Press Reports: Yanukovich resigned, Timoshenko is free!

СМИ: Тимошенко вышла на свободу

Saturday February 22nd, 2014 at 9:24 AM

MIGnews.Com.Ua

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Только что появилась информация о том, что экс-премьер-министр Юлия Тимошенко якобы вышла из колонии.



» Юлия Тимошенко вышла на свободу - СМИ
22/02/14 08:31 from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ
Сообщается, что после принятия Радой постановления об освобождении, экс-премьер вышла на свободу

» Юле дали волю. Тимошенко освобождена из тюрьмы
22/02/14 08:49 from Субъективные новости
Парламент Украины принял постановление, позволяющее освободить от уголовного наказания экс-премьера страны Юлию Тимошенко. Юлия Тимошенко в субботу была освобождена из тюрьмы, сообщает агентство Ассошиэйтед Пресс со ссылкой на пресс-секр...

» Кириленко заявляет, что Янукович подал в отставку 
22/02/14 08:42 from ПОДРОБНОСТИ: Все новости
Народный депутат фракции "Батькiвщина" заявляет, что президент Украины Виктор Янукович подал в отставку. "Я думаю, что сейчас уже официально объявят вам всем, что Янукович подал в отставку, а Юлия Тимошенко на воле", - сказал он в эфире ...

» Катеринчук: О своей отставке Янукович сказал Яценюку
22/02/14 09:20 from MIGnews.com.ua
На брифинге в Верховной Раде Украины народный депутат Николай Катеринчук прокомментировал информацию об отставке Президента Виктора Януковича.

» Виктор Янукович подал в отставку - депутат Деревянко
22/02/14 09:16 from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ
Народный депутат от Партии регионов Анна Герман информацию об отставке президента опровергает

» Герман опровергла отставку Януковича
22/02/14 09:00 from СЕГОДНЯ | Самые актуальные новости, мнения, комментарии
Советник президента назвала данную информацию "спекуляциями"

» Юлия Тимошенко пока находится в больнице
22/02/14 09:00 from СЕГОДНЯ | Самые актуальные новости, мнения, комментарии
Освобождения Тимошенко ждут около 50 ее сторонников 

» Роскошь президентской резиденции Межигорье: фоторепортаж
22/02/14 09:00 from Новости Украины 24 часа в сутки : ЛІГАБізнесІнформ
Вчера или минувшей ночью резиденцию покинули президент Янукович и другие ее обитатели и обслуживающий персонал. На объект проходят все желающие

BBC News - Ukraine crisis: President's Kiev offices abandoned

Saturday February 22nd, 2014 at 7:28 AM

BBC News - Europe

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22 February 2014 Last updated at 06:19 ET

Oleg Boldyrev reports from inside the presidential complex

Ukrainian protesters have been able to enter the president's official and residential buildings in Kiev, after they were abandoned by police.

They have not gone into the offices themselves - stationing their own guards outside entrances. Police say they support the people.

President Viktor Yanukovych's aides say he is in Kharkhiv, close to Russia.

They have called for elections before 25 May, not the end of December as envisaged in Friday's peace deal.

Continue reading the main story

BBC correspondents in Ukraine

Kevin Bishop‏@bishopkbishop: "We do not know where president is" opposition spokesman at presidency.

Kevin Bishop ‏@bishopk: Self defence "We are holding outside of building. There are no workers of presidency inside"

Continue reading the main story

Duncan Crawford@_DuncanC: Lines of protesters - all in hard helmets, some of them armed with sticks - now guard the road outside the president's office.

This is where President Yanukovych and his staff normally work. All the doors are locked. There are a few security guards. Relaxed, smiling but not jubilant, protesters here say they want to restore order and avoid provocation, to bring life back to normal.

Continue reading the main story

Daniel Sandford ‏@BBCDanielS: Parliament are discussing @Yatsenyuk_AP as potential interim Prime Minister

Daniel Sandford ‏@BBCDanielS: I will now issue my usual warning. Speculation won't help today. We only know we haven't seen Yanukovich. It does not mean he has fled

Despite the EU-mediated agreement, thousands of people have remained on the streets of Kiev.

As parliament met on Saturday morning, its speaker Volodymyr Rybak resigned, citing ill health.

He has been replaced by Oleksandr Turchynov, an ally of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Vitaly Klitschko, leader of the opposition Udar party, told MPs: "We must, as the people demand, adopt a resolution calling on Yanukovych to immediately resign."

Presidential aide Hanna Herman said Mr Yanukovych had travelled to Kharkiv in the east, close to the Russian border, from where he was to give a televised address.

A gathering of deputies from the south-east and Crimea - traditionally Russian-leaning areas - is taking place there, but Ms Herman said the president had "no intention" of attending.

"As much as some people want it, he has no intention to leave the country," she said.

'He's not here'

The protests first erupted in late November when Mr Yanukovych rejected a landmark association and trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

On Thursday, police opened fire on protesters who have been occupying Independence Square in central Kiev. The health ministry said 77 people - both protesters and police - have been killed since Tuesday.

For a second day, funerals are being held in the square.

The parliament building was guarded by protesters on Saturday morning

Opposition guards showed BBC correspondents around the inside of the presidential compound

One group of protesters has been driving around Independence Square in a military vehicle

Our correspondent says there is no sign of security forces inside the previously heavily guarded presidential complex and that journalists and protesters were able to enter freely.

"He's not here, none of his officials or anyone linked directly to the administration are here," said Ostap Kryvdyk, a protest leader, referring to the president.

The protesters said they were protecting the buildings from looting and vandalism.

Correspondents say police appear to have abandoned posts across the city, while the numbers gathered in Independence Square - known as the Maidan - are growing.

In a statement, the interior ministry said the police force was "at the service of the people and completely shares its aspirations for rapid changes".

"We pay homage to the dead," it added.

Thousands of anti-government protesters gathered in Independence Square

The political pact was signed on Friday by President Yanukovych and opposition leaders after mediation by EU foreign ministers.

It says a unity government will be formed and elections held by the end of the year, but the opposition say this is not soon enough.

The deal has been met with scepticism by some of the thousands of protesters who remain in the square. Opposition leaders who signed it were booed and called traitors.

The agreement, published by the German foreign ministry, includes the following:

• The 2004 constitution will be restored within 48 hours and a national unity government will be formed within 10 days
• Constitutional reform balancing the powers of president, government and parliament will be started immediately and completed by September
• A presidential election will be held after the new constitution is adopted but no later than December 2014, and new electoral laws will be passed
• An investigation into recent acts of violence will be conducted under joint monitoring from the authorities, the opposition and the Council of Europe
• The authorities will not impose a state of emergency and both the authorities and the opposition will refrain from the use of violence
• Both parties will undertake serious efforts for the normalisation of life in the cities and villages by withdrawing from administrative and public buildings and unblocking streets, city parks and squares
• Illegal weapons will be handed over to interior ministry bodies

The US and Russian presidents have agreed that the deal needs to be swiftly implemented, officials say.

Continue reading the main story

Ukraine's main opposition figures

• Vitaly Klitschko - former boxer who leads the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms (or Udar, meaning "Punch"). Previously rejected offer of deputy PM's role
• Oleh Tyahnybok - leader of the far-right Svoboda (Freedom) party
• Arseniy Yatsenyuk - leader of Fatherland, Ukraine's second-largest party. Previously ran for president and has turned down offer of prime minister's role
• Yulia Tymoshenko - former leader of Fatherland, in jail for abuse of power in what her allies say was an attempt to silence her

Russia's Vladimir Putin told Barack Obama in a telephone conversation on Friday that Russia wants to be part of the implementation process, a US State Department spokesperson said.

Shortly after the deal was signed, Ukraine's parliament approved the restoration of the 2004 constitution, which reduces the powers of the president.

All but one of the 387 MPs present voting in favour, including dozens of MPs from Mr Yanukovych's own Party of Regions.

Parliament also approved an amnesty for protesters accused of involvement in violence, and for a change in the law which could lead to the release for Mrs Tymoshenko.

Send your pictures and videos to <a href="mailto:yourpics@bbc.co.uk">yourpics@bbc.co.uk</a> or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Barack Obama criticises Vladimir Putin over Ukraine and Syria crises – video

» Barack Obama criticises Vladimir Putin over Ukraine and Syria crises – video
20/02/14 05:37 from World news: World news + Video | guardian.co.uk
The US president says he and the Russian president disagree about the fundamental rights of those suffering violence in Ukraine and Syria

» Ukraine president agrees truce with opponents as U.S. imposes visa bans
19/02/14 22:58 from Reuters: International
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said he reached agreement with opposition leaders on a "truce" to halt fighting that has killed 26 people, even as the United States stepped up pressure by imposing travel bans on 20...


» U.S. Imposes Visa Ban on 20 Ukrainian Officials as Further Sanctions Are Threatened
19/02/14 18:57 from NYT > International
European Union officials, blaming Ukrainian leaders for the violence, will meet in emergency session on Thursday to consider penalties.

» Obama warns of ‘consequences’ in Ukraine as U.S. issues visa bans
19/02/14 18:04 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
President Obama warned of “consequences” Wednesday if Ukraine failed to restore calm after a day of violence in the capital, while the State Department announced that it would bar 20 senior members of the country’s government from travel...

» Kremlin's Blaming of Opposition Highlights Gulf
20/02/14 03:12 from WSJ.com: World News
The Kremlin denounced the escalation of violence in Kiev overnight but, unlike Western capitals, laid the blame on the Ukrainian opposition, highlighting the gulf in perceptions of the conflict.

» Violence in Ukraine Creates Deepening Clash Between East and West
19/02/14 22:22 from NYT > International
As Russia denounced what it called a coup by extremists, the United States and Europe threatened to impose sanctions on those responsibile for the violence — and each side accused the other of interference.

» U.S. Feels Putin's Sharp Elbows in Ukraine
20/02/14 03:01 from WSJ.com: World News
For the Obama administration, the fires burning in Ukraine represent a new international crisis, but one resulting from an all-too-familiar source of consternation: Vladimir Putin.

» Ukraine President Fires Army Chief as Deadly Standoff Grips Kyiv
19/02/14 18:22 from Voice of America
Ukraine's embattled president fired his army chief Wednesday, as thousands of opposition protesters manned barricades in central Kyiv and the military announced a nationwide crackdown on what it calls "extremist groups."The firing of Gen...

U.S. Feels Putin's Sharp Elbows in Ukraine - WSJ

U.S. Feels Putin's Sharp Elbows in Ukraine

Thursday February 20th, 2014 at 9:02 AM

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Feb. 19, 2014 7:32 p.m. ET

Why are people protesting in Ukraine? Why has the conflict turned deadly? What are the geopolitics of the conflict? WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.

For the Obama administration, the fires burning in Ukraine represent a new international crisis, but one resulting from an all-too-familiar source of consternation: Vladimir Putin.

In hot spots around the world, President Barack Obama repeatedly has encountered the sharp elbows of Mr. Putin: He has buttressed Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, offered a lifeline to Iran and embraced a controversial Egyptian commander as the country's future leader.

Mr. Putin gave asylum to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who has been leaking American surveillance secrets, and test-launched a new missile.

Similarly now in Ukraine, Washington is struggling to come to terms with the fact that Moscow under Mr. Putin is willing to spend a great deal to protect its interests and oppose U.S. goals. Mr. Putin pressured the Ukrainian government to abandon a free-trade deal with the European Union and forced President Viktor Yanukovych to choose aid from Russia over closer ties to the West.

Administration officials have defended their dealings with Mr. Putin, arguing that in some cases—such as international talks over the Syrian civil war and Iran's nuclear program—Russia's core interests have coincided at least partly with U.S. aims.

"American presidents, understandably for strategic reasons, want to forge a relationship with Russia that goes beyond Cold War paradigms," said Damon Wilson, a former Bush administration official now at the Atlantic Council, a think tank.

"But inevitably, they are dragged back to the reality that they are dealing with an interlocutor that isn't prepared to be a partner in that effort," Mr. Wilson said.

The realization that Moscow views the world in terms of "us or them" has been slow to dawn on the Obama administration, but is becoming more apparent to White House and national security officials, foreign-policy experts say.

The administration gave Moscow "every favorable interpretation, every benefit of the doubt" in its first years, said Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.

But Mr. Obama has begun to change.

"Even in the administration, they are beginning to understand this is not a question of Putin's mood," Mr. Aron said. "This is the geostrategic framework that Putin operates. This is how he understands re-establishing Russian greatness."

Rebuilding Russia's position on the world stage and its dominance in countries formerly part of the Soviet Union have been a key part of Mr. Putin's agenda. Despite U.S. insistence that geopolitics isn't a "them-or-us," zero-sum game, Mr. Putin has made it clear he doesn't agree.

"If you look at Russian foreign policy it is a negative agenda," said Mr. Wilson of the Atlantic Council.

"The issue is restoring Russian influence by checking American power," Mr. Wilson said.

Asked to comment on the relationship between Mr. Putin and Mr. Obama, Russian officials pointed to an interview Mr. Putin gave to Russian media and the Associated Press in September.

"President Obama was not elected by the American people to be pleasant to Russia, neither was your humble servant elected by the people of Russia to be pleasant to someone," Mr. Putin said in the interview.

"We work, we argue, we are humans, and sometimes someone can get irritated. But I would like to repeat myself: I believe that global common interests are a good foundation for finding solutions together," Mr. Putin said.

Obama administration officials reject the idea that Mr. Putin is gaining the upper hand, noting the problems faced by the governments of Syria and Ukraine—both allies of Moscow.

"Neither of those situations advance Russia's interests in any way," a senior administration official said. "If anything, these and other events demonstrate that people want democracy, they reject corruption, and they want individual opportunity and integration into the global economy."

Still, U.S. officials expressed dismay Wednesday that Moscow has operated in secret in Ukraine while accusing the U.S. of meddling there. "They have not been transparent about what they've been doing in the Ukraine," a senior State Department official said. "And we would completely reject that it is we who have been interfering."

The U.S. took its first concrete steps against 20 Ukrainian officials Wednesday by imposing visa bans.

However, U.S. options beyond diplomatic pressure are seen as strictly limited and some government officials caution against courses of action that may not resolve the crisis.

"All that does is make you look impotent," said another U.S. official. "What can you do that will really make a difference in what is going on there? I am not sure anyone has identified anything."

Since Mr. Putin resumed the Russian presidency in 2012, relations between the two nations have been tense.

That culminated in the summer with Mr. Obama's decision to back out of a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Putin during a trip to Russia. The two instead met on the sidelines of an international summit, a meeting that came at the height of the dispute over Mr. Snowden and as Mr. Obama prepared for possible military strikes on Syria.

Still, some experts believe Mr. Obama must get more directly involved.

"The president has to be willing to get involved, get his hands dirty and be willing to engage with Vladimir Putin, " said Andrew Kuchins, the director of the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Write to Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com and Carol E. Lee at carol.lee@wsj.com

Read the whole story

 

· · · ·

Cossacks Attack Pussy Riot Members

Thursday February 20th, 2014 at 8:32 AM

WSJ.Com: World News

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A group of Cossacks attacked members of the group Pussy Riot in Sochi as they began an anti-Kremlin display.

Pussy Riot criticize Russian Games in new video

Thursday February 20th, 2014 at 8:15 AM

Reuters: World News

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SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Members of the all-women protest group Pussy Riot released a new music video on Thursday criticizing Russia's staging of the Winter Olympics and its human rights record, in a rare show of dissent during the Games.