• NATO: Big military build-up on Russia-Ukraine border - AP

NATO: Big military build-up on Russia-Ukraine border
AP

Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, meets with Denmark Prime Minister of Helle Thorning-Schmidt, right, at the Prime Minister's Office in Copenhagen on Monday April 20, 2015. (Thomas Borberg/Polfoto via AP) DENMARK OUT  

• US, Ukraine start military training, defying Russian fury - AP

US, Ukraine start military training, defying Russian fury

AP

YAVORIV, Ukraine (AP) — Troops from the United States and Ukraine kicked off joint training exercises Monday intended to help bolster Ukraine's defenses against incursions from Russian-backed separatists in the east

• US spy chief predicts spring attack on Ukraine port - AFP

 US spy chief predicts spring attack on Ukraine port
AFP

Pro-Russian separatists ride tanks in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on February 21, 2015 (AFP Photo/Vasily Maximov)

Washington (AFP) - Russia wants to secure a land corridor in eastern Ukraine that could include Mariupol but pro-Moscow rebels may wait until the spring to attack the strategic port city, the US spy chief said Thursday.

• Putin Calls Ukrainian Army 'NATO Legion'

Putin Calls Ukrainian Army 'NATO Legion'

Ukrainian armed forces are in essence a 'NATO legion', which is not serving the country's national interests, Russian President Putin said. 

• Thousands of Russian Troops in Airport Push BY JAMES RUPERT

Thousands of Russian Troops in Airport Push 

BY JAMES RUPERT

Putin hovers between launching a winter or spring offensive. ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO/REUTERS

A “substantial number” of Russian Federation special forces troops led this week’s capture of the Donetsk airport amid what appears to be Russia’s biggest direct military offensive in Ukraine since last summer.

• Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general - Reuters By Adrian Croft

Russia could soon run multiple Ukraine-sized operations: U.S. general
Reuters By Adrian Croft

Russian amphibious vehicles drive in formation during celebrations to mark Navy Day in the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY)

• Conviction of Putin foe sets off protest in Moscow - By NATALIYA VASILYEVA

Conviction of Putin foe sets off protest in Moscow

by NATALIYA VASILYEVA

Supporters and opponents of Russian opposition activist and anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny clash during unsanctioned protest in Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2014. The unsanctioned protest came hours after Alexei Navalny was found guilty of fraud and given a suspended sentence. Navalny, who has been under house arrest since February, is accused of breaking the terms of his house arrest to attend the rally and was detained by police as he approached the site of the protest. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

• Western leaders warn of more economic sanctions if Putin doesn't end Russian backing for rebels in Ukraine

Western leaders warn of more economic 

sanctions if Putin doesn't end Russian 

backing for rebels in Ukraine

Western leaders warned Vladimir Putin at a G20 summit on Saturday that he risked more economic sanctions if he failed to end Russian backing for separatist rebels in Ukraine.

• Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN says Russia planning full-scale invasion

Ukraine's Ambassador to the UN says Russia 

planning full-scale invasion

Reports of build-up of Russian tanks and fighters in east Ukraine continue

Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Nations has said via Twitter that UN should be informed that Russia is planning a full scale invasion of Ukraine.

• Seventh illegal Russian 'aid' convoy set for Donbas delivery

Seventh illegal Russian 'aid' convoy 

set for Donbas delivery

Russia plans to send another unsanctioned 'aid' convoy to east Ukraine 
Russia has confirmed plans to send yet one more so-called 'aid' convoy to east Ukraine in the coming days. The Kremlin has already sent six illegal convoys into parts of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian militants. 

• Thousands protest in Russia against conflict in Ukraine

Thousands protest in Russia against conflict in Ukraine 

Thousands of Russians marched in protest against the armed conflict in Ukraine on Sunday in the first major anti-war rally since the start of the standoff between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels.

The armed conflict, which Kiev and the West blame on Russia's support of the separatist armed groups in eastern Ukraine, has killed more than 3,000 people since April, although this month's ceasefire has brought a relative calm.

• Putin Threatens Nuclear War Over Ukraine

Putin Threatens Nuclear War Over Ukraine

Raising the spectre of nuclear war over Ukraine, Russia’s Vladimir Putin is playing a new, and dangerous, game.

On Friday, as Russian Federation tanks and troops poured across the border into eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin talked about his country’s most destructive weaponry. “I want to remind you that Russia is one of the most powerful nuclear nations,” he said. “This is a reality, not just words.” Russia, he told listeners, is “strengthening our nuclear deterrence forces.”