eastern Ukraine

Kremlin-installed officials in occupied southern Ukraine celebrated Russia Day on Sunday and began issuing Russian passports to those in one city who requested them, as Moscow seeks to solidify its rule over captured parts of the country. Russia Day is the holiday that marks Russia’s emergence as a sovereign state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ukrainian media reported...

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France will meet in Paris on Dec. 9 to try to seek a settlement for the five-year conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed 13,000 people.

Ukraine’s leader isn’t just trying to charm U.S. President Donald Trump — he’s set his sights now on Tom Cruise, too. Mission impossible? Maybe not — Cruise is studying possible Ukrainian locations for an upcoming film, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office.

Ukraine’s leader isn’t just trying to charm U.S. President Donald Trump — he’s set his sights now on Tom Cruise, too. Mission impossible? Maybe not — Cruise is studying possible Ukrainian locations for an upcoming film, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office. Zelenskiy tapped his roots as a TV and film comedian when hosting Cruise in the Ukrainian presidential...

Almost five years after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by a rocket over eastern Ukraine, investigators have identified four people they believe to be responsible, NBC News reported. The international team said Wednesday that charges will be brought against three Russians who used to have senior roles in that country’s military and security services, along with a Ukrainian. They...

Almost five years after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by a rocket over eastern Ukraine, investigators have identified four people they believe to be responsible, NBC News reported. The international team said Wednesday that charges will be brought against three Russians who used to have senior roles in that country’s military and security services, along with a Ukrainian. They...

A U.N. maritime tribunal ruled Saturday that Russia must immediately release three Ukrainian naval vessels it captured in November and free the 24 sailors it detained. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued its order at its Hamburg headquarters following a hearing earlier this month. Russia stayed away from both the hearing and Saturday’s session. Ukraine’s new...

An independent Ukrainian Orthodox church was created at a signing ceremony in Turkey on Saturday, formalizing a split with the Russian church it had been tied to since 1686. The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, signed the “Tomos” in Istanbul in front of clerics and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, forming the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. It forces Ukrainian clerics...

The Kremlin said Wednesday it still expects a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump to go ahead as planned despite a suggestion from Trump that it could be canceled. Trump, in an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, said he may cancel the sit-down with Putin at the G-20 summit in Argentina this weekend following Russia’s...

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser met in Moscow with top Russian officials Monday, less than 48 hours after Trump declared he intended to pull the United States out of a 1987 nuclear weapons treaty. National Security Adviser John Bolton and his Russian counterpart, Security Council chairman Nikolai Patrushev, discussed arms control agreements, Syria, Iran, North Korea and the fight...

The West unleashed an onslaught of new evidence and indictments Thursday accusing Russian military spies of hacking so widespread that it seemed to target anyone, anywhere who investigates Moscow’s involvement in an array of criminal activities — including doping, poisoning and the downing of a plane. Russia defiantly denied the charges, neither humbled nor embarrassed by the exceptional revelations on...

An investigative group in Britain says it has identified one of the two suspects in the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in the U.K. as a highly-decorated colonel in the Russian military intelligence agency GRU....
The group, Bellingcat, said Wednesday that the suspect, whose passport name was Ruslan Boshirov, is in fact Col. Anatoliy Chepiga, who in 2014 was awarded Russia’s...

With the established global order on shaky footing, President Donald Trump’s weeklong trip to Europe will test already strained bonds with some of the United States’ closest allies, then put him face to face with the leader of the country whose electoral interference was meant to help put him in office. Trump departs Tuesday on a four-nation tour amid simmering...

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had more words of praise for U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday, but added that he was sorely disappointed with the U.S. political system, saying that it has been “eating itself up.” Speaking in an interview with the Russian state television, Putin lavished Trump with praise, describing him as a great communicator. “I have no disappointment...

The Trump administration has approved a plan to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine, a long-awaited move that deepens America’s involvement in the military conflict and may further strain relations with Russia. Moscow responded angrily on Saturday. The new arms include American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, U.S. officials said late Friday. Ukraine has long sought to boost its defenses against Russian-backed separatists...

NATO said Friday that it is concerned about a Russian missile system that could carry nuclear warheads, and which it says could violate a landmark Cold War arms treaty. The U.S.-led military alliance said in a statement that “allies have identified a Russian missile system that raises serious concerns.” It urged Russia “to address these concerns in a substantial and...

A recommendation to send high-tech tank-killing weapons to Ukraine to help in its fight against Russia is now at the White House, three U.S. officials told NBC News. The officials said a proposed aid package includes Javelin anti-tank missiles with an estimated cost of about $50 million. While the three officials said no final decision has been made on providing...

The father of two siblings killed when Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over Ukraine three years ago said Monday that relatives of the 298 people killed would not rest until those responsible face justice. At an emotional ceremony marking three years since MH17 was shot down, Evert van Zijtveld said a group representing victims’ families “shall not give...

The Kremlin voiced displeasure Wednesday about new United States sanctions against Russia and called off much-anticipated talks with a senior U.S administration official in response. The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it had imposed sanctions on 38 Russian individuals and firms over Russian activities in Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the penalties were designed to “maintain pressure on Russia...

Vladimir Putin rushed Wednesday to defend U.S. President Donald Trump from criticism over sharing classified information with Moscow, issuing a strongly worded statement that reflected the degree of the Russian leader’s frustration with the Washington infighting that has thwarted Kremlin hopes for a detente. Trump’s decision to divulge classified intelligence with Russian diplomats marked a step toward Putin’s long-held goal...