This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/world/europe/ukraine-expels-russian-naval-attache.html
The article has changed 14 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 12 | Version 13 |
|---|---|
| Putin Demands That Ukraine Pull Its Troops From Southeast | Putin Demands That Ukraine Pull Its Troops From Southeast |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Thursday that Ukraine must remove its military from the southeastern region of the country to resolve the showdown there with pro-Russian militants who have seized several official buildings, the Kremlin said. | MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia told Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Thursday that Ukraine must remove its military from the southeastern region of the country to resolve the showdown there with pro-Russian militants who have seized several official buildings, the Kremlin said. |
| “Putin emphasized that it was imperative today to withdraw all military units from the southeastern regions, stop the violence and immediately launch a broad national dialogue as part of the constitutional reform process involving all regions and political forces,” the Russian government said in a statement. | “Putin emphasized that it was imperative today to withdraw all military units from the southeastern regions, stop the violence and immediately launch a broad national dialogue as part of the constitutional reform process involving all regions and political forces,” the Russian government said in a statement. |
| Early Friday, separatist forces in Slovyansk reported that the city was attacked by Ukrainian government forces. A separatist commander reported that a Ukrainian military helicopter had been shot down on the southern side of the city and that a checkpoint had been attacked. | Early Friday, separatist forces in Slovyansk reported that the city was attacked by Ukrainian government forces. A separatist commander reported that a Ukrainian military helicopter had been shot down on the southern side of the city and that a checkpoint had been attacked. |
| The commander also said that his forces had sustained casualties. His account could not immediately be confirmed. Church bells rang in the center of Slovyansk on Friday morning, but otherwise it was quiet. | The commander also said that his forces had sustained casualties. His account could not immediately be confirmed. Church bells rang in the center of Slovyansk on Friday morning, but otherwise it was quiet. |
| Russia had repeatedly accused Ukraine of escalating the situation, saying the government in Kiev has deployed 11,000 soldiers in the region. The acting Ukrainian president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, said Wednesday that the security services had lost control of the region to armed separatists who had seized government buildings in about a dozen towns. | Russia had repeatedly accused Ukraine of escalating the situation, saying the government in Kiev has deployed 11,000 soldiers in the region. The acting Ukrainian president, Oleksandr V. Turchynov, said Wednesday that the security services had lost control of the region to armed separatists who had seized government buildings in about a dozen towns. |
| On Thursday, Mr. Turchynov issued a decree reinstating military conscription, saying men 18 and older who had not turned 25 would be drafted. The decree, which is unlikely to have any immediate effect on Kiev’s efforts to bolster security, said the move was intended to halt the deterioration of public order, prevent the seizure of more state buildings and maintain the armed forces — estimated nationally to total no more than 70,000 men — in “the highest state of readiness for combat.” It did not specify the length of service. | On Thursday, Mr. Turchynov issued a decree reinstating military conscription, saying men 18 and older who had not turned 25 would be drafted. The decree, which is unlikely to have any immediate effect on Kiev’s efforts to bolster security, said the move was intended to halt the deterioration of public order, prevent the seizure of more state buildings and maintain the armed forces — estimated nationally to total no more than 70,000 men — in “the highest state of readiness for combat.” It did not specify the length of service. |
| Christiane Wirtz, a spokeswoman for the German chancellor, did not address Mr. Putin’s comments, but she said Ms. Merkel had urged him to intervene in the case of seven military monitors, including four German soldiers, affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who are being held hostage by a separatist mayor in the pro-Russian stronghold of Slovyansk. | Christiane Wirtz, a spokeswoman for the German chancellor, did not address Mr. Putin’s comments, but she said Ms. Merkel had urged him to intervene in the case of seven military monitors, including four German soldiers, affiliated with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe who are being held hostage by a separatist mayor in the pro-Russian stronghold of Slovyansk. |
| “The chancellor reminded President Putin of Russia’s responsibility as a member of the O.S.C.E. and called on the president to use his influence,” Ms. Wirtz said in a statement. The conversation was initiated by Ms. Merkel, the Kremlin said. | “The chancellor reminded President Putin of Russia’s responsibility as a member of the O.S.C.E. and called on the president to use his influence,” Ms. Wirtz said in a statement. The conversation was initiated by Ms. Merkel, the Kremlin said. |
| In a report from the Russian news agency Interfax, the pro-Russian movement in Slovyansk said it had freed two of three captured members of the Ukrainian security services in exchange for the release of an unspecified number of its own activists. The report could not be confirmed by independent sources. In a video posted online this week, the three men were shown beaten and bloodied wearing nothing more than their shirts and underwear, with blood oozing from behind the duct tape covering their eyes. | In a report from the Russian news agency Interfax, the pro-Russian movement in Slovyansk said it had freed two of three captured members of the Ukrainian security services in exchange for the release of an unspecified number of its own activists. The report could not be confirmed by independent sources. In a video posted online this week, the three men were shown beaten and bloodied wearing nothing more than their shirts and underwear, with blood oozing from behind the duct tape covering their eyes. |
| In a sign of the continuing insecurity in the southeast, the Ukrainian National Information Agency said pro-Russian militants seized a police station and the state prosecutor’s office in Donetsk on Thursday. The Ukrainian flag on the prosecutor’s office was hauled down and burned as several hundred people waving Russian and even Soviet flags gathered nearby, the agency reported. | In a sign of the continuing insecurity in the southeast, the Ukrainian National Information Agency said pro-Russian militants seized a police station and the state prosecutor’s office in Donetsk on Thursday. The Ukrainian flag on the prosecutor’s office was hauled down and burned as several hundred people waving Russian and even Soviet flags gathered nearby, the agency reported. |
| Russia and the separatists have denied that they are working together, and Mr. Putin has said there are no Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. He made similar claims during the annexation of Crimea, however, and then later acknowledged the existence of a Russian operation. | Russia and the separatists have denied that they are working together, and Mr. Putin has said there are no Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. He made similar claims during the annexation of Crimea, however, and then later acknowledged the existence of a Russian operation. |
| The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sought to pressure Kiev, issuing not one but two statements on the same day. | The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sought to pressure Kiev, issuing not one but two statements on the same day. |
| The first condemned Ukraine for scheduling a presidential election and a referendum on decentralization for May 25 while military operations continued in the east. The second said Moscow was “extremely concerned” about news reports that the Ukrainian government intended to use its military in a special operation in the southeast. It said Kiev should “not commit criminal mistakes” and “soberly assess the gravity of the possible consequences of using force against the Ukrainian people.” | The first condemned Ukraine for scheduling a presidential election and a referendum on decentralization for May 25 while military operations continued in the east. The second said Moscow was “extremely concerned” about news reports that the Ukrainian government intended to use its military in a special operation in the southeast. It said Kiev should “not commit criminal mistakes” and “soberly assess the gravity of the possible consequences of using force against the Ukrainian people.” |
| Details of the conversation between Mr. Putin and Ms. Merkel emerged shortly after Russian news agencies reported the start of what were described as training maneuvers by a newly formed Russian attack helicopter unit near the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia. The deployment could crank up tensions with NATO, which has stationed extra fighter jets to reassure jittery former Soviet republics that worry about Russia’s ambitions. | Details of the conversation between Mr. Putin and Ms. Merkel emerged shortly after Russian news agencies reported the start of what were described as training maneuvers by a newly formed Russian attack helicopter unit near the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia. The deployment could crank up tensions with NATO, which has stationed extra fighter jets to reassure jittery former Soviet republics that worry about Russia’s ambitions. |
| Thursday was May Day, and in Moscow tens of thousands of people gathered in Red Square to mark the celebration of workers. News announcers crowed that it was the first time the celebration had been held in the square since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, after which the Kremlin studiously kept any activity with political overtones out of there. The day is still a main event for labor unions and the Communist Party. | Thursday was May Day, and in Moscow tens of thousands of people gathered in Red Square to mark the celebration of workers. News announcers crowed that it was the first time the celebration had been held in the square since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, after which the Kremlin studiously kept any activity with political overtones out of there. The day is still a main event for labor unions and the Communist Party. |
| The return to the square fit neatly with President Putin’s concerted attempts to burnish the Soviet past, and the speakers and many marchers lauded the annexation of Crimea in March. The bigger annual celebration, with a thundering military parade and a speech by Mr. Putin, has been moved to May 9, Victory Day, which this year is the 69th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. | |
| The interim authorities in Kiev were reported on Thursday to have ordered the expulsion of a naval attaché at Moscow’s embassy, accusing him of “activities incompatible with diplomatic status,” a term that normally denotes espionage, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. | The interim authorities in Kiev were reported on Thursday to have ordered the expulsion of a naval attaché at Moscow’s embassy, accusing him of “activities incompatible with diplomatic status,” a term that normally denotes espionage, according to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. |
| There was no immediate response from Russia to the Ukrainian move. | There was no immediate response from Russia to the Ukrainian move. |