This weekend in Ukraine, intense violence gave way to non-violent revolution, as the protesters in Maidan occupied the streets, government buildings, and palaces of Kiev, and their supporters occupied the parliament. The now-impeached President Viktor Yanukovych is missing, and an warrant has now been issued for his arrest.
Oleksandr Turchynov, the interim President, and the Rada are now beginning to focus on rebuilding Ukraine, both its unifying identity and its economy. And while they work, new documents are coming to light that expose the depths of Yanukovych’s corrupt administration.
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview of what’s behind the protests and analysis of last week’s news see our latest podcast.
Here is a livestream of the events:
Below, we will be making regular updates throughout the day:
0040 GMT: There have been a lot of “where is Yanukovych” rumors floated over the course of the last few days, but Port News has an interesting “anecdotal” report — That Yanukovych may be escaping Ukraine on his ship, the “Bandido.” Note this picture, associated with the report — the ship has a Ukrainian flag, and a “no entry” sign is written in Russian:
Marinetraffic.com reports that Bandido is a Turkish pleasure craft, but the picture is the same – but note the last known location:
Its last known location was in Turkey in January:
The Guardian also noted this rumor earlier:
[Ukraine’s acting interior minister, Arsen Avakhov] said Yanukovych arrived in Crimea on Sunday, relinquished his official security detail and then drove off to an unknown location. There were rumours that a yacht named the Bandido, believed to belong to Yanukovych’s son, was spotted in the harbour in the Crimean port of Balaclava.
In Balaclava on Monday there was no sign of either the yacht or the president, and locals claimed they had not seen Yanukovych in recent days. Officials in Sevastopol also professed ignorance. In Kiev, western diplomats said they had no idea of the president’s location.
If the ship left Balaclava, it might mean that it arrived in Balaclava with its transponder turned off. Which, of course, could also mean it still has its transponder turned off.
And if you were piloting a ship that had Viktor Yanukovych on it, you’d have your transponder turned off too.
It’s not clear that this rumor has any more legs than some of the others, but if authorities can find this ship then they may be one step closer to finding Ukraine’s deposed president who is now wanted for mass murder.
0005 GMT: The Russian State Duma has drafted a law which would expedite passports and the citizenship process for ethnic Russians who wish to leave Ukraine. Below is a translation of an article on Vesti:
The draft law has been submitted to the State Duma on a simplified procedured to receive Russian citizenship for citizens of Ukraine who are ethnic Russians and members of their families. Ilya Drozdov, deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [Zhirinovsky] faction, member of the Committee on CIS Affairs, is author of the draft.
“The authorities of Ukraine cannot guarantee the safety of citizens of their state, including the Russian population, due to the intensification of nationalist manifestations,” said Drozdov.
In the opinion of the drafters of the law, it is necessary to stimulate a flood of Russians to Russia, since this will help stabilize the ethnic component of ethnic Russian citizens and prevent a wide-scale “displacement” migration from the countries of Asia.
“We can speak of the fact that a coup d’etat has occurred in Ukraine, the result of which is the proclamation of the force of the law “On the Foundations of State Language Policy” which provides for the possibility of official bilingualism in regions where the percentage of ethnic minorities is above 10%,” says a memo accompanying the draft law.
It should be noted that this is only a draft law.
2350 GMT: Ukraine has had bloodshed, clashes with police, sniper fire, arson, molotov cocktails… it’s been a dangerous place to be for the last week. And yet, the one thing that has not been reported — there has been no looting.
In fact, in Kiev there are basically no police since Yanukovych fled the capital on Friday night, and yet protesters have self-policed. There seems to be an understanding that the country needs people to act civilly towards each other in order to survive. Though there have been a few reports of violence due to ideological battles, even they have been few and far between since Friday night.
This is especially reassuring, since there is a large power vacuum in the country at the moment. All revolutions are fragile, as are all new governments, but so far this is one problem that the Ukrainian people have not had to face.
2308 GMT: Is Russia really sending a new fleet to Sevostopol? Before Izvestia reported this (see previous update below) Oleh Tyahnybok, the leader of the far-right Svoboda party and a man known for firey rhetoric, reported the same thing.
“I can show you the SMS” said Tyahnibok, reading out: “A large landing ship from the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is expected to arrive today in Sevastopol from the Russian port of Temryuk. It will deliver around 200 armed soldiers from the 328th detached battalion of the Marines, who are based in Temryuk, and 10 BTR-80s.”
He also mentioned that “between 22-23 February, personnel of the 45th Airborne Special Forces were airlifted from Kubinka (in the Moscow area) to Anapa on Il-76 flights, and four other IL-76 flights redeployed even more divisions from Pskov to Anapa. And six Mi-8 helicopters were airlifted from Sochi to Anapa” said Mr Tyahnibok.
Now, Izvestiya is carrying a report which, it seems, has a separate source. However, the Izvestiya story is about 9 hours old. In it they said that the ships would reach Sevastopol in 4 hours at a speed of 10-15 knots so…even if they were slower, unless the fleet stopped or turned around then the ships would be there by now, and there aren’t any reports of them arriving yet.
That Izvestiya and Tyahnibok are reporting that there are ships on the move is a story in and of itself, whether or not it proves true.
2200 GMT Could Russia really invade Ukraine? Two claimed pieces of news might indeed by tidings of war. Here is a translation by Catherine A Fitzpatrick:
Russian State Duma deputies have arrived in Simferopol. The delegation is headed by Leonid Slutsky, head of the committee on the CIS. Russians promise to simplify the issuance of passports to Crimeans.
Report summarizing their statements from Oleg Kryuchkov of censor.net.ua:
“Russia is starting to give out passports under a simplified procedure. Russia demands the fulfillment of the conditions of the agreements between the opposition and Yanukovych. And the main thing is that in the event of a decision of the Crimeans to have a referendum, or an appeal to the Supreme Council of the Crimea to Russia with a request to annex…Russia will review this question very quickly. Tsekov and Aksyonov mumbled, spoke about integrity and the Russian Word festival.”
If this is true, it’s worth noting that before the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict in 2008, Russian was issuing passports to Abkhazians long before the invasion.
The second development is that Russia is said to be deploying a large fleet near Sevastopol. Here we’ve translated a report from Izvestiya:
Four ships from the Russian town of Kubinka with a regiment of special troops are headed to Anapa.
From there within 4 hours they will reach Sevastopol at a speed of 10-15 knots, reports a source for Izvestiya in Ukraine.
According to the source, this movement is qualitative, and not quantitative. It is being observed from Ukraine. A depot for loading large tanker and infantry ships is located for dispatch to Sevastopol.
If true, then if Russia is not planning on invading, they’re certainly trying to send a clear signal that they are willing to.
2134 GMT: The change has been so quick in Ukraine, it’s hard to imagine that just 6 days ago we were counting bodies, not political developments, and just 4 days ago more than 70 people were killed:
Dozens of shrines like this all over the downtown Kyiv. All passers-by stop for a sec. Ukraine is still in deep shock pic.twitter.com/gXsWkd27e5
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 24, 2014
2118 GMT: One of Vesti’s journalists, Vyacheslav Veremiy, was killed on February 18th. Now, a suspect has been arrested. The following is a translation by The Interpreter’s Catherine Fitzpatrick from Newsru.com:
Pyotr Poroshekno, deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, announced that a suspect in the murder of Vesti journalist Vyacheslav Veremiy has been arrested. Veremiy was shot in the stomach 18 February in Kiev and later died of his wounds on the operating table.
“The man who has murdered the journalist on Mikhaylovskaya is already arrested,” Prooshekno announced on Channel 5 live. No other details were available.
Poroshenko also reported that there is information about a group of people who abducted civic activists Igor Lutsenko and Dmitry Bulatov, and also other Miadan activists, Interfax repoted.
2115 GMT: Deputy Secretary of State William Burns will travel to Kiev on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to a statement published by the US Embassy to Ukraine:
In Kyiv, he will consult with key Ukrainian leaders, the business community, and civil society on U.S. support for Ukraine’s efforts to secure a stable, democratic, inclusive, prosperous future. He will also honor the memory of the victims of the tragic events of last week. He will meet with a range of political, business, and civil society representatives, including Acting President Turchynov, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and the deputies of the Verkhovna Rada, and will urge the new government to take all steps necessary for free and fair presidential elections in May. He will urge the rapid formation of a national unity government that represents the wide array of stakeholders in Ukraine’s domestic political discourse, and encourage immediate steps to undertake the critical reforms necessary to restore Ukraine’s political and economic health. The Deputy Secretary will be accompanied by representatives of the Department of the Treasury and the National Economic Council, who will work in concert with partners such as the EU and the IMF to discuss needed financial support while a new government implements the difficult steps necessary to reform the economy. The Deputy Secretary will encourage all Ukrainians to continue their efforts to write a new chapter in their history that leads to a Ukraine that is democratic, sovereign, prosperous, and free to choose its own future.
2054 GMT: The former Deputy Interior Minister has published the names and telephone numbers of those who he says are guilty of killing civilians. Below is a translation of part of the summary on Glabnoe.UA:
Gennady Moskal, former Deputy Interior Minister and people’s deputy from the Batkivshchina [Fatherland] faction has posted on his official site secret documents from the Interior Ministry and Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) on plans for a sweep of Maidan, as well as operative plans for combat actions and also signals of commanders of storm and sniper groups.
According to Moskal, “patriotically-minded workers from the Interior Ministry and SBU” helped him gather the materials. The Boomerang and Wave plans for the special operations for forcible dispersion of the protest actions prove that the snipers on Institutska Street were solders from the special operations divisions of the interior troops which are headed by Col. Asavalyuk, and soldiers from the Omega division of internal troops. Furthermore, the order for the use of weapons was given by former Interior Minister Zakharchenko to the Sokol special division of the Interior Ministry’s Main Directorate to Combat Organized Crime.
Moskal has everyone’s phone numbers because, according to the documents, they were used to coordinate the attack. Below is a battle map that was among the documents that showed how they would storm the protests:
Note that earlier today we discussed a report that presented evidence that the snipers who were killing unarmed civilians were members of the Interior Ministry special forces (jump to update 1447).
Boomerang and Wave were code names for the operations against Maidan — The Telegraph reports:
Moskal, who has released the documents on his Facebook page, said he did so to push the interim government to pursue legal action against officials responsible:
The Kiev Post has carried a report that about the release of a cache of documents by Hennadii Moskal, an MP under Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party. The documents allege to a plan by the ousted government of Yanukovych, with help from the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Intelligence Directorate, to surround “Independence Square with rooftop snipers whose mission would have been to wipe out the anti-government EuroMaidan protesters.”
2020 GMT: RFE/RL reports that Yulia Tymoshenko will travel to Germany for medical treatment:
Freed Ukrainian ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko says she’s planning to receive medical treatment in Germany. A statement on Tymoshenko’s website said she had accepted an offer of treatment from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Brief on Tymoshenko: -wanted to run for Pres/PM -saw poor reaction on Maidan -w/ pressing from Merkel, decided in favor of Germany hospital
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 24, 2014
2002 GMT: While we’re covering Ukraine, we are also liveblogging about Moscow today, where hundreds of protesters, and at least one of The Interpreter’s own writers, Oleg Kozlovsky, were arrested earlier (another of our staff was nearly detained). The arrests came outside a courtroom where a group of eight protesters were sentenced to prison terms in connection to the Bolotnaya Square protests in 2012. Among those arrested are several former members of the band Pussy Riot, and opposition leader Alexei Navalny who could be facing additional prison time for breaking his parole.
The Associated Press has spoken to the lawyers for the sentenced protesters who believe that there is a direct connection between the sentencing and what is happening in Ukraine:
The lawyer for Belousov, who was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, said he believed the harsh punishment was in part a Kremlin reaction to the upheaval in neighboring Ukraine.
“I get tons of Twitter messages that say: you must be punished for Maidan, you must go to jail for Maidan,” lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky said, referring to the square in Kiev that became a symbol of Ukraine’s protest movement.
When Russian state television reported on the trial, it often showed footage of the 2012 Moscow protest alongside bloody images of beaten protesters and police in Ukraine.
“With the events on the Maidan as a background, it’s even more obvious what all of this could have led to, had it not been for the government’s clear, tough response,” an anchor on Rossiya television said last week.
In an interview translated by The Interpreter, Sergei Panchenko, another one of the Bolotnaya lawyers, expressed concerns that the defendants would be affected by what was happening in Ukraine:
The court has broad possibilities, but I’m afraid that it is not the court making the decision. And I very much fear that the tragic events in Ukraine will reflect on the defendants – a decision of a non-guilty sentence for our clients may be taken as a go-ahead to the opposition.
1955 GMT: While Moscow is talking about halting Ukrainian food exports to hurt Ukraine’s already struggling economy (jump to update 1846), other countries are exploring ways to stabilize it:
U.S. is considering a range of options to support Ukraine, could complement an IMF lending program: State Department official
— Reuters Politics (@ReutersPolitics) February 24, 2014
1930 GMT: On Friday, a senior official in the Kremlin told the Financial Times that Russia would be willing to invade Crimea if things got out of hand. “If Ukraine breaks apart, it will trigger a war,” the official said. “They will lose Crimea first [because] we will go in and protect [it], just as we did in Georgia.” Today the Ukrainian Interior Ministry warned that they had seem some Russian troop movement near the border (jump to update 1621). US Ambassador Susan Rice has warned Russia against moving tanks into Ukraine. And yet the Russian state-owned propaganda/news outlet, RT, says that it is the United States, not Russia, than needs to heed this advice:
“We have noted the expert assessment of Susan Rice based on multiple cases when American troops were sent to various places of the word, especially those where the US administration believed the norms of Western democracy were in danger, or where the local regimes were getting out of hand,” a Russian Foreign Ministry source told news agencies on Monday.
The source added that, “We expect that national security adviser would be giving to the US leadership the same advice on the mistaken path of the use of force if it decides to conduct a new intervention.”
The spin on Russian media has been pretty extreme today. Though, sometimes the spin is a little more subtle:
Incredible, #Russia state media just publicly bashed #Democracy. Well, on second thought hardly a surprise. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/D8MQvNc9XX
— East of Brussels (@EastOfBrussels) February 24, 2014
1918 GMT: Yulia Tymoshenko has made a visit to Ukraine’s Rada. Maxim Eristavi reports that the reason for her visit was very important it seems:
.@YuliaTymoshenko is in a middle of surprise visit to Ukraine’s parl, she wants to talk w/ three opposition leaders. topic unclear
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 24, 2014
Apparently that’s the last @YuliaTymoshenko meeting w/ opposition leaders before leaving for Germany. She said she’s not gonna run 4 pres/PM
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 24, 2014
1857 GMT: A Jewish synagogue in east Ukraine was damaged by firebombs today. Times of Israel reports:
The firebombs hit the Giymat Rosa Synagogue in Zaporizhia, located 250 miles southeast of Kiev, on the night of February 23, according to a report Monday on the news site timenews.in.ua.
…
A spokesperson for the Zhovtneviy District where the synagogue is located said no one was hurt in the attack and that police were searching for suspects. Officers found the neck of a glass bottle which was used as a Molotov cocktail, according to the Central Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The key quote here is “Zaporizhia, located 250 miles southeast of Kiev.” While elements of the Ukranian opposition, in particular the “Right Sector” and Svoboda, have been criticized for hardline nationalist stances, their primary focus right now is on Russia and Yanukovych. Much of the rhetoric about anti-Jewish violence or extremism of late has come from Yanukovych’s supporters and the Russian media (take the example we translated earlier today). Are there extremists who are also in the anti-Yanukovych camp? We clearly know that there are. We also know that there have been isolated cases of violence against Jews, though the motivation for some of those attacks has never been clearly identified. But there are also some in the pro-Yanukovych camp who might be willing to do “minor damage” to a synagogue just to discredit the opposition.
Either way, each side will blame the other, further driving the fear and anger in both camps.
And if the Russian government has learned one thing from their strategy in Syria, it’s that if you keep screaming “sectarianism” when there is little or no sectarianism, eventually there will be plenty of real sectarianism to report.
Another example of this phenomenon in play:
People on Donetsk are being told Its anarchy in Lviv, Russian speakers daren’t walk outside & banks are being robbed. It’s not.
— Mike Lee (@AgronomyUkraine) February 24, 2014
1846 GMT: Remember how Russia used trade wars to help drive Yanukovych to ditch his plans to join the European Union, a decision that set this crisis off? Today, citing food safety concerns, Russia, Belarus, and the Customs Union has said that they may block or limit Ukrainian food imports. It begins.
1845 GMT: The mayor of Kharkiv, Mykhailo Dobkin, is being investigated for inciting separatism, but he has announced that he will run for President of Ukraine:
“Given the fact that the rights of Russian speaking people are suppressed, laws that pose a threat to those who do not take fascism and nationalism are adopted today and proceeding from the fact that one calls to destroy without trial many people who have view that differ from the opinion of the authorities, I made a decision to run for the presidency at the next election,” Dobkin told journalists in Kharkiv on Monday.
“This is a final decision,” he said.
The interim government has scheduled the election of May 25, 2014.
1750 GMT: A well-connected journalist reports:
Над російською базою в Криму патрулює український МіГ і не дає вилетіти Януковичу
— Kashin⚓Kashin⚓Kashin (@KSHN) February 24, 2014
The tweet says that a Ukranian MiG is patrolling the skies above the Russian bases in Crimea to ensure that Yanukovych does not fly out of the country.
1737 GMT: Another sign of what is happening in Sevastopol, where pro-Russian crowds are gathered:
Leaflet calling Sevastopol residents to sign up for militia says the “blue brown Europlague is knocking” pic.twitter.com/jtscHRRxEq
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) February 24, 2014
1720 GMT: Russian Prime Minister says what has happened in Kiev is an “armed mutiny” and says that there is no one in power in Ukraine right now whom Russia can even talk to. Hear some of the comments on the BBC.
1712 GMT: We’ve been following developments in Sevastopol, in the Crimea region of Ukraine, the site of a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea. A large pro-Russian anti-Euromaidan rally has been held outside government offices in the city. The crowd is now increasingly agitated:
The thing is, the man the crowd wants as the mayor of Sevastopol is a Russian citizen. Town council apparently refusing to vote for him.
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
“Russian mayor for a Russian city,” the crowd yells. “Russia, Russia!”
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
The crowd has now blocked Sevastopol’s main street: pic.twitter.com/mOPCKF03ku
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
Russian flags planted on Sevastopol’s town council building: pic.twitter.com/B2IGC85Rb5
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
It’s announced that Russia’s Channel One is showing the protest live. Crowd goes wild.
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
1705 GMT: We have translated an editorial that was published on February 19th, 2014, in the midst of the growing crisis in Ukraine (See The Interpreter’s liveblog from February 19 for additional context). It was published by the pro-Kremlin Izvestia. Note that the violent actions of the Ukrainian government, or the actions of the Russian government, are absent. Also note the call for regionalization of Ukraine should the crisis continue, a move that would expand Russian influence in the East.
Read the translation here: An Indulgence for Extremism in Ukraine: How Pro-Kremlin Media Views Euromaidan
Pro-Russian activists rally in Sevastopal, Crimea, February 23, 2014 | REUTERS/Stringer
1631 GMT: The Russian Foreign Ministry tweets more combative language, mirroring statements they have just published (jump to update 1602). Below are a few:
#Russia urges those who are involved in the crisis in #Ukraine to show maximum restraint and prevent the deterioration of the situation,
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
We must note that certain Western partners are guided by unilateral geopolitical goals. #Ukraine
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
There are no principled assessments on extremists’ actions, including the neo-Nazi and anti-Semitist manifestations. #Ukraine
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
We believe that the agreement of Feb. 21 is used as a cover to promote coercive scenarios in #Ukraine
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
We are sure that the interests of deputies of eastern and southern regions of #Ukraine, #Crimea and #Sevastopol should be met
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
We voice concern about legitimate actions taken by the Verkhovna Rada. #Ukraine
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
Referring to ‘revolutionary expediency’,parliament ‘prints’ resolutions and laws aimed at infringing upon humanitarian rights of Russians
— MFA Russia (@mfa_russia) February 24, 2014
And Russian media continues to stoke the fires:
Rossia 24 just showed archive footage of burning #Euromaidan while Lavrov’s spokesman read out the #Ukraine statement …
— Nikolaus von Twickel (@niktwick) February 24, 2014
1621 GMT: Russia has reportedly moved troops near the border, according to statements just coming from Ukraine’s Interior Minister.
Interior Minister on Russian troops moving in Crimea: “they showed some activity,but now they’re back on the base” pic.twitter.com/6DHGdfiXtv
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 24, 2014
1608 GMT: Another urgent update from Sevastopol:
A car tried to leave the building under siege by pro-Russian protesters, and the mob stormed in: pic.twitter.com/ngo6lgTfs0
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
1602 GMT: Here is the official statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry on Ukraine (Russian). Here’s some key points:
- They describe the situation as the cities of Ukraine fighting against, “militant thugs, militants of the ultra-nationalist organizations,” who are clashing with police.
- The EU partners witnessed and endorsed a deal, inked between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition political leaders, and the opposition has not satisfied the requirements of this agreement.
- Militants have not been disarmed and have refused to leave government buildings.
- They accuse the Rada of being an illegitimate body that has passed laws that are aimed at “infringing human rights of Russian and other national minorities living in Ukraine.”
- The opposition has called for a ban on the Russian language and has proposed removing restrictions on the promotion of neo-Nazi ideology.
- The opposition has used “dictatorial and sometimes terrorist methods to suppress dissent in the various regions of Ukraine.”
- The opposition has threatened Orthodox shrines and monuments to Soviet leaders.
- The west does not care about these complaints.
1552 GMT: More news from the Rada, which is busy filling government positions in order to replace the old administration:
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko becomes #Ukraine Security Service chief (SBU chief under Yushchenko) #Euromaidan #Євромайдан pic.twitter.com/HmKezosZp4
— Ukrainian Updates (@Ukroblogger) February 24, 2014
1547 GMT: Russia’s Pravda.Ru reports that two Ukrainians were injured defending a Lenin statue from protesters in Odessa:
At night of February 23, a large number of local residents gathered on Strebko Square. The people came to defend the monument to Vladimir Lenin from the opposition.
At about two o’clock in the morning, a conflict sparked between two residents. A man, born in 1978, fired a traumatic weapon at two other residents. Both victims were taken to hospital.
1544 GMT: Russia is talking tough on Ukraine today after having pulled its ambassador. The BBC reports:
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine’s opposition “had in effect seized power in Kiev, refused to disarm and continued to place its bets on violence”.
He accused them of deviating from a political deal they signed with Mr Yanukovych on Friday, which aimed to end the protests after a week in which dozens of people were killed.
Russia said late on Sunday that it had recalled its ambassador to Ukraine, Mikhail Zurabov, for consultations.
Now new statements are even harsher. RT.com, the Russian-state propaganda/news outlet, has this report on the new language coming from the Russian Foreign Ministry, slamming the “dictatorial” policies of the new interim government, which neither Russia nor the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych recognize:
“The position of some of our Western partners doesn’t show genuine concern, but a desire to act out of geopolitical self-interest,” said a statement on the Russian foreign ministry’s website.
“There is no condemnation of criminal actions by extremists, including manifestations or neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism. In fact, these are being encouraged.”
The statement went on to say that “outside sponsors” are advancing a “regime change” in the country, without a desire to find “national consensus.”
1533 GMT: Gazeta.ru reports that Viktor Yanukovych may be in Sevastopol, trying to make his way to Russia. The report cites UNIAN.net and local sources.
1514 GMT: More news from Sevastopol, where large crowds of pro-Russian anti-Euromaidan protesters are gathered:
Angry mob in Sevastopol wants to install pro-Russian mayor. Close to storming administration: pic.twitter.com/8JHKYeedQB
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
Mob is clamouring for police to close off Sevastopol. “Who are the police with?” they yell.
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
The mob wants the police chief to declare his loyalty to new pro-Russian mayor ‘chosen’ by crowd yesterday. He’s getting booed & whistled
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
Police chief promises not to carry out any “illegal” orders from Kiev. He’s walking a tightrope.
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
Another view of the pro-Russian mob in Sevastopol threatening the town’s administration: pic.twitter.com/QXiDa6cCMD
— Howard Amos (@howardamos) February 24, 2014
1447 GMT: Some of the most disturbing videos to come out of this crisis showed government snipers shooting and killing dozens of unarmed civilians in rapid succession. Amnesty International personnel on scene spoke to doctors who treated the casualties, and they agreed that the head, and other major “kill zones” were targeted specifically by the snipers. Police snipers are typically trained to disarm and disable potential threats, so did the Interior Ministry deploy special forces units with orders to kill as many protesters as they could?
The evidence is gathering that indicates this theory might be right. Ares, or Armed Research Services, has been pouring over the evidence. In their recent report, they say that sniper rifles spotted in use in Ukraine last week were specific weapons that were only given to Interior Ministry special forces:
The Ukrainian copies are produced under license by Tactical Systems Ltd (TS). According to B&T, the license for the entire APR range (four models) as well as other B&T products was approved by the Swiss licensing body, SECO, in 2009. The TS rifles are known as the TS 308 and TS 338, and are produced in Ukraine and branded with the TS logo. B&T told us there may also be “some technical differences”. According to Konstantin Khurshudian, director of Tactical Systems, TS series rifles were sold to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for use by special security forces during the 2012 UEFA European Championship. Thus far, Ministry of Internal Affairs forces are the only users.
Assuming the new government does not collapse, this report could be used in criminal proceedings against the officials who ordered this violence. The whole report can be read here.
1434 GMT: Will Ukraine be able to pull together as one country? Will pro-Yanukovych elements want to stage their own violent counter-revolution? Will pro-Russian elements in the east seek to split the country?
Remember there’s no reliable polling data, or any way to scientifically approach an answer to that question right now. All we can know if what happens on the streets, and the data is mixed, but there are worrying signs that increasingly people on both sides of this conflict see it as an east-vs-west, Europe-vs-Russia struggle. For instance, take this rally today in Sevastopol, where Russia operates a naval base on the Black Sea.
Crowd of pro Russia activists at Sevastopol city administration chanting “We won’t surrender Sevastopol!” pic.twitter.com/NeILm9uYxp
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) February 24, 2014
Shocking video of huge demo in Sevastopol w/ Russian flags, burning of Ukrainian flag. Insanity. Is this a secession? http://t.co/3DJAGA9POZ
— Maxim Eristavi (@MaximEristavi) February 23, 2014
Meanwhile, Euromaidan crowds have taken a very different attitude. Take, for instance, this website which is tracking areas where Lenin statues have been toppled:
And a reminder that there is no clearn break in public opinion in east or west Ukraine. This is in Kharkiv, where pro-Yanukovych elements were rallying this past weekend, and where the deposed president was, at one point at least, reportedly hiding:
In Kharkiv, #Ukraine, Lenin out; Lennon in. pic.twitter.com/TOZuTfUdqS via @EvgenyFeldman
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) February 24, 2014
This was Odessa yesterday:
Anti-maidan militants assembling in Odessa RT“@rozhko_er: Одесса. К галицко-волынским гостям готовы. pic.twitter.com/FXdfzsQRqR”
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) February 23, 2014
And this reportedly shows a rally in Odessa today against the new government in Kiev (note that not only are some symbols Russia, they are specifically Soviet):
#Ukraine – A woman in Odessa makes clear what she thinks about Klitchko, the US and the EU (‘off you go’) pic.twitter.com/Dp3C1v5n69
— Hans de Vreij (@hdevreij) February 24, 2014
And yet for months Lenin statues have been destroyed in Odessa. This one reportedly went down in the last few days:
В Одесской области упал вообще весь. pic.twitter.com/d6bk4i73hA
— ЄВРОМАЙДАН (@euromaidan) February 24, 2014
Tensions are clearly rising today once again, but this time it is the anti-revolutionaries who are taking to the streets in places.
1404 GMT: Great news for the Ukrainian economy – its stocks have rallied significantly. Market Watch reports:
Stocks in Ukraine rallied, with the UX Index up more than 10%, according to the Ukrainian Exchange website… Ukraine’s finance ministry said Monday that it will seek a loan from the U.S. and Poland within the next two weeks and that it needs to raise around $35 billion by the end of 2015.
Trading was temporarily halted because the index was rising so quickly. As a result, the stocks have bounced lower for a time, but are again rising and are much improved over last week’s performance:
@euromaidan Here is an updated view. #Євромайдан #Евромайдан #Euromaidan http://t.co/mBUe71YMpA
— Josef (@radetzky_march) February 24, 2014
1345 GMT: The country is now focused on a few fronts — the interim government is working to ensure that the ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, does not create more problems. The worry is that separatist elements in the east will seek to join Russia, or that pro-Yanukovych elements will try to restore the former president to power. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian economy was in shambles before this mess and has only gotten worse during this crisis. And more documents are coming to light that may be evidence in the future trials of former officials.
The people in the streets are still somewhat shocked and dazed by the events. And, as has been the case since the bloodshed started, the, the dead are still being remembered:
#Євромайдан #Евромайдан #Euromaidan pic.twitter.com/fFWsZrDcuu
— ЄВРОМАЙДАН (@euromaidan) February 23, 2014
The writing reads, “Glory to the heroes – eternal memory.”