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MOSCOW DENOUNCES GUN ATTACK ON PRO-RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS IN EASTERN UKRAINE
Published time: March 10, 2014 10:00
Edited time: March 10, 2014 11:11
http://rt.com/news/kharkov-gun-attack-denounced-842/
A girl holds a banner reading "Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sevastopol" as
pro-Russian supporters attend a rally under the statue of Lenin in
the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2014
(AFP Photo / Sergey Bobok)
Conflict, Politics, Russia, Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized western governments
and media for turning a blind eye on alarming incidents in Ukraine,
including a gun attack on a pro-Russian rally in the city of Kharkov.
According to eyewitness reports, some seven or eight masked people
drove a mini-van to a Saturday rally in central Kharkov, which was
demanding a regional referendum on whether it should follow Crimea's
suit and seek joining Russia.
The men armed with bats and handguns ambushed three activists, who
were returning from the rally.
"They threatened to kill us. I covered my head so they hit me on the
hands. We barely realized what was happening," one of the victims
told Live News tabloid.
The attackers fired several shots in the scuffle, wounding one of the
pro-Russian activists in the back. The injury was not life-threatening.
The aggression is one of several incidents, which, according to the
Russian foreign ministry, are overlooked in the west. It also cited
the detainment and deportation of seven Russian journalists from
Ukraine over alleged biased reporting.
There is also the blockade of border travel for Russians living near
it, which was recently reported by the Ukrainian border guard service.
The service said it banned some 3,500, including 16 journalists,
from entering the country, which amounts to about 500 people each day.
"The shamefaced silence of our western partners, rights groups and
foreign media is baffling," the ministry statement said.
Russia considers the government in Kiev, which was imposed following
an armed coup last month, illegitimate and heavily influenced by
radical forces, which played a key part in the coup.
Several regions in Eastern Ukraine share the view, while the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea is to hold a referendum this Sunday over whether
it should seek greater independence from the capital, or apply to
join Russia.
The Crimean authorities have denounced the self-proclaimed government
in Kiev and declared that all Ukrainian law enforcement and military
deployed in the peninsula must take orders from them. The Crimea
authorities have asked Russia to provide assistance to ensure peace
and order in the region.
Crimeans began protesting after the new Kiev authorities introduced
a law abolishing the use of other languages for official purposes in
Ukraine. More than half the Crimean population is Russian and uses
only this language for their communication.
Under the Russian-Ukrainian Partition Treaty determining the fate of
the military bases and vessels in Crimea - signed in 1997 and prolonged
in 2010 - Russia is allowed to have up to 25,000 troops, 24 artillery
systems (with a caliber smaller than 100 mm), 132 armored vehicles,
and 22 military planes, on the peninsula's territory. The Russian
Black Sea fleet is allowed to stay in Crimea until 2042.
Moscow annually writes off $97.75 million of Kiev's debt for the right
to use Ukrainian waters and radio frequencies, and to compensate for
the Black Sea Fleet's environmental impact.
Published time: March 10, 2014 10:00
Edited time: March 10, 2014 11:11
http://rt.com/news/kharkov-gun-attack-denounced-842/
A girl holds a banner reading "Kharkiv, Donetsk, Sevastopol" as
pro-Russian supporters attend a rally under the statue of Lenin in
the centre of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on March 8, 2014
(AFP Photo / Sergey Bobok)
Conflict, Politics, Russia, Ukraine
The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized western governments
and media for turning a blind eye on alarming incidents in Ukraine,
including a gun attack on a pro-Russian rally in the city of Kharkov.
According to eyewitness reports, some seven or eight masked people
drove a mini-van to a Saturday rally in central Kharkov, which was
demanding a regional referendum on whether it should follow Crimea's
suit and seek joining Russia.
The men armed with bats and handguns ambushed three activists, who
were returning from the rally.
"They threatened to kill us. I covered my head so they hit me on the
hands. We barely realized what was happening," one of the victims
told Live News tabloid.
The attackers fired several shots in the scuffle, wounding one of the
pro-Russian activists in the back. The injury was not life-threatening.
The aggression is one of several incidents, which, according to the
Russian foreign ministry, are overlooked in the west. It also cited
the detainment and deportation of seven Russian journalists from
Ukraine over alleged biased reporting.
There is also the blockade of border travel for Russians living near
it, which was recently reported by the Ukrainian border guard service.
The service said it banned some 3,500, including 16 journalists,
from entering the country, which amounts to about 500 people each day.
"The shamefaced silence of our western partners, rights groups and
foreign media is baffling," the ministry statement said.
Russia considers the government in Kiev, which was imposed following
an armed coup last month, illegitimate and heavily influenced by
radical forces, which played a key part in the coup.
Several regions in Eastern Ukraine share the view, while the Autonomous
Republic of Crimea is to hold a referendum this Sunday over whether
it should seek greater independence from the capital, or apply to
join Russia.
The Crimean authorities have denounced the self-proclaimed government
in Kiev and declared that all Ukrainian law enforcement and military
deployed in the peninsula must take orders from them. The Crimea
authorities have asked Russia to provide assistance to ensure peace
and order in the region.
Crimeans began protesting after the new Kiev authorities introduced
a law abolishing the use of other languages for official purposes in
Ukraine. More than half the Crimean population is Russian and uses
only this language for their communication.
Under the Russian-Ukrainian Partition Treaty determining the fate of
the military bases and vessels in Crimea - signed in 1997 and prolonged
in 2010 - Russia is allowed to have up to 25,000 troops, 24 artillery
systems (with a caliber smaller than 100 mm), 132 armored vehicles,
and 22 military planes, on the peninsula's territory. The Russian
Black Sea fleet is allowed to stay in Crimea until 2042.
Moscow annually writes off $97.75 million of Kiev's debt for the right
to use Ukrainian waters and radio frequencies, and to compensate for
the Black Sea Fleet's environmental impact.