Europe’s fear of IS and the US’s election uncertainty have diverted attention from Vladimir Putin’s ambitions, writes Agnia Grigas

Violence as MPs back plan giving autonomy to rebel-held areas.

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”.

Britain: A “poo bus”, which runs on human and household waste, goes into regular service this month. Powered by biomethane gas, the Bio-Bus will use waste from more than 32,000 households along its 24km route.

Ukrainian military and separatist representatives exchanged dozens of prisoners under cover of darkness at a remote frontline location, kicking off a process intended to usher in peace to the conflict-ridden east.

For the rebel fighters who seized control of the strategic town Ukraine of Debaltseve, it was a day of jubilation and bragging of victory.

A Ukrainian military spokesman says more than 90% of its forces have been withdrawn from the fiercely contested town of Debaltseve and its surroundings.

Ukrainian forces and separatist rebels fought fierce street battles for control of the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, impeding implementation of a peace plan.

A ceasefire that went into effect yesterday in eastern Ukraine appeared largely to be holding, officials said, except for around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.

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

Fierce fighting surged in eastern Ukraine yesterday as Russian-backed separatists mounted a major, sustained offensive to capture a strategic railway hub ahead of a weekend ceasefire deadline. At least 25 people were killed across the region, officials reported.

Talks on a Ukraine peace initiative will continue with a telephone call tomorrow between Russian president Vladimir Putin and his counterpart in Kiev to discuss a proposal to end the fighting.

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. 

Artillery fire in eastern Ukraine has killed at least eight people and wounded 22 others in the past day, rebels in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk said.

Ukrainian troops battled to repel waves of Russian-backed separatists trying to surround a strategic railway hub in eastern Ukraine, while in an ominous sign for peace efforts, the rebels announced plans to boost the size of their armed forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz to press the Russian points on Ukraine.

Deadly rocket attacks on the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol that “knowingly targeted civilians” broke international humanitarian law and could amount to war crimes, the United Nations’ political chief has said.

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

At least seven people are reported to have been killed when a city bus was hit by an artillery shell in a separatist stronghold in east Ukraine.

Diplomats from Russia and Ukraine agreed on a dividing line from where both sides should pull back their heavy weapons.

Separatist forces in eastern Ukraine have deployed large quantities of arms and manpower to an emerging flashpoint, undermining hopes for a new peace initiative taking shape.

Ukrainian separatists carried out sporadic attacks on government forces as the New Year began, wounding three soldiers, the Kiev military said, as President Petro Poroshenko told the nation to brace for a year that would “not be easy”.

Vladimir Putin is channelling his inner Trotsky through his dealings and attitudes towards Ukraine. Surely a day of reckoning will soon come, writes Yuliya Tymoshenko

Talks aimed at reaching a stable ceasefire in Ukraine between its government forces and pro-Russian armed groups ended after more than five hours.

Government troops and Russian-backed separatists have largely suspended hostilities in east Ukraine in a fresh attempt to revive a largely ignored ceasefire deal.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed nearly 300 people in the last month despite a ceasefire and has violated people’s rights so much it could amount to war crimes, UN rights investigators said.

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has ordered army reinforcements to key southern and eastern cities, in case of a new rebel offensive.

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.

Two pro-European parties in Ukraine running on a platform to enact tough reforms have taken the lead in the Ukrainian parliamentary election.

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

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.

Shelling in rebel-held parts of east Ukraine killed at least 12 civilians as a top leader of pro-Russian rebels rejected Ukrainian legislation meant to end the unrest by granting self-rule to large swathes of the east.

Ukraine is “still in a state of war” with neighbouring Russia despite a cease-fire between Kiev’s forces and Moscow-backed rebels in the east, the country’s prime minister said shortly after a second convoy of Russian trucks rolled into Ukraine.

Clashes have broken out outside the main rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine, throwing the freshly forged ceasefire agreement between government troops and Russian-backed separatists into further doubt.

Witnesses in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol reported sustained explosions outside the city last night, and a volunteer battalion of Ukrainian fighters says Grad rockets were fired at its positions.

Ukraine, Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists signed a ceasefire deal after five months of bloodshed, and Europe prepared additional sanctions on Moscow.

Vladimir Putin has called on Russian-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine to “stop advancing” and urged the Ukrainian army to withdraw their troops from the region.

Russian military forces have been spotted in both major rebel-held cities in eastern Ukraine, an official said, prompting Ukraine to declare it now has to fight the Russian army, not just the separatists.

Russia has announced plans to send a second aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine, where months of fighting have left many residential buildings in ruins.

Ukraine’s president has vowed to boost military spending by 40 billion hryvnia (€2.25bn) in the next three years as government forces seek to overpower pro-Russian separatists in the east.

Hundreds of trucks from a bitterly disputed Russian aid convoy to rebel-held eastern Ukraine rolled back across the border into Russia today.

Some of the trucks in a Russian aid convoy which entered Ukraine in a move denounced by Kiev as an invasion are reported to be returning to Russia.

The head of NATO says it has observed an "alarming" build-up of Russian ground and air forces near the Ukrainian border.