Poroshenko makes November 21 a national holiday, our news desk reports:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has announced new official holidays to mark two crucial days in a year of upheaval.
The president's website says November 21 has been declared the Day of Dignity and Freedom, while January 22 will mark the Day of Unity.
On November 21, 2013, former President Viktor Yanukovych announced Ukraine would not sign an association agreement with the European Union and would instead seek better economic ties with Russia.
That touched off the "EuroMaidan" protests that led to the fall of Yanukovych and his government three months later.
Poroshenko's website said the November 21 holiday will also commemorate the 2004 "Orange Revolution."
On January 22, 2014, the first anti-Yanukovych protesters were shot dead during clashes with the police.
Russia annexed Crimea in March and more than 4,000 people have been killed in a conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatist in eastern Ukarine.
From Reuters:
Russia said on Thursday it was doing everything possible to prevent hostilities between Ukrainian forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich as saying Kiev was failing to fulfil its obligations under the agreement underpinning a shaky ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, and said he had denied Moscow had sent in troops to back the rebels.
Just in from AFP:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to meet his German counterpart in Moscow next week for talks on the escalating conflict in Ukraine, Moscow said Thursday.
"On November 18 we are expecting a visit from German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier," Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said at a televised briefing.
"The exchange of opinions on the situation in Ukraine will be continued," Lukashevich said.
Steinmeier warned on Wednesday that there were signs that pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine were preparing for major clashes with troops loyal to the pro-Western government.
He has called on Russia to respect "the unity of Ukraine."
According to RFE/RL's news desk, the OSCE is not too happy with how its observer mission is faring in eastern Ukraine:
A top official from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says the group's observer mission in eastern Ukraine faces "unacceptable restrictions" on its mandate to monitor the border with Russia.
Ilkka Kanerva, the president of the OSCE's parliamentary assembly, told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on November 13 that OSCE monitors are limited to reporting "only what it sees pass through the official crossing along the tiniest strip of the border."
OSCE monitors have reported seeing unmarked military convoys on the move in territory held by pro-Russian separatists in recent days, but have not identified their origin.
NATO's top commander said on November 12 that "multiple columns" of Russian tanks, artillery, and antiaircraft units had crossed from Russia into separatist-controlled territory over the previous two days -- an allegation denied by Moscow.
Kanerva asked: "If we are not permitted to do it right, the question is -- is it worth to do it at all?"
This tweet from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko seems to suggest that he is declaring November (the anniversary of the start of the Euromaidan protests) a national holiday: