Ukrainian forces have suffered fresh losses in a rebel raid in the separatist east as the newly-elected president promised to hold his first talks with Russia's Vladimir Putin on easing the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War.
Russia's ice hockey team avenged their defeat at the Sochi Olympics as watched by President Vladimir Putin they overpowered Finland 5-2 to take gold at the world championships in Minsk.
Chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko claimed a resounding victory on Sunday in Ukraine's presidential election and immediately vowed to end a bloody pro-Russian uprising that thwarted voting across swathes of the separatist east.
Russian troops near the Ukraine border will return to base in at least the next 20 days following an order from President Vladimir Putin, the military's chief of general staff said.
Britain's Prince Charles stoked controversy during a visit to Canada by comparing the recent actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin's to those of Adolf Hitler, the Daily Mail reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday held talks with visiting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, as the two powers seek to build ties in the face of Western criticism and territorial disputes.
President Vladimir Putin took a victory lap Friday in his first visit to Crimea since its annexation by Russia, as fighting in eastern Ukraine left more than 20 dead just days ahead of a separatist vote.
European leaders are desperately pushing a new peace bid for Ukraine as the country slipped towards what its interim president warned Monday was already a "war" in the face of spreading violence.
The United States has been moving cautiously in slapping sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, keen to keep its EU allies on board and avoid exposing fault lines within the European bloc, analysts say.
US President Barack Obama urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin in a phone call Monday to press pro-Moscow groups to lay down their arms in Ukraine, as the Kiev government sought UN help to tackle the growing insurgency.
The Ukraine crisis is turning the clock back 30 years for NATO and Russia with the return to propaganda methods and suspicions last seen during the Cold War.
The United States unveiled sanctions Friday against six of Crimea's breakaway leaders, including the official who signed the deal with Moscow to split the peninsula from Ukraine.
Yelena, an openly gay teacher in Crimea who is raising four children with her partner, fears she could lose her family and her job now that her home has been taken over by Russia.
Ukraine was threatened with disintegration Monday as pro-Kremlin militants seized government buildings in the eastern city of Donetsk, declared independence and vowed to vote on joining Russia.
Former US president George W. Bush said relations with Vladimir Putin grew "increasingly tense" during his White House years, as he unveiled his portraits of world leaders, including the Russian head of state.
The UN secretary general said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin assured him he had no intention of orchestrating further incursions into Ukrainian territory.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Barack Obama in a phone call condemned Russia's moves to annex Crimea but said "a clear path" remains to solve the crisis diplomatically.