The former Soviet state recently held free-and-fair elections, but unless it can eradicate corruption it will not gain EU entry and may slip into Russia’s clutches, says John Bruton.

Last week, the Irish Examiner published an opinion piece from the Russian ambassador marking the fifth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. Olena Shaloput of the Ukrainian Embassy responds

Spanish police have captured a cyber crime gang made up of Ukrainians and Russians which allegedly stole more than €1 billion from financial institutions worldwide in a five-year spree.

Roma striker Edin Dzeko is hoping his side can catch Champions League opponents Shakhtar Donetsk cold in their quarter-final tie tonight.

No opposition leader can muster a vision inspiring enough to compete with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, says Leonid Bershidsky

The European Union needs to show that it remains a transformative force for progress in its own neighbourhood, writes Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Donald Trump's personal lawyer has rejected a request for documents as part of Congress's investigation into Russia's election meddling and contacts with the Trump campaign.

Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine have said they are taking over scores of factories and mines in the region, many of them belonging to a tycoon whose foundation has been the largest provider of humanitarian aid to the war-battered population.

Ireland has been used as a transit base to smuggle at least 6,000 Ukrainians into Britain over the past two years, according to Spanish police who have smashed a gang which supplied them with fake Polish passports.

The number of residency permits issued by Ireland to non-EU citizens increased by almost 5% last year, to over 38,400.

Ukraine’s belief it was forging closer ties with the West was shaken by Brexit, but it remains a vital ally on the frontier between democracy and autocracy writes Erik Berglof.

Xenophobia and the resurgence of hard-line nationalists reflect disappointment with the unification project, and much of the blame lies with an economically imperialist and arrogant Germany and with the unwillingness of other member states to take the lead, says Lucian Kim

Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Sevilla 2

Some of the stranger stories from around the globe

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would dip into the January transfer market if he could sign a player for his long-term plans but he will not look for a quick-fix to the lack of goals.

Get a taste of some of the interesting and quirky happenings in Europe from our Europe correspondent, Ann Cahill.

The Russian plane that crashed in Egypt was not struck from the outside and the pilot did not make a distress call before it disappeared from radar, a source in the committee analysing the flight recorders said yesterday.

Narrator Aron is a wild young Jewish boy in the Warsaw ghettos. 

Ukraine is in a dire financial situation, but there seems little international will to help this huge pro-European country, writes John Bruton 

A full-scale pitch invasion in a European semi-final is a rare occurrence.

Ukraine has accused two Russian servicemen it said it captured of being part of a special forces group that had killed and wounded Ukrainian servicemen in fighting in its eastern regions and said they would be prosecuted for “terrorist acts”.

Bayern Munich v Shaktar

Policeman and demonstrator die after explosion at memorial rally

Ukraine has pulled most of its troops out of Debaltseve, president Petro Poroshenko says.

Intense artillery exchanges between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists have persisted around a strategic town in eastern Ukraine – fighting that threatens to dash a ceasefire deal brokered by European leaders last week.

A ceasefire that went into effect today in eastern Ukraine appears largely to be holding, except around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.

Russia sanctions to stay in place for now ‘to give peace a chance’

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France agreed to meet in Belarus on Wednesday to try to broker a peace deal for Ukraine amid escalating violence there and signs of cracks in the transatlantic consensus on confronting Vladimir Putin.

THE decision by the EU last week to extend economic sanctions against Russia until the end of September reflects the growing crisis in the region. 

We must remember that without the efforts of the Red Army , the Nazis would have been able to complete their attempted genocide of Europe’s Jews, writes Geoffrey Roberts

Thirteen people were killed when a bus in Ukraine was hit by a rocket earlier this month, but it barely registered as news outside a country still fighting on all sides, writes Lucian Kim

Ukraine’s president vowed today to reassert government control over eastern regions as the army unleashed a counter-offensive against Russian-backed separatist fighters vying for command over the airport in the city of Donetsk.

A major exchange of war prisoners is getting under way in eastern Ukraine, with about 370 expected to be released.

A major exchange of war prisoners is getting under way in eastern Ukraine, with about 370 expected to be released.

French president Francois Hollande has met Russian leader Vladimir Putin during an impromptu visit to Moscow in a rare display of goodwill amid high tensions over the ongoing conflict in east Ukraine and France’s decision to suspend the delivery of two warships to Russia.

US vice president Joe Biden has criticised Russia for its role in eastern Ukraine, urging Moscow to uphold a ceasefire in the war-torn region as he visited Kiev on the anniversary of the country’s anti-government protests.

Tonight is when the Champions League starts to get serious.

Residents of separatist-controlled regions in eastern Ukraine have been voting to elect legislators and executives in polls that have been staunchly denounced by the international community.

Ukrainians have overwhelming voted in several pro-Western parties in a landmark parliamentary election today, another nudge in the former Soviet nation’s drift away from Russia.