Putin told a news conference at the Kremlin that Russia had
withdrawn its troops from along the border and that he had asked separatists to drop plans for a referendum on
sovereignty this Sunday. Putin stated
that Russia would even accept Ukraine’s presidential election on May 25, if
demands for autonomy from the country’s east were recognised.
What are we to believed from Putin, who repeatedly denied
that Russia’s soldiers were involved in the region, only to admit later that
they were? And now, after Russia has denied involvement in provocations in
Eastern Ukraine for weeks, now they are offering ultimatums for allowing the
May 25th election, if demands
for autonomy are recognised.
Some may applaud Putin for speaking of ‘peace’. While others may receive today’s news cautiously—Putin’s call to postpone the separatist referendum until a later date could be a tactic to legalize the division of Ukraine on the day of the presidential elections.
Some may applaud Putin for speaking of ‘peace’. While others may receive today’s news cautiously—Putin’s call to postpone the separatist referendum until a later date could be a tactic to legalize the division of Ukraine on the day of the presidential elections.
The government has asked Ukraine's football league to hold remaining matches in the season without spectators because of the risk of violence. It has been proposed that matches in Donetsk, Luhansk, Odessa and Kharkiv regions be moved to other areas.
The
call comes after clashes between supporters of a united Ukraine and pro-Russian
groups at recent games.
However, the long-running violence in the country has fostered an unusual sense of unity among rival Ukrainian football fans. In January, supporters of Dynamo Kyiv announced they were forming ‘self-defence units’ against people allegedly hired by government supporters to intimidate the opposition. Their move was unexpectedly followed by supporters of Dynamo's arch rival, Shakhtar, based in Yanukovych's stronghold of Donetsk.
However, the long-running violence in the country has fostered an unusual sense of unity among rival Ukrainian football fans. In January, supporters of Dynamo Kyiv announced they were forming ‘self-defence units’ against people allegedly hired by government supporters to intimidate the opposition. Their move was unexpectedly followed by supporters of Dynamo's arch rival, Shakhtar, based in Yanukovych's stronghold of Donetsk.
Former
bitter football rivals have on many occasions since January walked side by
side, chanting pro-Ukrainian slogans.
In other news, Ukraine's
central bank has received the first $3.19bn (£1.9bn; 2.3bn euros) tranche of a
loan previously agreed with the IMF - part of an overall package of $17bn. And Russia's
education ministry ruled that the government's reasoning for annexing Crimea
must be included on the curriculum.
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