pro-Russian

Kurt Volker, who was appointed US representative for Ukraine negotiations in July, tweeted on Wednesday that he will meet his Russian counterpart on Saturday in the Serbian capital.

"Will meet Russian counterpart Oct 7 in Belgrade to discuss how to catalyze Minsk implementation and restore Ukraine's territorial integrity," Volker tweeted.

The situation of the civil population in eastern Ukraine is reaching critical levels in the regions affected by the escalation in fighting between government forces in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists, stated Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, who is currently chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Western leaders who met on the margins of last week's Group of 20 summit in Turkey agreed to extend sanctions imposed on Russia for its intervention in Ukraine by six months until July of next year, a senior European diplomat told Reuters.

Russia has an important role in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region despite its "controversies" with the EU over Ukraine, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Daniel Mitov has said.

There is no ground for the EU to expand its sanctions against Russia over Ukraine as the latest Minsk truce holds, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said on Tuesday.

NATO member Poland, bordering conflict-torn Ukraine, has earmarked a whopping EUR 33.6 B in spending to modernise its armed forces.

The plans will bring Poland in line with NATO's recommended defense spending target of 2% of gross domestic product, AFP said on Monday.

The number of citizenship applications from ethnic Bulgarians living in Ukraine hasn't increased, Bulgaria's Vice President Margarita Popova said on Saturday.

Bosnia's Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Minister, Boris Tucic, on Thursday said that he had resigned, citing mounting pressure to allow sales of Bosnian ammunition to Ukraine.

The next round of the Minsk talks between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels has been called off, according to Belarusian officials.

A spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry is quoted by the BBC as saying "there wil be no contact group meeting today", but stopped short of any specific reason.

As many as 90 Russian trucks have delivered loads of humanitarian aid to the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine.

The convoy has transported there medicaments, construction and New Year presents.

Deliveries have a total weight of 1.4 tons. Some reports say the amount is higher and even put the number of trucks at up to 170.