said on April 17.
Deshchytsya told a media briefing that Kyiv's main objective was to de-escalate the situation in eastern Ukraine where armed militants who appear to be Russian military have stormed government buildings and police stations.
Kyiv wants to ask Moscow to 'stop fomenting pro-Russia unrest' in Ukraine and pull its troops away from the common border, Deshchytsya said, cited by New Europe online.
US State Department: Armed militants in eastern Ukraine 'appear to be members of the Russian military'
If Russia pulls out of the Geneva meeting, Ukraine is ready for three-way negotiations with the U.S. and the European Union, Deshchytsya said. - Mark Rachkevych
Noon - In a travel warning issued on April 16, the U.S. State Department has warned Americans to 'defer all non-essential travel to Ukraine.'
In particular, it warned of visiting the Crimean peninsula, and the eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv.
'While the transition to a new government has been largely peaceful in most parts of Ukraine, in several eastern Ukrainian cities armed militants, including personnel who appear to be members of the Russian military, have seized government buildings, and attacked police,' read the travel warning. - Mark Rachkevych
Tymoshenko: Geneva talks shouldn't legitimatize Russian annexation
Former prime minister and Batkivshchyna Party leader Yulia Tymsohenko said in a statement released that the four-party talks between Ukraine, the European Union, the U.S. and Russia should not legalize 'Russia's aggression and violation of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state.'
She said that 'Crimea must be freed' and that holding the May 25 presidential elections is 'not debatable.'
Turchynov: 25th airborne brigade that gave up to be disbanded
As a party to the talks in Geneva, Tymoshenko said 'Russia must prove with practical actions that it abandons expansionist policy and stops violating fundamental provisions of international law and fundamental human rights and freedoms. This must be a key demand of the international community to Russia's leadership and a prerequisite for lifting the sanctions against people responsible for the aggression.' -- Mark Rachkevych
11:13 a.m. 'The 25th airborne brigade that displayed cowardice and gave up to the enemy, will be disbanded. And the soldiers who are guilty of this will be held accountable in court,' said Turchynov.
On April 16 the troops from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast gave up six armored personnel vehicles in Kramatorsk to Russian troops. -- Katya Gorchinskaya
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