Fifteen years have passed since the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the NATO military alliance, a decision the ex-Soviet satellites now see as fortuitous given today's Ukraine standoff between Russia and the West.
Diplomatic efforts to calm the Ukraine crisis inched forward Monday, with Moscow saying it would consider Western proposals for talks on the standoff but insisting Crimea had the right to secede.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has seemingly been in the "deep freeze" since the Cold War and is applying its outdated KGB mentality in Ukraine, Britain's deputy prime minister said Saturday.
Ukraine braced Saturday for new pro-Russian protests in the tense eastern city of Donetsk after Moscow threatened to stop crucial gas supplies to the country, further escalating hostilities with the West.
New Ukrainian power intends to enjoy the fruits of its victory to attack human rights and freedoms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday.
Gazprom's supply contract with Ukraine may be revised, deputy chairman of the gas export monopoly's managing committee and head of the company's finance and economic department Andrey Kruglov told investors in London.
Ukraine has placed its army on full combat alert, but with ageing equipment and limited personnel, it has remained cautiously defensive in the face of an incursion by Russian forces.
Human rights should not be used for changing legitimate governments, Russia's foreign ministry said on Monday before Minister Sergei Lavrov's attending the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva.
US Secretary of State John Kerry bluntly warned Russia Sunday that it risked losing its seat among the prestigious Group of Eight nations, as well as economic turmoil, if it fails to pull its forces out of Crimea.
NATO leaders were to meet Sunday after the interim Ukrainian government requested the alliance's support against Russia, whose parliament authorised the use of military force in the country.
The situation in Ukraine consolidates the Russian society, chairman of the State Duma's committee on the CIS, Eurasian integration and compatriots Leonid Slutsky says.
The United States on Wednesday warned Russia against any military intervention in Ukraine as it revealed it was drawing up an economic aid package including $1 billion in loan guarantees.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has no incentive to interfere militarily in Ukraine and cannot be blamed for “inflaming the situation” that led to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, former Kremlin adviser Alexander Nekrassov told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
The United States offered Sunday to assist the Ukraine in rebuilding its battered economy following three months of devastating protests that have plunged the country into its worst crisis since independence.
US Secretary of State John Kerry slammed Russia on Monday for "enabling" Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to stay in power in the war-torn country, after Geneva peace talks broke off without result at the weekend.