Kyiv Responds As Tensions With Moscow Rise Over Confrontation In Black Sea
RFE/RL journalists are available for comment:
Chris Miller, Kyiv, millerjchristopher@gmail.com, +38 093 110 8336
Maryana Drach, Prague, drachm@rferl.org, +42 022 112 2296
Gregory Zhygalov, Brussels, zhygalovg-fl@rferl.org, +32 048 302 9199
VISUAL REPORTS
Protest At Russian Embassy In Kyiv After Ukrainian Ships Seized
Angry protesters fired flares and lit a car on fire outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv after three Ukrainian vessels were seized by Russia.
Secret Photographs of Ukraine's Holodomor Famine
On November 24, Ukraine marked the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine, during which millions of people died of starvation as the result of a Stalinist policy to withhold food to force Ukrainian peasants to join collective farms. One woman’s great-grandfather secretly photographed the suffering in the city of Kharkiv.
Russian Taxi Service Sparks Suspicions In Lithuania
Lithuania has issued a warning over a Russian-owned taxi service and banned government officials from using it, claimed the service, Yandex.Taxi, was sending users' data to Russia. But opinion inside the country's capital, Vilnius, is divided.
Romania Inaugurates Orthodox Cathedral Amid Controversy Over Costs
A massive new cathedral has been inaugurated in Bucharest, amid controversy over the use of public funds for the project. Tens of thousands of people stood outside the People's Salvation Cathedral for a November 25 service led by Romanian Patriarch Daniel and the Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew I, the leader of the worldwide Orthodox community.
OTHER NEWS
Ukraine Introduces Martial Law
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has approved the decision of his Security Council and signed a decree introducing martial law in the country effective November 26 through January 25, 2019. (Ukrainian Service)
Ukraine Adopts Martial Law After Russia Opens Fire On Black Sea Ships
A decree introducing martial law, approved by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko today, could give the government the power to restrict public demonstrations, regulate the media, and suspend elections. RFE/RL is live-blogging developments.
Russia Sends Experts To Aleppo After Reports Of Chemical Attack
Russia says it has sent military chemicals experts to Aleppo after reports that shells fired by insurgents in the Syrian city left dozens of people with breathing and vision problems.
Facebook Adheres To Russian Court Order To Block Content
Russian media is reporting that Facebook and Instagram have for the first time blocked online content following an order from a Russian court referring to information that could “discredit [a person’s] honor, dignity and business reputation.” The court ordered the removal of any content alleging the involvement of BTA Bank owner Kenes Rakishev in relations with minors, incitement to suicide or concealment of crimes. The social media pages belonging to 40 Russian internet sites contain prompts that say “content” about Rakishev “is not available in Russia.” (Russian Service)
U.S. Says Russia Undermines Freedom Of Expression 'Domestically And Abroad'
The U.S. mission to the OSCE has called for the release of journalists detained in Russia and the area controlled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, and voiced deep concern over reports of intimidation and threats against the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Former Russian Defense Ministry Official Arrested On Bribery Charges
Former Russian Defense Ministry official and ex-official at Moscow's CSKA sports club Mikhail Baryshev has been arrested on suspicion of accepting a 23.5 million-ruble ($355,000) bribe. Baryshev helped organize the 2016 Third World Army Games.
The 'Bread' That Doomed A Man To The Siberian Gulag
Samples of ersatz bread from the Stalin-era famine that Ukrainians call the Holodomor have been discovered among criminal records in Kyiv, shedding new light on the 1932-33 calamity that killed millions of Ukrainians. A Kyiv church choir conductor, who also penned two notes to "future generations," was ultimately sent to the gulag in Siberia for saving the scraps as evidence of the "terrible hunger."
Czechs Protest After Babis Government Survives No-Confidence Vote
Thousands of Czechs have demonstrated in the capital, Prague, after the government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis survived a no-confidence vote triggered by a fraud investigation. Lawmakers with the Social Democratic and Communist parties refused to vote against the billionaire businessman.
Uzbekistan Launches ‘Unprecedented’ Large-Scale Military Maneuvers
Defense Ministry spokesman Temur Narziev said in a video statement issued on the ministry's YouTube channel that the five-day drills had started on November 26, adding that "Comprehensive combat readiness checks have never been held on such a large scale" in Uzbekistan.
MAJLIS PODCAST: Kyrgyzstan's 'Feuding Presidents' And The Risk Of Fallout
PRESSROOM: ‘Every Story Was A Test’
Soviet leader Josef Stalin died only days after RFE/RL’s Russian Service, Radio Liberty, began broadcasting from Munich on March 1, 1953. James Critchlow, an American Russia specialist who helped establish the service, spoke about those heady first days on air.