Six of the
Ukrainian commanding officers previously kidnapped in Crimea by so-called
‘Russian military’ have been set free today. Including
those whose whereabouts remain unclear are Col. Mamchur, who on March 4th
led his men, unarmed, to face the Russian military troops while singing the
Ukrainian national anthem.
Several Ukraine’s human rights groups have
been working to demand the release of these officers, who are being held
captive, tortured and beaten. However, human rights activists urge that it is
necessary that the West demand action from the government in Kyiv to address
missing and abducted persons: “We can’t do anything. It is necessary that the
West demands action from the government in Kyiv as they are listening to them
only”. One of the organizations has asked journalists to help them notify
Ukrainian military in Crimea that they should cross the border dressed in
civilian clothes and register as the military only once they are back in Kyiv.
Today, interim President
of Ukraine, Turchynov, fired the Permanent Representative of the President in
the Crimea, Sergey Kunitsyn, for ‘improper performance of duties’.
A report has revealed that on March 23,
international observers carried out a survey flight over the borderland areas
of the Russian Federation. At that time, Moscow pulled some of its troops in
Rostov oblast back from the border; as soon as the inspectors left, the troops
returned back to the border. A Ukrainian commentator writes, ‘in short, one
would have to be a complete sucker to trust the Kremlin’.
However, today the World Bank forecast that if Putin continues to
escalate the situation, Russian GDP will drop by 1.8% in 2014 (compared to the
1.3% growth in 2013). The outflow of
capital from the Russian Federation has reached USD 70 billion, since the
beginning of 2014. Russia now claims to have seized all 193 military
installations in Crimea. 100,000 Russian
troops and armour are poised along Ukrainian borders and remain on full alert.
The USA and other 40 countries lodge a complaint to the United Nations
over the Russian Fedaration's aggression in Crimea. The authors of complaint consider there
is no evidence that laws of the ethnic Russians were violated in the peninsula.
In Kyiv, a broad
call is released today via EuroMaidan networks for an International March for
Peace and Solidarity in Ukraine “Peace. Unity. Freedom. Truth” from 30th March,
to last into April.
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