Ukraine

The new decree makes it easier for people living in separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine to obtain Russian citizenship. Ukraine's president-elect has called for more international sanctions over the move.

Ukrainian presidential candidates Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Petro Poroshenko, the incumbent president, won 30.24 percent and 15.95 percent of the vote, respectively, in the first round of the election on March 31, according to official results published by Ukraine’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on April 7.

A triumph for Zelensky, a slap in the face for Poroshenko and deja vu for Tymoshenko: The results of the first round in Ukraine's presidential election point to a harsh battle before the runoff ballot in three weeks.

President Vladimir Putin has marked the fifth anniversary of what Moscow considers the day Crimea became part of Russia by visiting Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula, as NATO, the United States, and the European Union again condemned what they called the "illegal" land grab.

What is happening in and around Ukraine is “unacceptable, the Chairperson-in-Office for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday.

The commander of NATO forces in Europe, US General Curtis Scaparrotti, has said he wants to bolster Ukraine's defences against Russia's "increasingly aggressive" posture in the east of the country and the Black Sea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called on the UN secretary-general to draw up options for a peacekeeping mission in eastern Ukraine, saying such a mission could be a "decisive factor" in ending the conflict there.

Last week, the European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) organised a round-table in the south Ukrainian city of Odesa in order to assist police to detect and react to violations taking place during the ongoing presidential election campaign in the country.

“More than 3,300 civilians have been killed, and up to 9,000 injured since the conflict began in 2014,” Ursula Mueller, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told Council Members, adding that 1.5 million have been internally displaced.

President Petro Poroshenko is seeking a second five-year term and has vowed to press for European Union and NATO membership for the country. Recent polls indicate former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be Poroshenko's closest rivals in the March 31 election.