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Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has compared the April 26, 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster with the ongoing crisis in Ukraine's east, adding that "Russia is conducting an undeclared war against his country."

Poroshenko spoke at the defunct nuclear power plant, where he and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka lamented the "unhealing wound" inflicted by the Soviet-era accident 31 years ago and commemorated its victims.

"We again have buried thousands of people. Again we have hundreds of thousands of displaced people," Poroshenko said, referring to the conflict with Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine since 2014.

"I am confident that together, we will defeat that demon as well," he said.

Lukashenka voiced solidarity, saying that "Belarusians are and will always be your reliable friends" -- a tacit reassurance that while Belarus is Russia's ally, it is also wary of Moscow and does not support Russia's infringements on Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Reactor No. 4 at the power plant north of Kyiv, in then-Soviet Ukraine exploded at 1:23 a.m. on April 26, 1986, after a safety test went wrong.

About 30 people died in the immediate aftermath and thousands more are feared to have died in the years that followed from the effects of the disaster, which spread radiation across parts of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and large swaths of Europe.

PHOTO GALLERY: Russian Photographer Recalls Death, Beauty Inside Chernobyl's Fourth Reactor (Click To Open)

The precise number of victims and extent of the damage remains the subject of debate, in part because the Soviet authorities took days to publicly acknowledge the disaster and kept information hidden.

Last year, the crumbling "sarcophagus" used to contain radiation from the smoldering reactor at the time was replaced with a 2.3-billion-dollar metal dome in a bid to stop future leaks. More than 200 tons of uranium remain buried inside.

Two years before the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from Afghanistan following a losing war of occupation, the Chernobyl disaster was in retrospect another sign of the weaknesses of the communist giant that collapsed in 1991.

Poroshenko called it "an unhealing wound that we live with as a people."

"Perhaps more than anyone else, the Chernobyl tragedy affected our Belarusian brothers," he said, referring to the fact that winds blew radiation northward into Belarus, where some its strongest effects were felt.

"Both Belarusians and Ukrainians know that the Chernobyl catastrophe knows no borders," Lukashenka said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman paid tribute to the Chernobyl "liquidators" -- emergency workers, state employees, and others sent into clean up after the disaster with little or no preparation, protective gear, or information about the gruesome dangers they faced.

"Thank you to the heroes who, at the expense of their own lives and health, protected us from the horrible consequences of this tragedy," Hroysman wrote on Facebook.

Meanwhile, some 400 protesters marched in Minsk on April 26 to protest the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Ostrovets district of the western Hrodno region, RFE/RL's Belarus Service reported.

The first unit of the plant, being built in conjunction with Russia's Atomstroyexport, is due to be finished in 2019.

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Poroshenko Compares Chernobyl's 'Unhealing Wound' With East Ukraine War - RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty

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Land Mine Kills American on Monitoring Mission in Ukraine New York Times A member of the European monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine was killed and two others were injured Sunday when their vehicle drove over a mine near Luhansk. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which runs the monitoring ... Blast kills American on international monitoring mission in eastern UkraineUSA TODAY American Killed as Monitoring Mission In Ukraine Suffers First DeathNewsweek American monitor killed in Ukraine when mine hits vehicleThe Boston Globe BBC News -Eyewitness News -Tristatehomepage.com all 153 news articles »

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Land Mine Kills American on Monitoring Mission in Ukraine - New York Times

The first round of French presidential elections dominated the headlines this weekend, but the world continued to spin miles away from Paris.

In Ukraine on Sunday, an American paramedic working with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe was killed in eastern Ukraine when his vehicle hit a mine. Two others were injured. This is the first death of an OSCE official in the war in Ukraine that has taken over 10,000 lives.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed his condolences to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who reiterated the United States firm commitment to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. In a statement, State Department acting spokesperson Mark Toner called on Russia to use its influence with the [Russian-backed] separatists to allow for a timely investigation into the death. Toner also urged Russia to use that same influence to encourage the separatists to take the first step toward peace to eastern Ukraine and ensure a visible, verifiable, and irreversible improvement in the security situation.

Russia, for its part, said the circumstances surrounding the death indicated it was likely a provocation.

But Russias seemingly immutable stance on eastern Ukraine is not the only one to watch from the Kremlin this week. On April 17, federal prosecutors launched an investigation into media reports on the alleged abduction, torture, and killing of gay men in Chechnya. On Monday, however, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the European Unions report on alleged violations of rights of gay men in Chechnya must be based on facts. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitri Peskov said theres no reason to doubt Chechnyas leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, when he said there were no abuses of gay people in Chechnya.

How, or whether, the international community responds is still to be seen. On Monday, Mogherini said the EU is ready to return to working strategically with Russia.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, nearing his 100 day mark, spent the weekend tweeting on the importance of jobs in the face of drastic environmental change; Mexicos alleged eventual payment for a border wall; and polls.

Vice President Mike Pence, who cut his trip to the Pacific short to deal with domestic matters, spent the weekend undoing damage Trump did with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull shortly after his inauguration, reaffirming the refugee deal between the United States and Australia that set Trump off in the first place.

Photo credit:ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images

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American Killed in Ukraine, Kremlin Coy on Alleged Abuses of Gay Chechens: The Weekend Behind, the Week Ahead - Foreign Policy (blog)

If you havent seen on social media the #CFL has landed in Ukraine! We had the opportunity to visit Canadian troops who are stationed here and had an unbelievable day. I have never felt prouder to be Canadian and can say without hesitation this trip has been profound and frankly overwhelming at times. More on that in another post, but let me take you though what we had a chance to experience. Our day began with a bus ride to the base where we were greeted by a group of our soldiers. They had setup a room for us where they had laid out all sorts of equipment, primarily guns (without ammo of course), for us to pickup and hold and they answered any questions we had- and there we many. Please note that if my camera skills look off in the photos or videos from today, we are not allowed to show the faces of most of the troops on this base in order to protect their identity.

Then we were given a briefing on Operation Unifier, this is the what approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces are working on in Ukraine. Essentially Canadians are there to help train the Ukrainian army to help it reach NATO standards, but please take some time to read more about Operation Unifier here. From there we went to lunch, where we were served a traditional Ukrainian meal. Eating together (lunch and dinner) with the troops was easily one of my favourite parts of the day.Sharing such a normal moment under suchunusual circumstances with our troops was surprisingly introspective and layered with emotion.

Following our meal we had a chance to host a group of our military on the football field! Yes, CFL footballs were sent over and they were flying around! This was what the players had been looking forward to (please go check out our Instagram story and SnapChat to take a look) The players were awesome coaches, breaking themselves into five groups by position and having the troops rotate through stations of position specific football drills and skills. At the very end we had a pseudo special teams competition where the troops would try and catch a punt, being eliminated if they missed and the winner won a signed Stamps jersey! Watching the troops and our players cheer on the person trying to catch, hanging onto every movement until the person would catch, or drop. If successful everyone would erupt in whoops and applause and high fivesit was like something out of a movie.

From there we toured the base itself, which was an experience I will never forget. We had a chance to check out the Canadian gym, Canada house (where the guys hang out), some of the facilities and their living quarters. This was perhaps the most eye opening experience of the day. Men and women are stationed here for eight months and they almost all live in these MASSIVE bunk rooms, where each row has about eight sets of bunk beds. The troops have made makeshift privacy curtains by hanging sheets over wire and all of their personal belongings are jammed into this one tiny area. I didnt feel comfortable taking photos of this, it felt too personal. But there was one soldier who was proudly wearing his Saskatchewan Roughrider flip flops, so I asked is I could snap a picture and he happily agreed (Rider Nation you are EVERYWHERE)

After sharing dinner with our troops we spent the evening in the auditorium for an awesome night! The Grey Cup arrived and was welcomed by a long and rousing applause. It was a moment another I will never forget. The amazing Sara Orlesky from TSN hosted the evening which started by introducing the #CFL players on the trip. As each player was called up they drew a name of one of the troops to win a CFL prize; signed footballs, jerseys, t-shirts, ball caps and the troops LOVED it! Then we were all treated to an amazing show by Canadian country phenom Dallas Smith and laughed and laughed thanks to comedian John Sheehan.

Its about 1:30am and we have another exciting day tomorrow so I am off to bed! Thank you for reading and please continue to follow all @CFL social accounts for more from our trip and if youd like to get in touch with me directly @BrodieLawson on Instagram and Twitter.

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Stop #1: The CFL Visits Our Troops In Ukraine - CFL.ca

Designer Anastasiya Rudnik is a co-owner of the Ukrainian Street Wear shop in central Kiev. Lucian Kim/NPR hide caption

Designer Anastasiya Rudnik is a co-owner of the Ukrainian Street Wear shop in central Kiev.

A couple of years ago, Kiev business journalist Yuliya Savostina decided to try an experiment: to spend a year living off food and other goods produced exclusively in Ukraine.

Inspired by the local food movement in the United States, Savostina started a blog to document her experience. She didn't expect it to last very long.

"I was sure that there weren't any cosmetics or toothpaste or normal shoes that you could wear," Savostina says. "But, literally, by the end of the first month I realized that Ukraine makes practically everything you just have to look for it."

To her great surprise, Savostina discovered that her country, once the breadbasket of the Soviet Union, produces luxury foods such as caviar, snails and Spanish-style jamon. When she thought scurvy might be setting in after a long winter, Savostina even found domestically cultivated kiwis and oranges.

Savostina's experiment came to an end in early 2014 as Ukraine was rocked by violent anti-government protests and a Russian military intervention. Many of her readers turned to her for advice on where they could buy domestic substitutes for Russian-made goods. That summer, Savostina helped organize one of the first pop-up markets to feature Ukrainian producers.

Vsi.Svoi, or All.Ours, is a multilevel store in central Kiev selling only Ukrainian-made clothes, shoes and accessories. Lucian Kim/NPR hide caption

Vsi.Svoi, or All.Ours, is a multilevel store in central Kiev selling only Ukrainian-made clothes, shoes and accessories.

The surge in patriotic feelings coincided with the crash of the Ukrainian currency, the hryvna, driving up demand for locally made goods even more.

It was around that time that Anastasiya Rudnik opened a basement shop in downtown Kiev featuring Ukrainian streetwear, including clothes she designs herself.

Three underground rooms are lined with racks of hoodies, sweatshirts and jackets in camouflage, black and gray. They're the kind of clothes any self-respecting skateboarder would wear in Los Angeles or Portland only they're all made in Ukraine.

"We try to buy Ukrainian fabrics as much as possible," Rudnik, 24, says. "We do everything with love. We create each piece individually, not by mass production."

Growing their businesses is one of the main challenges for Ukrainian entrepreneurs, says journalist Savostina. Other hurdles include the country's notorious bureaucracy, heavy tax burden and the high cost of borrowing.

For small- and medium-sized Ukrainian businesses, it's not so much a question of improving quality as the marketing behind it, says Veronika Movchan, an economist with the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting in Kiev.

Socks are among the products sold at Kiev's Vsi.Svoi. Lucian Kim/NPR hide caption

Socks are among the products sold at Kiev's Vsi.Svoi.

"What Ukrainians should probably learn from Americans is how to sell their products, how to pack them, how to label them, how to advertise them and how promote them on the domestic and external markets," Movchan says.

Although startups and boutique designers still make up a small part of the overall economy, Movchan says the entrepreneurial skills young Ukrainians are learning are essential for the country's future development.

One of the best symbols of that new entrepreneurship is Vsi.Svoi, or All.Ours, a multilevel store on Kiev's main shopping street featuring dozens of brands of Ukrainian-made clothes, shoes and accessories.

The store opened in September, with prices for a coat ranging from $90 to $250 and a dress from $20 to $150.

"I want to make it normal to buy Ukrainian, like from any other international retailer," says founder Anna Lukovkina, 32.

A lot of the Ukrainian brands have generic-sounding English names like Truman, Brooklyn or Zen Wear. But there are also distinctly Ukrainian labels like Zerno, Kozzyr, Etnodim, Kozzachka and Cabanchi.

Once those designers have established themselves at home, Lukovkina says, they'll be ready to conquer the world.

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Young Entrepreneurs Find Funky Niche In Products 'Made In Ukraine' - NPR