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Addressing the public on a Victory Day, the governor of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region trampled on the feelings of many veterans and desecrated the memory of all those who perished during the war against Nazi Germany by calling Hitler a “liberator.” Governor of Kherson region Yuri Odarchenko was booed by thousands including WWII veterans when he told the previously cheering crowd that the Soviet Union tried to enslave Ukraine, while Hitler on the other hand tried to bring freedom to their land. “Those [Soviet] aggressors justified their capture not only by their desire to seize others' territory and enslave the...

***WARNING GRAPHIC VIOLENCE*** Ignore propaganda from both sides. Watch video at link and make up your own opinion. Two more videos from different angles at bottom of post.

Veterans' Benefits Live On Long After Bullets Stop Each month, Irene Triplett collects $73.13 from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a pension payment for her father's military service—in the Civil War. More than 3 million men fought and 530,000 men died in the conflict between North and South. Pvt. Mose Triplett joined the rebels, deserted on the road to Gettysburg, defected to the Union and married so late in life to a woman so young that their daughter Irene is today 84 years old—and the last child of any Civil War veteran still on the VA benefits rolls. Ms. Triplett's...

Kiev’s forces are using heavy weaponry and tanks in the eastern city of Mariupol to storm the local Interior Ministry building, where police have barricaded inside. After residents began flocking to the scene, Kiev fighters opened fire on civilians. There are conflicting reports about the killed and injured. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that about 20 anti-Kiev activists were killed and four more were taken captive, according to a statement posted on Interior Minister Arsen Avakov’s Facebook page. However, according to Donetsk authorities, three people have been killed and 25 injured, RIA Novosti cited the Donetsk region council's press service...

Russia ordered crisis-hit Ukraine on Thursday to pay upfront for all its future natural gas deliveries because of billions of dollars in outstanding debts. The largely-anticipated announcement imperils supplies to a large swathe of the European Union because nearly 15 percent of all Russian gas consumed by the 28-nation bloc transits through Ukraine. Ukraine has refused to meet the deadline in protest over Russia's decision to nearly double the price it charges its neighbour for gas imports following the February overthrow of a Kremlin-backed regime in Kiev.

On Thursday evening, an informal meeting took place of of the Moscow-led Collective Treaty Security Organization, Lenta.ru reports. President Vladimir Putin and his fellow heads of state from Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan visited a training session on management of the Russian armed forces. The situation in Ukraine was the main topic of the evening. Observers have speculated that Moscow could use the CSTO in some fashion to run a "peace-keeping operation" in the south of Ukraine with the support of allies in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The Interpreter has translated an excerpt and will add the rest...

Russia could deploy short-range Iskander missiles in the country’s westernmost Kaliningrad region if NATO decides to strengthen its military presence in Eastern Europe, Lt. Gen. Yevgeny Buzhinsky told RIA Novosti. “Russia is a nuclear power,” he said. “If NATO becomes more active, we will deploy a division of Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad Region,” added Buzhinsky, who previously headed the department of international agreements in the Russian Defense Ministry. US Air Force General Philip Breedlove said Tuesday that NATO will consider permanently stationing troops in parts of Eastern Europe following the increased tensions over Ukraine, Reuters reported. “I think this is...

Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka urged her colleagues to support her motion to put the Ukranian radical group Right Sector on the terrorist organizations list, reports ITAR-TASS. ...

* Pipeline meets about a third of Ukraine diesel demand * Hungary received 815,000 t diesel via pipeline in 2013 (Adds detail) Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft stopped diesel shipments to Ukraine and Hungary last month due to uncertainties over the pipe's ownership, a company spokesman said on Monday. The pipeline crosses Belarus and Ukraine and is the only one carrying Russian oil products to Hungary. Flows via the pipeline, which was built in Soviet times and meets around a third of Ukraine's diesel demand, have been suspended as violence in Ukraine plunge East-West relations to their lowest since the Cold...

The helicopter downed earlier today was hit by an RPG while it was hovering at <100 feet. This video is too far away to tell what hit it, but it's clear there is some heavy fighting in the area. This brings the total of Helicopters downed over Slovyansk to four.

There were fatalities among both Kiev loyalists and local militia members after governmental troops renewed their crackdown on the defiant eastern Ukrainian protester stronghold of Slavyansk. The death toll may be over 20. There was a shooting on the outskirts of Slavyansk as pro-government troops raided a protester checkpoint on Monday. A militia HQ spokesman as many as 20 fighters of the self-defense troops may have been killed in the latest clashes, according to Interfax. Slavyansk city hospital reported admitting seven injured during the morning. Two of them, suffering from gunshot wounds, died in hospital. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said...

The United States announced a $1.2 million aid package Friday to help support Ukrainian news outlets ahead of presidential elections later this month. "Members of the media in Ukraine have faced serious challenges and dangers over the past several months," State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said. SNIP--------------- Announced on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, the funding from the US Agency for International Development "will help to protect vulnerable journalists while also advancing press freedoms and domestic governance in Ukraine," Harf said.

The rebel leader spread a topographic map in front of a closed grocery store here as a Ukrainian military helicopter flew past a nearby hill. Ukrainian troops had just seized positions along a river, about a mile and a half away. The commander thought they might advance. He issued orders with the authority of a man who had seen many battles. “Go down to the bridge and set up the snipers,” the leader, who gave only a first name, Yuri, said to a former Ukrainian paratrooper, who jogged away. Yuri commands the 12th Company, part of the self-proclaimed People’s Militia...

Moscow urged Kiev to give more information whether Russians were among Odessa fire victims, otherwise the report would be viewed as a new attempt to blame Russia for everything, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. Ukrainian media reported that 15 of the victims in Odessa were Russian citizens who allegedly had participated in protests. "A question arises on what materials such conclusions are based. If all the victims are identified and there are confirming documents, they must be immediately made public, but not playing on feelings of relatives of the victims and trying to stir up emotions among people who are...

Russian president’s envoy Vladimir Lukin cannot reach the town of Slavyansk in Ukraine’s southeastern Donetsk region because the Ukrainian army units and Right Sector radicals, who blocked access roads to the town, do not allow him to come to the town, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday. According to the ministry, Lukin is currently in Donetsk and is ready to promptly leave for Slavyansk to have talks on the release of captured military observers from a number of European countries. “A preliminary agreement has been reach with the heads of Slavyansk that European officers will be able to leave...

Pro-Russian separatists shot down two helicopters in a key eastern Ukrainian city, and fighting in the port city of Odessa triggered a fire that killed dozens, as the embattled nation moved closer to the brink of civil war. Interim Ukraine President Oleksandr Turchynov said "many" pro-Russia rebels have been killed, injured and arrested in a major offensive to regain control of Slavyansk, though it was not clear if the Kiev-backed forces had succeeded. Russia reacted angrily to the offensive by Ukrainian security forces, calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council after a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin...

Ukraine’s National Guard is reportedly storming the eastern town of Kramatorsk. Meanwhile, the army has resumed its special operation in Slavyansk, where two soldiers have been killed. “The assault is starting now,” a Kramatorsk self-defense activist has told RIA Novosti by phone. Another activist told the news agency that the National Guard opened fire on self-defense forces. Dozens have been killed or injured in Kramatorsk, a doctor told RIA Novosti. The medic added that the fighting has now stopped and all of those injured have been taken to hospitals in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. At least two died on the way...

-Russia as important oil as gas supplier to Europe -Disruptions to Russian oil flows will have huge impact on oil prices -Embittered political climate, oil prices at USD 150/barrel and high financial market uncertainty can tip EU back into recession -Oil price spike and flight to safety a recipe for broad-based USD strengthening and lower global rates: three risk scenarios -US shale oil or SPR release will not prevent oil price spike Oil prices have increased by more than USD 2/barrel today as tension in Ukraine has escalated and raise concerns about the risks of disruption in Russian energy exports....

At least 38 people have been killed in a fire in an official building amid clashes in Odessa, in south west Ukraine, local police say. ...

The West has cut all paths to a peaceful solution of the Ukrainian crisis by supporting the Kiev authorities and their violent crackdown on protests in the eastern part of the country, Russia’s envoy Vitaly Churkin told the UN Security Council. DETAILS TO FOLLOW