Yatseniuk visited Odessa on Sunday, two days after the deadly blaze in the southern port city of one million people. He accused Moscow of engaging in "well-planned provocation" against the interim Kyiv government.
"Destruction of the country and splitting the country - this is the Russian plan. Odessa was holding on for two months until they (the Russians) sent more people here to heat up the situation. Odessa is far too valuable for Russia. But it is even more valuable for us because it is our Odessa, our country and our people.''
- Ukraine says it will continue pressing its military offensive against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, as the Kremlin reported receiving thousands of calls for help from the region's Russian-speaking citizenry.
- Ukraine Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said troops had recaptured a television tower and government buildings from rebels in Kramatorsk, a town near the pro-Russian stronghold city of Slovyansk.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council chief Andrily Parubiy said an anti-terrorist operation will be carried out in towns beyond Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
- In Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman (Dmitri Peskov) said Russian President Vladimir Putin had not yet decided how to respond to the offensive, or to the deaths in Odessa.
Russia currently has at least 40,000 troops and armor massed on its border with Ukraine, and the Kremlin says it reserves the right to enter the country to protect ethnic Russians.
A German newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, citing unnamed German security sources, said the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are providing dozens of specialists to the Ukraine government to set up a security structure in the country and to fight organized crime.
In Kyiv, the interim government declared two days of mourning for those killed Friday in fighting in Odessa.
Witnesses say hours of street battles in the Black Sea port city ended in a deadly blaze at a trade union building where overmatched separatists had holed up seeking safety. It remains unclear who started the fire, but witnesses said gasoline bombs exploded around the building during the melee and gunfire was heard.
- On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised the release of European monitors abducted late last month by separatists near Slovyansk.
Kerry said Russia must now withdraw support for the separatists. Moscow says Kerry's Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, countered that Washington should compel the Kyiv government to stop its military offensive in the east.
- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also welcomed the freeing of the seven observers with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The monitors were freed Saturday, along with their five Ukrainian assistants.
And in Brussels, the European Union called for an independent investigation into the Odessa deaths. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said member-countries were "deeply saddened" by the deaths and injuries.
[voanews.com]
4/5/14
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Ukraine’s parliament-appointed Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who arrived in the Black Sea port city of Odessa on Sunday over tragic developments in that city on May 2, has promised decentralizations and “additional guarantees” to regions concerning the use of the Russian language....
ReplyDeleteAddressing representatives from public organizations, Yatsenyuk promised to “follow the path of decentralization of power” through making relevant amendments to the Ukrainian constitution. Touching the subject of the status of the Russian language, he said that constitutional amendments may give “additional guarantees concerning the use of the Russian language and other languages of national minorities provided corresponding council pass such decisions.”
“We should not only maintain a dialogue within the framework of the constitutional reform, we must complete this dialogue by signing a draft constitution with participation pf all political forces,” he said.
Notable, this is not the first such promise coming from the Kiev authorities. In late April, the Ukrainian cabinet of ministers came out with a statement where it promised to “hear all legal political demands of Ukrainians both in the east and the west of the country.
http://en.itar-tass.com/world/730410
4/5/14
Hundreds of pro-Russian activists have attacked a police station in Ukraine's southern port city of Odessa, forcing open its gate and smashing windows.....
ReplyDeleteCalling for the release of several people who were arrested during deadly clashes in the city on Friday, hundreds surrounded the building on Sunday, chanting "fascists" at the police contingent placed outside the station.
Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from outside the police station, said some of the prisoners were later freed while several others remained in custody.
"Police did nothing to stop them from leaving," he said. "The question now is why? It seems the police acquiesced because of the intense violence Odessa has witnessed."
Shortly before the attack, the Ukraine flag on top of the police station had been replaced with the city's flag.
"It was a large, angry crowd. Many believe the police could have done more to stop the violence on Friday, but did nothing," our correspondent said.
The attack came hours after the Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced that the police chief in Odessa had been sacked for the violence two days ago that left dozens dead.
Yatsenyuk made the announcement of Pyotr Lutsyuk's dismissal on Sunday hours hours after the country's interim president declared two days of mourning.
He said an investigation into the unrest would be carried out........http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2014/05/ukraine-police-station-odessa-attacked-20145413254135144.html
4/5/14
Ukraine's PM says Russia waging 'real war' against Kiev...
ReplyDeleteUkraine's interim Prime Minister on Sunday accused Russia and anti-government protesters of orchestrating a “real war” to threaten Ukraine’s sovereignty, days after an outbreak of violence that left 42 people dead in the city of Odessa.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the BBC that the Kiev government would allow a "full, comprehensive, and independent investigation" into Friday's clashes in the Black Sea port. The violence began with street fighting between two sides in which at least three people were reported killed by gunfire, then turned into a grisly conflagration when government opponents took refuge in a building that caught fire after pro-Kiev protesters threw firebombs inside.
"I personally blame the security service and law enforcement office for doing nothing to stop this crackdown," Yatsenyuk told the BBC. However, the Prime Minister also said pro-Russian groups were also to blame for "provoking the unrest," and accused Russia and the protesters of orchestrating "real war ... to eliminate Ukraine and eliminate Ukranian independence."
Yatsenyuk was visiting Odessa on Sunday.............http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/05/04/ukraine-pm-blames-security-forces-for-not-stopping-odessa-violence-as-kiev/
4/5/14