The Kremlin’s military aggression in 2014 finally failed because of Ukraine’s strengthened links with the West, says Carl Bildt

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

A border guard vessel has been attacked by land-based forces, Ukraine said, hours after Russian president Vladimir Putin called for immediate talks on a political solution to the crisis in the east of the country.

Fighting raged yesterday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk despite a request from the pro-Russian rebels for a ceasefire to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe." Ukrainian officials demanded that the insurgents surrender instead.