Russians in Ukraine

Russia accused the Ukrainian authorities of preparing for a new war after the parliament in Kiev passed the law on the reintegration of Donbass, defining the armed conflict in the eastern part of the country as "a temporary Russian occupation," the BNR reported.

The former deputy in the Russian Duma Denis Voronenkov has been killed in front of a hotel in Kiev, confirmed Ukrainian authorities.

President Petro Poroshenko described the murder as "an act of terrorism on the part of Russia". "The clear signature of the Russian special services has appeared several times across different European capitals."

It has been more than three years since Ukrainians gathered at Maidan Square in Kyiv on the night of Nov. 21, 2013, to demand closer integration with Europe and the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych.

The USA extended the list of sanctioned Russian and Ukrainian individuals and institutions in an attempt to maintain pressure on Russia for Moscow's alleged support of separatists in Ukraine.

The administration of US President Barack Obama added on Thursday the names of 26 people and entities that will be subjected to economic sanctions, the New York Times informs.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday dismissed the ?absurdity? of EU complaints over a travel ban imposed by Moscow on 89 Europeans over the Ukraine crisis.

"Enough about Crimea - let's consider Kosovo, Libya, Iraq"

MOSCOW -- Russia's partners in the West should pay attention to NATO's 1999 bombing of Serbia, to Kosovo, and the breakup of Libya, "and not just to Crimea."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made this statement on Tuesday, TASS reported.

Russia has significantly built up its military capabilities in Crimea since the peninsula was incorporated into its territory following a local referendum, NATO officials say.

The processes there "are easy to describe as militarization", NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Philip Breedlove has told Ukraine's 1+1 TV channel.

Putin reveals how Crimea was "returned to Russia"

MOSCOW -- Russia's Rossiya-1 broadcaster has announced it will soon air a documentary called "Crimea. Homeland-bound."

The television interviewed President Vladimir Putin, who revealed some details about the operation that returned the peninsula to Russia, Russian news agencies are reporting.

An explosion killed two people and wounded 11 on Feb. 22 in Ukraine's government-controlled eastern city of Kharkiv, officials said.
      
The explosion happened during a pro-Ukrainian march marking the one-year anniversary of the overthrow of the country's former pro-Kremlin president.
      

Ukrainians voted on Oct. 26 in an election that is likely to install a pro-Western parliament and strengthen President Petro Poroshenko's mandate to end separatist conflict in the east, but may fuel tension with Russia.