pro-Western government

Romania is to loan 150 million euro to Moldova to help it bolster its currency and continue work on several infrastructure projects.

The five-year loan, with a 1.5 per cent annual interest rate, was signed late on Wednesday in Chisinau, Moldova, but has to be approved by both countries' parliaments.

An exiled former top ally of ousted Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych on August 3 launched a shadowy committee to "save" the war-torn country, pledging to bring down the current pro-Western government.

Pro-Russian rebels cemented their hold Friday on a long-disputed airport ceded by Ukrainian troops during an upsurge in clashes that killed nearly 50 people and punctured Europe's latest push for peace in the nine-month war.
      

Kyiv and pro-Russian separatists will exchange hundreds of prisoners soon, an aide to the head of Ukraine's SBU state security service said on Dec. 26, as the military reported a slight increase in rebel attacks.