Thousands of people waving Russian flags flooded the streets of eastern Ukraine on Sunday. Demonstrators in the cities of Donetsk, Lugansk, and Kharkov seized state offices, while in Donetsk they also demanded an independence referendum. Over 2,000 people gathered in Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk to petition for the Berkut officers, who – they believe – are falsely accused of using fir [...]

€‹Ukrainian McDonald'€™s Ltd, a subsidary of the world's largest fast food chain, has temporarily closed its doors in Crimea because of "€œmanufacturing reasons." “Due to reasons beyond the control of the company, business activities have been suspended in Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Yalta,” said a company statement posted on the Ukrainian website. [...]

Most of the Ukrainian military personnel serving in Crimea have chosen to stay on the peninsula and already applied for Russian citizenship, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at a top-level military meeting. Most of these people showed an intention to continue their service in the Russian military forces and were granted that opportunity, the minister said at the Friday military collegium. [...]

At least 1,000 protesters have gathered in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the industrial capital of the region, demanding that authorities respect their right for self-determination by allowing them to stage a Crimea-style referendum. [...]

Following Congress'€™ decision to approve a $1 billion aid package to Ukraine last week, former libertarian Congressman Ron Paul has published an op-ed strongly criticizing it as a bad deal for both American taxpayers and Ukrainian citizens. In the column, published by Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, the iconic libertarian said the bill effectively puts the International Monetary Fu [...]

The EU is a hurry to sign the long-awaited association treaty with Ukraine, while the new leaders in Kiev are turning to Washington for support. Whose interests were at stake during the Ukrainian revolution? Should the promises of the West be trusted by the new authorities? Sophie talks to former US intelligence officer Scott Rickard to find out the answers to these questions. [...]

The Ukrainian parliament is witnessing a second day of picketing, as hundreds of Right Sector activists pressure MPs to sack the interior minister. Earlier other protesters tried to force their way into Kiev’s Rada to stop a vote on austerity measures. [...]

President Obama's key speech in Brussels on Ukraine and attempts to isolate Russia appears to be an exercise of omission, mutually-exclusive statements and unveiled double standards. Here's a quick look at what Obama told an audience of some 2,000 people in his damning 30-minute speech. [...]

Despite previously supporting the self-determination of some nations, the US continues to dismiss Crimea's choice to reunite with Russia. Washington is standing by its newfound allies in Kiev - after helping propel them to power. And as RT's Anastasia Churkina reports, Ukraine's not the first country to go through the selective US-backed regime change. Exporting Chaos: 'West spent $5 billio [...]

Moscow'€™s actions in the Crimea are comprehensible, former German chancellor, Helmut Schmidt said, criticizing the Western reaction to the peninsula'€™s reunification with Russia. President Vladimir Putin’s approach to the Crimean issue is “completely understandable,” Schmidt wrote in Die Zeit newspaper where he’s employed as an editor. [...]

The standoff between Russia and Ukraine still hints at World War III, but a media battle has been the main center of conflict -€“ much of it coming from a hacked phone call posted on YouTube. The voices are clear, but the tone is downhearted and dispirited. The call, in English, apparently came from EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton'€™s office on Feb. 26, seeking an update from Estonian For [...]

Only about a ninth of Ukrainian military personnel currently doing service in Crimea have made a decision to leave the peninsular, Russia'€™s Defense Ministry announced on Saturday. “As of March 21, less than 2,000 out of 18,000 soldiers of Ukrainian military forces, who are currently stationed in the Republic of Crimea, have wished to leave for Ukraine,” says the Ministry’s statement. [...]

Ukrainians must take up arms against Russians so that not even scorched earth will be left where Russia stands; an example of former Ukrainian PM Yulia Tymoshenko'€™s vitriol in phone call leaked online. ymoshenko confirmed the authenticity of the conversation on Twitter, while pointing out that a section where she is heard to call for the nuclear slaughter of the eight million Russians who rema [...]

A new opinion poll has revealed that the majority of Germans recognize the accession of Crimea to Russia. At the same time, most of them also view the West'€™s response as appropriate. The public opinion poll was conducted by TNS Research at the request of Der Spiegel. [...]

In June 1941, German mobile killing squads, known as Einsatzgruppen, were dispatched throughout Eastern Europe. By the spring of 1943, the 3000 members of the Einsatzgruppen, led by highly-educated officers and aided by local collaborators in each country, had systematically murdered over a million Jews and tens of thousands Roma, handicapped, Poles, Russians, partisans and non-combatants. [...]

Rallies have swept eastern Ukraine, with residents protesting against Kiev’s coup-imposed government and demanding a referendum to decide on the future of the region. Thousands took to the streets in Kharkov, Donetsk, Lugansk, and Odessa on Sunday. [...]

Luke Harding: Lenin's statue still stands in Donetsk where loyalty to the old regime and Russian propaganda have inspired protests against the Kiev 'fascists'. But is this really the next Crimea? In Donetsk's main square, Ukraine's communist leader, Petro Symonenko, was giving an impromptu address to the party faithful. [...]

The ultra-nationalist Right Sector movement has decided to become a political party, while slamming current authorities in Kiev and demanding early parliamentary elections. The group has nominated its leader, Dmitry Yarosh, as a presidential candidate. [...]

Since the EU and the US recognize the current government in Kiev, should they not pay for Ukraine's economic woes? What will a sanctions war accomplish? And is Crimea still a red line for the West? CrossTalking with Sir Michael Arthur, Nebojsa Malic and Jacques Cheminade. [...]

The US has been selective in supporting the self-determination of nations. It continues to dismiss Crimea's choice to reunite with Russia, while at the same time backs the coup in Kiev. And the idea is hardly new for Washington. The current situation in Ukraine has something in common with the one in Colombia, James Petras, a political analyst and Professor (Emeritus) at Binghamton University, New [...]

Claiming that Crimea is part of Ukraine is the same as Serbia arguing that Kosovo is not really separated from it, Gregory Copley, editor of Defense & Foreign Affairs, told RT. [...]

What is the significance of this vote? How will it affect South-Eastern Ukraine? How will China and the West react? And, what can we expect next? CrossTalking with George Galloway, Michael Hughes and Dmitry Babich. [...]