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THE WASHINGTON POST, Friday morning, May 16, 2014
B R E A K I N G NEWS which makes new historic news Friday, May 16, 2014
Steelworkers help keep uneasy calm in eastern Ukraine
View Photo Gallery — Ukraine talks mark the start of tenuous negotiation: A day after Ukrainian troops suffered their single heaviest loss of life against pro-Russian separatists in an ambush attack, Ukraine’s interim leaders began discussions on national unity amid grandstanding and accusations in Kiev.
By Fredrick Kunkle, Anthony Faiola and Daniela Deane, Updated: Friday, May 16, 9:14 AME-mail the writers
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Steelworkers employed by eastern Ukraine’s top tycoon helped police keep order in some disputed cities Friday as an uneasy calm prevailed over the beleaguered country ahead of nationwide elections scheduled for May 25.
The unarmed patrols in the cities of Mariupol and Makeyevka by employees of companies controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov were intended to restore order a week after fighting broke out for control of Mariupol’s police department, according to a spokesman for Akhmetov and official statements from his company.
Video
Olesya Zhukovska, 21, became a protest icon in February for tweeting “I am dying” after a sniper’s bullet pierced her neck . She talks about her injury and her hopes for change.
Akhmetov, believed to be Ukraine’s richest man, issued a statement saying Donetsk should remain part of Ukraine and arguing that independence or absorption into Russia would spell economic catastrophe. His company, Metinvest, is the most powerful firm in the industrialized eastern part of Ukraine.
In the southeastern port city of Mariupol, where at least seven people were killed in clashes last week between police and pro-Russian militants, a group of unarmed steel workers lounged at a playground Friday near the burned-out city hall building, which was flying the flag of the separatists’ self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.” The members of one of Akhmetov’s patrols chatted with each other and smoked cigarettes, and two of them sat on playground equipment reading books. They declined to talk to reporters, saying there were forbidden to do so.
A steady flow of visitors arrived at the scorched shell of Mariupol’s police department. Many stood in silence, staring at the walls pockmarked with bullet holes and the charred timbers jutting into a blue sky where the roof had collapsed. Others looked at a picture of one of victims or read their eulogies on sheets of paper taped up near the entrance, which was carpeted with flowers and religious icons.
“It really troubled me what happened here, and I often come here,” said Oleg Krivolapov, 45, a retired steel worker of the Ilych Factory owned by Akhmetov. Krivolapov said the city has been calm since the May 9 violence. He said he did not know whether the steelworkers’ patrols have helped bring peace to Mariupol’s streets. But he said former colleagues are part of Metinvest’s patrols, and he believes they will do what they can to avoid bloodshed.
As Krivolapov sees it, Akhmetov’s considerable political and economic clout could help resolve the crisis by bringing about real change and a fair shake for the Donetsk region.
“He has his factories, his industries, a lot of money — he could do a lot,” Krivolapov said. “Of course, he should have done some something sooner.”
Akhmetov “owns the region’s political parties — that’s what people are saying. He financed them. Politically, they could achieve a lot in the Verkhovna Rada to prevent bloodshed,” Krivolapov said, referring to the national legislature in Kiev.
A tenuous calm has prevailed in eastern Ukraine since ad hoc talks on Ukrainian national unity in Kiev earlier this week. Pro-Russian separatists did not attend the gathering. British Foreign Secretary William Hague nevertheless called the talks, which ended in accusations and grandstanding after one session, “clearly successful.”
Hague warned Russia of “wider economic and trade sanctions” if it interferes in Ukraine’s planned May 25 presidential and mayoral elections.
There were scattered reports of clashes in eastern Ukraine on Friday, including an exchange of gunfire at a checkpoint held by Ukrainian national guardsmen near Mariupol. A Ukrainian television news reporter said the shootout occurred about 10 p.m. Thursday and lasted about 15 minutes, pinning down her and her crew. Irina Herasimova, who works for Ukraine’s Channel 5 news, said there were no injuries among the guardsmen or her crew.
Meanwhile, the head of a militia group backing Kiev’s interim government claimed late Thursday that a unit of pro-Ukrainian volunteers has retaken control of Velyka Novosilka, the center of a regional district about 30 miles southwest of the city of Donetsk.
The Donbas battalion took back control of the local police department and seized weapons after a confrontation late Thursday without injuries, the commander of the volunteers, Semyon Semenchenko, said in a posting on his Facebook page.
He said the group planned to move next on the city itself to remove pro-Russian separatists from the Donetsk People’s Republic, who have taken over a regional administration building there.
Semenchenko wrote on his Facebook page that the pro-Russian separatist police chief had fled. He said his Ukrainian volunteers demanded that remaining officers swear a new oath of loyalty to Ukraine.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
As the Kiev talks were underway, officials in Moscow appeared to soften their stance, at least publicly. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has “no intention” of sending troops into eastern Ukraine, despite Western fears that it will invade after the presidential and mayoral elections set for this month.
Although Western nations have threatened additional sanctions against Russia, Hague said they were not willing to give an “exact definition” of what would provoke them or what form the measures would take.
“If we set a red line, Russia knows that it can go up to that red line,” he said at a news conference. “Efforts to disrupt the election may take many different forms. That’s not something we can define in advance,” but it will be “what determines the attitude of the whole Western world” toward Russia.
In separate comments, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said, “If Russia or its proxies disrupt the election, the United States and those countries represented here today in the European Union will impose sectoral economic sanctions as a result.”
Asked whether the West would be watching for direct Russian interference or hold Moscow accountable for the actions of the pro-Russian separatists, Kerry said a judgment would be made based on “attitude and behavior.”
“I’m not going to start laying out the whole series of definitions except to say to you that it is clear what proxies mean,” he said.
A senior State Department official said earlier that “we have been pretty clear in being able to pinpoint and expose . . . when Moscow’s hand has been behind past disruptions.” The official added, “We’ve seen it in the past — we’ve seen personnel, we’ve seen money, we’ve seen weapons, we’ve seen coordination, we’ve seen actual actors. So all of those things are possible again in this context.”
The official also made clear that threatened sanctions on what President Obama has said would be “sectors” of the Russian economy — including mining, defense, energy and banking — are not likely to be imposed across the board, as in Iran. Instead, the official said, they would “use a scalpel rather than a hammer,” focusing on “new investment” in sanctioned sectors.
The European Union, whose members have far more substantial stakes in the Russian economy than does the United States, has balked at sectoral sanctions and complained that they would unfairly target Europe.
France has indicated that it is likely to go ahead with a $1.6 billion contract, signed in 2009 for delivery this year and next, to supply Russia with two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, despite U.S. disapproval. Other European countries are concerned about existing contracts for the supply of Russian natural gas.
The official declined to specify whether existing contracts would be exempted from new sanctions.
But the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to provide background information to reporters, described a far more limited approach than Obama did in his March 20 announcement that he had signed an executive order authorizing sectoral sanctions. Kerry, too, was far more expansive in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, saying that “the United States and our closest partners are united in this effort despite the costs and willing to put in effect tough new sanctions . . . on key sectors of the Russian economy.”
“In energy, banking, mining — they’re all on the table . . . if Russia does not end its pressure and aggression on Ukraine.”
On Thursday, Kerry would not announce “what the precise sanctions are” but said the administration has decided on them, and that U.S. officials have continued working with the Europeans to ensure they are on board.
“I’m not going to get into characterizations of scalpel or a sledgehammer or whatever, except to say to you that they’re effective, and if they have to go into effect, they will have an impact,” Kerry said.
Faiola reported from Kiev and Deane from London.
THE WASHINGTON POST, Friday morning, May 16, 2014
B R E A K I N G NEWS which makes new historic news Friday, May 16, 2014
Steelworkers help keep uneasy calm in eastern Ukraine
View Photo Gallery — Ukraine talks mark the start of tenuous negotiation: A day after Ukrainian troops suffered their single heaviest loss of life against pro-Russian separatists in an ambush attack, Ukraine’s interim leaders began discussions on national unity amid grandstanding and accusations in Kiev.
By Fredrick Kunkle, Anthony Faiola and Daniela Deane, Updated: Friday, May 16, 9:14 AME-mail the writers
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Steelworkers employed by eastern Ukraine’s top tycoon helped police keep order in some disputed cities Friday as an uneasy calm prevailed over the beleaguered country ahead of nationwide elections scheduled for May 25.
The unarmed patrols in the cities of Mariupol and Makeyevka by employees of companies controlled by Ukrainian billionaire Rinat Akhmetov were intended to restore order a week after fighting broke out for control of Mariupol’s police department, according to a spokesman for Akhmetov and official statements from his company.
Video
Olesya Zhukovska, 21, became a protest icon in February for tweeting “I am dying” after a sniper’s bullet pierced her neck . She talks about her injury and her hopes for change.
Akhmetov, believed to be Ukraine’s richest man, issued a statement saying Donetsk should remain part of Ukraine and arguing that independence or absorption into Russia would spell economic catastrophe. His company, Metinvest, is the most powerful firm in the industrialized eastern part of Ukraine.
In the southeastern port city of Mariupol, where at least seven people were killed in clashes last week between police and pro-Russian militants, a group of unarmed steel workers lounged at a playground Friday near the burned-out city hall building, which was flying the flag of the separatists’ self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic.” The members of one of Akhmetov’s patrols chatted with each other and smoked cigarettes, and two of them sat on playground equipment reading books. They declined to talk to reporters, saying there were forbidden to do so.
A steady flow of visitors arrived at the scorched shell of Mariupol’s police department. Many stood in silence, staring at the walls pockmarked with bullet holes and the charred timbers jutting into a blue sky where the roof had collapsed. Others looked at a picture of one of victims or read their eulogies on sheets of paper taped up near the entrance, which was carpeted with flowers and religious icons.
“It really troubled me what happened here, and I often come here,” said Oleg Krivolapov, 45, a retired steel worker of the Ilych Factory owned by Akhmetov. Krivolapov said the city has been calm since the May 9 violence. He said he did not know whether the steelworkers’ patrols have helped bring peace to Mariupol’s streets. But he said former colleagues are part of Metinvest’s patrols, and he believes they will do what they can to avoid bloodshed.
As Krivolapov sees it, Akhmetov’s considerable political and economic clout could help resolve the crisis by bringing about real change and a fair shake for the Donetsk region.
“He has his factories, his industries, a lot of money — he could do a lot,” Krivolapov said. “Of course, he should have done some something sooner.”
Akhmetov “owns the region’s political parties — that’s what people are saying. He financed them. Politically, they could achieve a lot in the Verkhovna Rada to prevent bloodshed,” Krivolapov said, referring to the national legislature in Kiev.
A tenuous calm has prevailed in eastern Ukraine since ad hoc talks on Ukrainian national unity in Kiev earlier this week. Pro-Russian separatists did not attend the gathering. British Foreign Secretary William Hague nevertheless called the talks, which ended in accusations and grandstanding after one session, “clearly successful.”
Hague warned Russia of “wider economic and trade sanctions” if it interferes in Ukraine’s planned May 25 presidential and mayoral elections.
There were scattered reports of clashes in eastern Ukraine on Friday, including an exchange of gunfire at a checkpoint held by Ukrainian national guardsmen near Mariupol. A Ukrainian television news reporter said the shootout occurred about 10 p.m. Thursday and lasted about 15 minutes, pinning down her and her crew. Irina Herasimova, who works for Ukraine’s Channel 5 news, said there were no injuries among the guardsmen or her crew.
Meanwhile, the head of a militia group backing Kiev’s interim government claimed late Thursday that a unit of pro-Ukrainian volunteers has retaken control of Velyka Novosilka, the center of a regional district about 30 miles southwest of the city of Donetsk.
The Donbas battalion took back control of the local police department and seized weapons after a confrontation late Thursday without injuries, the commander of the volunteers, Semyon Semenchenko, said in a posting on his Facebook page.
He said the group planned to move next on the city itself to remove pro-Russian separatists from the Donetsk People’s Republic, who have taken over a regional administration building there.
Semenchenko wrote on his Facebook page that the pro-Russian separatist police chief had fled. He said his Ukrainian volunteers demanded that remaining officers swear a new oath of loyalty to Ukraine.
The report could not be independently confirmed.
As the Kiev talks were underway, officials in Moscow appeared to soften their stance, at least publicly. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia has “no intention” of sending troops into eastern Ukraine, despite Western fears that it will invade after the presidential and mayoral elections set for this month.
Although Western nations have threatened additional sanctions against Russia, Hague said they were not willing to give an “exact definition” of what would provoke them or what form the measures would take.
“If we set a red line, Russia knows that it can go up to that red line,” he said at a news conference. “Efforts to disrupt the election may take many different forms. That’s not something we can define in advance,” but it will be “what determines the attitude of the whole Western world” toward Russia.
In separate comments, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said, “If Russia or its proxies disrupt the election, the United States and those countries represented here today in the European Union will impose sectoral economic sanctions as a result.”
Asked whether the West would be watching for direct Russian interference or hold Moscow accountable for the actions of the pro-Russian separatists, Kerry said a judgment would be made based on “attitude and behavior.”
“I’m not going to start laying out the whole series of definitions except to say to you that it is clear what proxies mean,” he said.
A senior State Department official said earlier that “we have been pretty clear in being able to pinpoint and expose . . . when Moscow’s hand has been behind past disruptions.” The official added, “We’ve seen it in the past — we’ve seen personnel, we’ve seen money, we’ve seen weapons, we’ve seen coordination, we’ve seen actual actors. So all of those things are possible again in this context.”
The official also made clear that threatened sanctions on what President Obama has said would be “sectors” of the Russian economy — including mining, defense, energy and banking — are not likely to be imposed across the board, as in Iran. Instead, the official said, they would “use a scalpel rather than a hammer,” focusing on “new investment” in sanctioned sectors.
The European Union, whose members have far more substantial stakes in the Russian economy than does the United States, has balked at sectoral sanctions and complained that they would unfairly target Europe.
France has indicated that it is likely to go ahead with a $1.6 billion contract, signed in 2009 for delivery this year and next, to supply Russia with two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships, despite U.S. disapproval. Other European countries are concerned about existing contracts for the supply of Russian natural gas.
The official declined to specify whether existing contracts would be exempted from new sanctions.
But the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to provide background information to reporters, described a far more limited approach than Obama did in his March 20 announcement that he had signed an executive order authorizing sectoral sanctions. Kerry, too, was far more expansive in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month, saying that “the United States and our closest partners are united in this effort despite the costs and willing to put in effect tough new sanctions . . . on key sectors of the Russian economy.”
“In energy, banking, mining — they’re all on the table . . . if Russia does not end its pressure and aggression on Ukraine.”
On Thursday, Kerry would not announce “what the precise sanctions are” but said the administration has decided on them, and that U.S. officials have continued working with the Europeans to ensure they are on board.
“I’m not going to get into characterizations of scalpel or a sledgehammer or whatever, except to say to you that they’re effective, and if they have to go into effect, they will have an impact,” Kerry said.
Faiola reported from Kiev and Deane from London.
