UN Assembly Declares Crimean Referendum Invalid

The 193-nation UN General Assembly passed Thursday a resolution declaring invalid Crimea's referendum that led to the region's reunification with Russia. The non-binding resolution, titled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine," was approved with 100 votes in favor, 11 against, and 58 abstentions. The document says the March 16 referendum "has no validity, and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea or of the City of Sevastopol." It also "calls upon all States to desist and refrain from actions aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including any attempts to modify Ukraine's borders through the threat or use of force or other unlawful means."

http://en.ria.ru/news/20140327/188814698/UN-Assembly-Declares-Crimean-Referendum-Invalid---Resolution.html

Moscow Slams Closure of Russian TV in Ukraine

A ruling by a Ukrainian court to suspend broadcasts of four Russian TV channels in Ukraine is an attack against human rights and media freedom, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday. The District Administrative Court in Kiev ruled to suspend broadcasts of Russia's Rossiya 24, Channel One, RTR Planeta, and NTV-World in Ukraine pending hearings on a permanent ban. "Undoubtedly, this should be viewed only as an infringement on democratic freedoms and as a violation of Ukraine's international obligations. Certainly, millions of [Russian-speaking] residents of this country have the right to watch [Russian] TV and have access to [other] Russian-language media," said Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian foreign ministry's point man on human rights.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140326/188762977/Moscow-Slams-Closure-of-Russian-TV-in-Ukraine.html

Ukrainian Ultranationalist Killed in Special Operation

Ukrainian ultranationalist Olexander Muzychko, put on an international wanted list for committing war atrocities in Russia's Chechnya, was gunned down overnight in an operation by Ukrainian special forces, a senior official in the country said Tuesday. Muzychko, also known as Sashko Bilyi, was located Monday near a cafe in the western Ukrainian city of Rovno in an operation launched by special forces to neutralize a suspected militant group. Muzychko, an activist in Ukraine’s radical Right Sector party and an active participant in earlier riots (street protests) in Kiev, attempted to escape through a window and opened fire on law enforcement, injuring one of the officers before being killed by return fire, according to First Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Yevdokimov. “Muzychko was shot in his leg, but he tried to return fire. Later when he was kicked down to the ground, he kept shooting and was injured. Doctors have confirmed Muzychko’s death,” Yevdokimov said, according to the Ukrainian UNIAN news agency. Three other suspected gunmen were detained during the operation. Earlier this month Muzychko accused the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office and police in a YouTube video of a plot to kill him or capture and hand him over to Russian special services. Muzychko was put on an international wanted list on suspicion of torturing and murdering at least 20 Russian servicemen in Chechnya in the early 2000s. He was arrested in absentia by a court in southern Russia earlier this month.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140325/188734855/Most-Wanted-Ukrainian-Ultranationalist-Killed-in-Special-Operation.html

Opposition Activist Navalny Loses House Arrest Appeal

The Moscow City Court upheld a lower court’s ruling Monday to place anti-corruption crusader and opposition stalwart Alexei Navalny under house arrest, RAPSI reported from the court room. Prosecutors argued that Navalny, charged with embezzlement, should be isolated after he violated a pledge to remain in Moscow as well as having participated in an unsanctioned protest in central Moscow, inciting chaos and resisting arrest. The Basmanny District Court in Moscow granted the motion in late February, putting Navalny under house arrest in connection with the embezzlement case. Under the court order Navalny is prohibited from using communication devices, including the Internet.

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20140324/188712711/Opposition-Activist-Navalny-Loses-House-Arrest-Appeal.html

G7 Warns Russia of Sanctions over Ukraine

Leaders of the Group of Seven economies have warned Moscow it faced damaging economic sanctions in the event of further escalation of the crisis in Ukraine following Crimea’s reunification with Russia. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said holding talks with Russia while threatening with sanctions was inappropriate and counterproductive. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he hoped the West was aware that such pressure would have no effect. "We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation," G7 leaders said in a joint statement. Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister criticized the US sanctions saying they reflect Washington’s reluctance to accept reality and its desire to impose on everyone its “one-sided, unbalanced and irrelevant approaches. “

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140325/188731837/G7-Warns-Russia-of-Sanctions-over-Ukraine.html

Russia Denies Massing Troops on Ukrainian Border

Russia's deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov denied on Sunday it was massing troops on the Ukrainian border, saying it was observing international agreements. "The Russian defence ministry is observing all the international agreements on limiting the numbers of troops in regions bordering Ukraine," Antonov told journalists, cited by the Interfax news agency. "Russia's armed forces are not carrying out any unannounced military activity that could threaten the security of neighbouring states," Antonov added. Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy warned Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to attack Ukraine with "troops massed at the border."

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140323/russia-denies-massing-troops-ukrainian-border

Ukraine Closes Border with Crimea

Ukrainian border guards closed the exit from the Republic of Crimea, local authorities said on Saturday. The office of the Crimean Federal District, which was established by President Vladimir Putin on Friday, said that even Ukrainian servicemen who wanted to leave Crimea could not cross the border. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, only 2,000 out of 18,000 Ukrainian troops serving in Crimea decided to leave the peninsula.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140323/188673844/Ukraine-Closes-Border-with-Crimea.html

EU Broadens Sanctions Against Russia, Threatens Economic Measures

The EU has expanded its targeted sanctions against Russian officials blamed for destabilizing Ukraine, but has not yet agreed upon broader economic measures, European officials said Friday. The move was the latest escalation in the clash over Ukraine’s Crimea, the greatest geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. The EU expanded the number of Russian and Ukrainian officials under sanctions to 33 early Friday morning, just hours after the United States added 20 more officials to its own list.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140321/188627581/EU-Broadens-Sanctions-Against-Russia-Threatens-Economic-Measures.html

Russia Announces Sanctions Against US Officials

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday imposed sanctions against nine senior US officials in retaliation to US visa bans and asset freezes. The White House authorized sanctions on Monday against Russian officials “who are most directly involved in destabilizing Ukraine.” The US sanctions targeted seven top Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin, including presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, Valentina Matviyenko, and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. The list was extended on Thursday and now includes presidential aide Andrei Fursenko, Presidential Executive Office Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov, head of Russia’s military intelligence service GRU Igor Sergun, head of Russia’s railway monopoly RZD Vladimir Yakunin and a number of senior lawmakers. “We have repeatedly warned that the use of sanctions is double-edged and has boomerang effect,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The list of US officials barred from Russia comprises deputy national security advisers Ben Rhodes and Caroline Atkinson, senators John McCain, Harry Reid, Robert Menendez, Daniel Coats and Mary Landrieu, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and Dan Pfeiffer, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20140320/188610627/Russia-Announces-Sanctions-Against-US-Officials.html