Kiev

Pro-Russian separatists vowed Feb. 2 to mobilise up to 100,000 fighters for their latest east Ukraine offensive as the US mulled sending weapons to Kiev's out-gunned forces after the latest truce bid collapsed.
      

Ukraine slips deeper into war as hostilities continue

DONETSK, BELGRADE -- The city of Donetsk has been under almost constant fire after the breakdown in the Minsk negotiations, while the situation near Debaltsevo remains critical.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bogdan Aurescu qualified the attack of Mariupol as a test for the international community, also probing the response of the European Union, which should come up with a 'firm, clear and proportional' response to the actual situation in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine; any hesitation could affect 'the credibility of the EU as a whole,' he said in a press conference a

Minsk signatories "urged to return to talks"

VIENNA, BELGRADE -- OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ivica Dacic has reiterated his call to all sides in the Ukrainian conflict to return to the negotiating table.

Russia asks Bosnia to stop sending arms to Ukraine

MOSCOW -- The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has appealed on Bosnia-Herzegovina to stop arms shipments to the Ukrainian military.

The ministry's website said Moscow was reacting to statements that ammunition made in Bosnia was used in the war in Ukraine.

US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Jan. 28 that Washington was ready to increase sanctions on Russia over its actions in war-torn Ukraine.
 
Lew's comments during a visit to Kyiv came one day after EU heads of state threatened to impose further financial measures against Moscow in response to the latest upsurge in violence in Ukraine's nine-month war.
 

Kiev wants others to join it in declaring Russia "aggressor"

KIEV -- The Ukrainian parliament has called on the UN, NATO, and other organization to declare Russia as "aggressor state."

Previously, the parliament adopted a statement on "Russian aggression in Ukraine" which "opens the door to consequences according to international law."

Putin slams Ukrainian forces as "NATO legion"

ST. PETERSBURG, KIEV -- Ukrainian armed forces are in essence a NATO legion, which is not serving the country's national interests, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Nearly 500 coal miners in Ukraine's war-torn east were briefly trapped underground on Monday after their pit lost power when a shell hit an electricity substation.
      
The incident occurred in rebel-controlled Donetsk city's Zasyadko coal mine -- one of eastern Europe's largest and scene of a similar incident on January 11.
      

Nearly 500 coal miners in Ukraine's war-torn east were trapped on Jan. 26 after their pit lost power when a shell hit an electricity substation.
      
The accident occurred in rebel-controlled Donetsk city's Zasyadko coal mine -- one of eastern Europe's largest, where the same type of incident briefly trapped 300 miners on January 11.