19:27
23.5.2014
Watching last Ukraine presidential debate, Tymoshenko seems exhausted. No one-on-one with Poroshenko, so no chance for elxn-changing moment.
— Mark MacKinnon (@markmackinnon) May 23, 2014
19:20
23.5.2014
Our news desk reports that the OSCE is worried about media freedom in Ukraine:
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has warned that journalists in Ukraine are under attack for doing their jobs, and urged law enforcement agencies to support and protect the media.
In a report released on May 23, the OSCE said it had documented nearly 300 cases of violence against members of the media in Ukraine since late November amid the escalating political crisis.
The violence included murder, assaults, kidnappings, threats, and acts of intimidation of journalists.
Dunja Mijatovic, representative for media freedom at the OSCE in a statement said she was "alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating conditions and climate for the media."
"The manipulation of the media and the information war we are experiencing has to stop. Failure to do so will fuel the conflict and contribute to an escalation of the crisis," Mijatovic said.
In a report released on May 23, the OSCE said it had documented nearly 300 cases of violence against members of the media in Ukraine since late November amid the escalating political crisis.
The violence included murder, assaults, kidnappings, threats, and acts of intimidation of journalists.
Dunja Mijatovic, representative for media freedom at the OSCE in a statement said she was "alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating conditions and climate for the media."
"The manipulation of the media and the information war we are experiencing has to stop. Failure to do so will fuel the conflict and contribute to an escalation of the crisis," Mijatovic said.
18:43
23.5.2014
RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service has been talking to a couple of (rather articulate) bears on the streets of Kyiv about Russia and the upcoming Ukrainian election:
18:19
23.5.2014
Taking last-gasp DRASTIC measures! RT @NatVasilyevaAP: Tymoshenko goes for a beehive? via @euromaidan pic.twitter.com/pao2kqG465
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) May 23, 2014
18:18
23.5.2014
Courtney Weaver from the FT Magazine has been checking out Crimea some two months after it's annexation:
On the ground, even the most diehard Russia supporters are being forced to reconcile their love for the motherland with unending bureaucratic miseries that seem plucked from the pages of Kafka or Gogol. On the motorway, billboards advertise remedial accounting courses for veteran book-keepers, who will now need to learn Russian accounting standards from scratch to continue practising. On the radio, law firms are recruiting new clients who need help obtaining their new Russian passports, re-registering their land or re-registering their companies. Business advocacy groups are holding daily seminars on everything from how to compete in state auctions to how to make your business comply with Russia’s environmental laws.
Read the entire article here
18:08
23.5.2014
If Donetsk was the Wire...Akhmetov obviously Stringer Bell, Gorlovka rebels rapidly emerging as Marlo's crew. Hmm, not sure this quite works
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) May 23, 2014
17:11
23.5.2014
Here's an interactive map RFE/RL has made of flashpoints in eastern Ukraine ahead of the presidential election (scroll over the red circles for more information):
17:04
23.5.2014
Tim Judah has written an interesting dispatch from east Ukraine, gauging the atmosphere in Slovyansk ahead of the May 25 presidential poll:
Just as the rebels say that the government and the people who support it are fascists, the government says that all the rebels are terrorists—and in fact neither is true. Between a few in government with an extreme right-wing past and a few in rebel territory who have used extreme violence to seize power, the vast majority of people in the east are simply downtrodden and trapped. Nothing good will come of this conflict for Viktoria, or the Ukrainian soldiers, or Sloviansk’s few hundred armed men. In Kiev, politicians flail, not really knowing what to do, all the while gearing up for Ukraine’s presidential election on May 25. For now that seems as if it might be taking place in another country. It may take months or years of conflict, however, for those in the east to find out if it is another country.
Read more here
16:39
23.5.2014
Catherine Ashton has also been talking about the presidential poll on Sunday:
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Ukraine's upcoming presidential election will be a major step toward reducing tensions in the country and restoring political stability.
In a statement issued by her office in Brussels today, Ashton also reiterated the EU's "strongest support to the holding of free, transparent and fair presidential elections on 25 May, allowing the Ukrainian people to choose their own future by peaceful and democratic means."
She added, "Election authorities must be allowed to conduct elections without hindrance throughout the country and domestic and international observers must be allowed to fully fulfil their function."
Ukraine is due to hold a nationwide election Sunday, May 25, but separatist seizures of some electoral commissions in eastern Ukraine have raised doubts about how fully voters in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will participate.
In a statement issued by her office in Brussels today, Ashton also reiterated the EU's "strongest support to the holding of free, transparent and fair presidential elections on 25 May, allowing the Ukrainian people to choose their own future by peaceful and democratic means."
She added, "Election authorities must be allowed to conduct elections without hindrance throughout the country and domestic and international observers must be allowed to fully fulfil their function."
Ukraine is due to hold a nationwide election Sunday, May 25, but separatist seizures of some electoral commissions in eastern Ukraine have raised doubts about how fully voters in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions will participate.
16:33
23.5.2014
Ukraine News One: Russian choppers test firepower on eve of #Ukraine election (VIDEO) http://t.co/aR2sMLkWSY
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) May 23, 2014