"Ukraine crisis: turning points" is an article published today by the Associated Press and republished by a number of leading newspapers in the world including the Washington Post. According to the AP, "Vagueness of the deal and mutual distrust mean that tensions will likely remain high in the run-up to Ukraine’s presidential election set for May 25. Protesters in the east have shown no inclination to disarm or free the official buildings they seized, saying that they want radical nationalist groups in Kiev and Western Ukraine to act first. They also pushed for the withdrawal of the Ukrainian military units sent to the East."
"Eastern Ukraine's Pro-Russian Activists Stand Fast" is another article on the topic published today by the Wall Street Journal.
"Pro-Russian activists in eastern Ukraine said Friday they won't vacate the government facilities they have occupied despite a compromise agreement struck a day earlier by international powers in Geneva, including Russia, that called on them to leave," the article reads.
"The activists' refusal seemed to undermine a deal agreed to Thursday in Geneva by Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the European Union, aimed at neutralizing a crisis that has brought Ukraine to the brink of civil war and thrown Russia and the West into their deepest conflict since the end of the Soviet Union."
"Both Russian officials and activists in Ukraine's east have sought to present the recent seizure of buildings in the region as an equivalent answer to actions pro-Europe protesters took in Kiev in late 2013 and earlier this year. The activists in Donetsk are demanding a referendum on the future of the largely Russian-speaking region, the home of Mr. Yanukovych, which has long had closer relations with Russia than much of the rest of Ukraine. But when pressed on Friday, neither Mr. Pushilin nor other leaders of the uprising could say what exact question they hope to pose on such a referendum on the region's 'self determination,'" the article concludes.
