Minister for European Affairs Paschal Donohue said on RTE News recently regarding the Ukraine that "mechanisms must be developed to lead to a de-escalation of the tension". Sadly the actions of EU foreign ministers are only fuelling the crisis.

Ukraine must pay in advance for Russian gas supplies starting from next month, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.

Ukraine’s government launched talks on decentralising power as part of a European-backed peace plan but did not invite its main foes, the pro-Russia insurgents who have declared independence in the east.

The Kremlin has said Ukraine’s government should engage in a dialogue with the eastern parts of the country following the controversial referendums where about 90% of voters said they backed their regions’ sovereignty.

Some 90% of voters in a key industrial region in eastern Ukraine have come out in favour of sovereignty, pro-Russian insurgents said.

The airport of a volatile eastern Ukrainian city has been closed, a day after troops mounted an offensive against pro-Russian forces that killed at least a dozen people.

Authorities in Ukraine say government forces have reclaimed a television tower during a security operation to quell pro-Russian rebel activity in the eastern town of Kramatorsk.

The United States froze assets and imposed visa bans on seven Russians close to President Vladimir Putin yesterday and also sanctioned 17 Russian companies in reprisal for Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

The United States has announced new sanctions on seven Russian government officials and 17 companies with links to President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.

William Hague has insisted damage to the British economy from imposing trade sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis would be a “price worth paying”.

However superficial the comparisons between Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Putin may appear, the chilling similarities between their mutual strategies have become more ominous by the day.

Top diplomats have agreed to take immediate steps toward calming tensions in Ukraine, Russia’s foreign minister says.

Vladimir Putin wants to restore Russia to what he claims is its former glory. And Ukraine is the starting point, writes Richard Haass

Crimea, officially annexed by Russia, is experiencing turbulent times as Vladimir Putin puts his mark on all facets of life on the peninsula, writes Alissa de Carbonnel

Pro-Russian separatists have seized a police building in yet another city in Russian-leaning eastern Ukraine, defying government warnings that it was preparing to act against the insurgents.

People in eastern Ukraine are waiting to see if action will be taken against pro-Russian militants occupying government buildings in the region.

Vladimir Putin has told European leaders that Ukraine’s growing gas debts to Moscow can threaten supplies to Europe.

Escalating events in Ukraine are a cause for great concern and have the potential to have a direct impact on our lives, especially if sanctions are imposed on energy-rich Russia.

An unnamed “radical” group is keeping 60 people hostage inside a government office in the eastern city of Luhansk, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia’s prime minister has arrived in Crimea to consider priorities for its economic development following the Russian takeover.

Russia's Foreign Minister says his country has no intention of sending its armed forces into Ukraine.

Ukrainian ex-world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko has announced he will not run for president and will instead throw his support behind billionaire businessman Petro Poroshenko.

Vladimir Putin has called US president Barack Obama to discuss a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis.

President Barack Obama said Russia’s troop build-up on the Ukraine border was out of the ordinary and called on Moscow to pull its military back and begin talks to defuse tensions.

With his annexation of Crimea, will Vladimir Putin now turn Russian eyes on other targets? Nina Khrushcheva reports

Yulia Tymoshenko, the former prime minister of Ukraine who was released from jail last month after her arch-foe Viktor Yanukovych fled from power, has confirmed she will again run for president in an election on May 25.

Russia is accusing Ukrainian officials of barring crews of Russian commercial airlines from going outside their aircraft at Ukrainian airports.

US reluctance to engage militarily with Russia in the past suggests it would be well-advised to back off and give the lead role in the Crimea crisis to a group of EU leaders, writes Anne-Marie Slaughter.

Russia’s aggression is a watershed moment for Europe, which has to prove much with less, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill.

Ukraine’s acting president has said the country’s troops stationed in Crimea are to be pulled out of the region after it was annexed by Russia.

Two servicemen have been taken captive after Russian forces stormed another Ukrainian military base on the Crimean Peninsula today, officials said.

There are reports this morning that Russian troops are trying to seize a Ukrainian naval base in Crimea.

Nato’s top military commander said Russia had a large force on Ukraine’s eastern border and that he was worried it could pose a threat to Moldova’s separatist Transdniestria region.

Aspiring superpower China has so far been happy to sit on the fence over neighbour Russia’s actions in Crimea, as it waits to see what may be possible closer to home, writes Max Strasser

President Vladimir Putin has signed bills making Crimea part of Russia, completing the annexation from Ukraine.

President Vladimir Putin has said there is no need for Russia to further retaliate against US sanctions.

European Union leaders will today sign a trade deal with Ukraine designed to give economic support to the beleaguered state in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

Russia sidelining itself from the global economy will usher in a new era, writes Giles Merritt

Pro-Russian forces have seized three Ukrainian warships and Ukraine said its troops were being threatened in Crimea as the US announced a new round of sanctions against Russia.

The United States President Barack Obama has confirmed the US is moving to impose additional sanctions on Russia.

Ukraine’s government says it is drawing up plans to withdraw its troops from Crimea, where Russia is steadily taking formal control as its armed forces seize military installations across the peninsula.

US vice president Joe Biden is warning Russia that the United States will respond to any aggression against Nato allies.

Russia has signed a treaty to incorporate Crimea into its territory following a referendum in which residents of Ukraine’s region overwhelmingly backed the move.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has defended his country’s move to annex Crimea, saying that the rights of ethnic Russians have been abused by the Ukrainian government.