Ukraina valde Ryssland före EU - stora protester som följd, länkar i inlägg2

According to civil rights groups, however, the Kremlin's account of anti-Russian persecution is a dark fairytale – "entirely fictional", as one put it. It is, they say, a made-up scenario scripted in Moscow for state TV, and now played out on the ground by pro-Russian activists and bussed-in professionals. Russian propaganda has been extremely effective, they add. Many trust Russian state TV rather than what they see on the streets, which are strikingly bereft of fascists.

"There's no discrimination against Russian-speakers actually," Yevgeny Zakharov, from Kharkiv's human rights protection group, said earlier this week. Zakharov said support for the idea of Kharkiv following Crimea and joining Russia was low – 15% according to the latest survey. He believes last week's bloody shoot-out was deliberately provoked. "This [Kremlin] campaign is being conducted very aggressively. The idea is to give the false impression that Russians are being humiliated and Kharkiv wants union with Russia," he said.

Kharkiv is Ukraine's second biggest city. It is home to more than 1.5 million. Between 1917 and 1934 it was the capital of Soviet Ukraine. With its vast cobbled square, sweeping neo-classical Stalinist architecture, and tank and aviation works, Kharkiv has something of the feel of a communist theme park. But it is also a cosmopolitan centre of learning. It has a universityand thousands of students, including some from western Ukraine. There is a towering cathedral, now used as a concert hall, and an oligarchic hotel.

SBU: 2 groups of professional provocateurs in Luhansk Oblast

Thursday, March 20, 2014, 11:08

The Security Service of Ukraine detained three men suspected of creating subversive groups in Luhansk Oblast, the press service of the SSU reports. In particular, the leader of the group, a former police colonel, was detained. "Five professionally furnished safe apartments to accommodate subversive groups were detected," the SSU reported in a statement.

During a search of the premises detailed instructions on the destabilization of the situation in the country, capturing governmental buildings and the breakdown of Ukraine's presidential election in May this year were discovered. Also, rifled firearms, shooting instructions, lists of the groups’ participants and money were removed.

"The attackers committed socially dangerous actions, provoked fights with the militia, and terrorized local activists. Our data including the detainees’ testimonies indicate that the oblast had two trained subversive groups," the statement read.

As part of the criminal proceedings initiated under Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (establishment of a terrorist group), the Security Service of Ukraine is identifying all members of the subversive groups and is taking measures to detain them.

The original news in Ukrainian is on the Ukrayinska Pravda website:

President Barack Obama has extended financial sanctions against Russia to include wealthy supporters of Vladimir Putin and a bank said to be close to the Kremlin, in a bid to deter further aggression against Ukraine.

Amid growing pressure for a tougher US response, the White House also issued a new executive order authorising a wider economic blockade against key Russian industries if the situation escalates.

“We have continued to be deeply concerned by events in Ukraine,” said Obama. “We have seen a illegal referendum in Crimea, an illegitimate move by the Russians to annex Crimea and dangerous risks of escalation.”

“Because of these choices the US is today moving to impose additional costs on Russia. We’re imposing sanctions against more senior officials of the Russian government and in addition we are sanctioning a number of other individuals with substantial resources and influence.”

I was dining at Scott’s with a clever and charming Ukrainian businessman, interested in my new media business venture. We were joined by his effervescent boss, Lada Firtash. Lada has quickly become a very dear friend. She is also a sharp businesswoman in her own right. She should not be defined by who she is married to, any more than I ever wanted to be judged by my now ex-husband, Niall Ferguson.

However, as we sat eating oysters and sipping champagne, I lived a little walk-on part of the events unfolding in Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Dmitry Firtash is the husband of Lada. His Wikipedia entry says that he “has become one of the leading investors in the power sector and chemical industry in central and eastern Europe. His . . . companies are present in Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Tajikistan, Switzerland, Hungary, Austria and Estonia.”

Ukrainian industrialist Dmytro Firtash has posted 125 million euros ($174 million) in bail and is being held in Austria for possible extradition to the United States while authorities check the origins of the money, a Vienna court said on Thursday.

One of Ukraine's most influential oligarchs, Firtash, 48, was arrested in Vienna on March 12 at the request of U.S. authorities, which have been investigating him since 2006 for suspected corruption.

The court said the money had been transferred on Wednesday. The bank handling the account had reported the funds to federal money-laundering investigators, who would check where the money came from. "For this reason (Firtash) has not been released from custody," it said in a statement.

The Federal Criminal Bureau said it was looking into the matter and could not say how long the review might last.