http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140303/russians-issue-ultimatum-ukrainian-soldiers-live-blog

Source: UK Telegraph

Ukraine crisis: EU gives Russia 48-hour deadline to return troops to barracks in Crimea

Poland has demanded an emergency meeting of Nato amid EU divisions over sanctions against Russia

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10674260/Ukraine-crisis-EU-gives-Russia-48-hour-deadline-to-return-troops-to-barracks-in-Crimea.html

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The ultimatum and 48-hour dealine will be conveyed to Russia by Baroness Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief, during talks in Madrid on Tuesday with Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister.

same link as above

Source: official AP twitter feed

BREAKING: Obama says Russia `on the wrong side if history' on Ukraine, actions violate international law.



Read more: https://twitter.com/AP/status/440567821807153152

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/03/ukraine-crisis-russia-control-crimea-live


Haaretz is in the White House with prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu and president Barack Obama. Obama has said that Russia’s steps in Ukraine are a violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty and said that he wants to see the Ukrainian people determining their own destiny, Reuters reports.

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Source: Wall Street Journal

RIGA, Latvia–Baltic countries are considering calling for a greater North Atlantic Treaty Organization presence in their countries “if the situation gets worse” in the Ukraine, Ojars Kalnins, the chairman of the foreign-affairs committee of the Latvian parliament, said Monday.

Mr. Kalnins said that a worsening of the Ukraine crisis “such as an outright invasion” of areas outside Crimea would present a threat to all of Russia’s neighbors, including the Baltic states–which are members of NATO. Such an expanded conflict should be reason for NATO to “bring extra military support to the Baltic region as a safeguard.”

Atis Lejins, a member of the Latvian parliament’s foreign-affairs committee, said increasing the number of NATO aircraft patrolling Baltic airspace could be one way to beef up NATO’s presence.

Currently a small, rotating contingent of fighter aircraft from NATO countries operates from a base in Lithuania. Mr. Lejins, a former U.S. Marine, said one example of a heightened presence was the U.S. Air Force Aviation Detachment (AV Det) program in Poland, which rotates fighter and transport units to bases in Poland.

Read more: http://stream.wsj.com/story/deadly-clashes-in-ukraine/SS-2-457850/

Source: UK Telegraph

Ukraine live: Putin says 'threat of ultranationalists' forced him to intervene

Vladimir Putin has spoken to Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and said that the "threat of violence from ultranationalists" forced him to intervene. In a sign of Putin's reach, Ukraine's head of navy has defected - and been charged with treason. All the latest news from Ukraine here

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10669670/Ukraine-live.html

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19.23 More detail from Putin's conversation with Merkel - the first comments we have had from him since the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych,

Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday that Russian citizens and Russian-speakers in Ukraine faced an "unflagging" threat from ultranationalists, and that the measures Moscow has taken were completely fitting given the "extraordinary situation", the Kremlin said.
In a telephone conversation during which Merkel expressed concern about developments in Ukraine, she and Putin agreed that Russia and Germany would continue consultations in bilateral and multilateral formats to seek the "normalisation" of the situation, a Kremlin statement said.

same link as above

Source: Reuters

BREAKING NEWS: Ukraine parliament calls for international monitors and for necessary aid to ensure the safety of its nuclear assets



red breaking banner, no other text, will update asap.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/

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10:41: Ukraine has called for the immediate despatch of an international fact-finding mission to Ukraine and Crimea, as well as assistance in protecting nuclear facilities. It is inviting the OSCE, the EU and others to hold meetings in Ukraine. It is also setting up a parliamentary negotiation group to reach out to Russian MPs

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26405082

Source: BBC

Ukraine announces it is calling up military reservists, following Russia's decision to allow deployment of troops

More to follow.

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26405635

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09:56: Ukraine is estimated to have around one million reservists. Its active military force counts some 160,000 personnel.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26405082

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Russian military servicemen have taken weapons from a radar base and naval training facility in Ukraine's Crimea region and urged personnel to side with the peninsula's "legitimate" leaders, Interfax news agency said on Sunday.

It quoted a Ukrainian Defense Ministry source as saying the Russian servicemen had taken pistols, rifles and ammunition cartridges from the radar post near in the town of Sudak and taken them away by car.

Another group of Russian military had also removed weapons from a Ukrainian navy training centre in the port city of Sevastopol, where Russia's Black Sea Fleet also has a base.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/02/us-urkaine-crisis-weapons-idUSBREA2103Z20140302

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10670554/Ukraine-interview-Britain-and-the-US-must-stand-up-for-Ukraines-sovereignty.html

Just over two decades ago, Leonid Kravchuk travelled to a state dacha in one of Europe’s largest forests to sign an agreement that buried the Soviet Union and allowed the birth of Ukraine.

But the man who served as its first independent president, between 1991 and 1994, is deeply worried about his creation. In the aftermath of the revolution, he fears that his country could simply dissolve, with the largely Russian-speaking Crimea breaking away.

“The danger is enormous,” he told The Sunday Telegraph, speaking before Russian forces proved him right by occupying key installations across Crimea on Friday.

“There is direct Russian interference in the political life of Crimea,” added Mr Kravchuk. “Russia is already considering a simplified procedure to offer Russian citizenship to Ukrainians, not only in Crimea but in other regions too. There are ideas to turn Ukraine into a federation. This is very dangerous.”

*much more at link*

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/01/us-ukraine-crisis-un-idUSBREA200VJ20140301

(Reuters) - Russia and Western nations on the U.N. Security Council accused each other of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs on Saturday as the United States called for the immediate deployment of international monitors to the former Soviet republic.

The hurling of accusations back and forth at the United Nations highlighted the deep gulf between Moscow on one side and the United States and Europe on the other when it comes to countries in what Russia considers its sphere of influence.

Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev asked the United States and other key members of the 15-nation council to help safeguard its territorial integrity after Russia announced plans to send armed forces into neighboring Ukraine.

But it was not immediately clear how they could do that given Russia's veto powers on the Security Council.