Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blamed Russia's security service for last year's downing of the MH17 airliner over pro-Kremlin separatist territory in the east of the ex-Soviet state.
The French government has given the green light for the extradition of Kazakh tycoon and opposition figure Mukhtar Ablyazov to Russia, where he is accused of embezzling billions of dollars.
Ukranian President Petro Poroshenko stressed the need for legitimate elections in the country's separatist regions in order to eventually re-integrate the pro-Moscow strongholds.
President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would not deploy ground troops to Syria, where it has been conducting air strikes against what it says are Islamic State target.
US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter predicted Russia would soon begin suffering casualties in Syria, as Moscow dramatically ramps up its military campaign in the devastated nation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia that Ankara has alternatives to Moscow for building its first nuclear power plant and importing gas, as tensions rise over the Russian bombing campaign in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's bullish entry into the Syrian conflict has worked wonders for his popularity in neighbouring Iraq, where some await "Hajji Putin" like a saviour.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said there had been a "troubling escalation" in Russian military activity in Syria, after Moscow dramatically expanded its air campaign.
Vladimir Putin marked his 63rd birthday dividing his attention between hockey and Syria as supporters sang his praises, comparing him to a range of heroic figures from Buddha to Batman.
Russian gas giant Gazprom said its TurkStream pipeline project with Turkey would be delayed as tensions between Moscow and Ankara peak over Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said only two Russian air strikes in Syria had targeted Islamic State jihadists and warned that Ankara would not make any concessions about the security of its borders
The hulking Soviet-era mineral refinery in Pikalyovo, one of Russia's hundreds of factory towns hit by a crippling economic crisis, has been a blessing, and at times a curse, for a place dependent on a single industry.
British Prime Minister David Cameron urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to "change direction" in Syria and recognise that its President Bashar al-Assad must be replaced.
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov called on the Kremlin to let a contingent from his region fight the Islamic State in Syria, where Russia launched air strikes earlier this week.
The Soviet Union's last leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who has been battling diabetes, said his health is improving and that he can walk again with the help of a stick.
Bankruptcy is the only solution for Russia's second largest airline Transaero after state-controlled Aeroflot backed out of purchasing the debt-laden carrier.
Russian air strikes in Syria will last for three to four months and will intensify, a senior Russian lawmaker said as President Vladimir Putin was due in Paris for talks.