UKRAINE

As peace talks commence: Russia plans more military in Belarus, and Ukraine briefly cuts power to Crimea.

A Kremlin official warns of harm that will be "practically impossible to repair."

Russia will take on credit risk for firms, whose foreign debt obligations have shot up in ruble terms because of the currency's sharp slide.

Ukrainian support for NATO membership has swelled, but there's little appetite among NATO leaders to fan conflict with Russia.

Various Kremlin officials wasted no time in publicly saying that Kiev's action was hostile to Russia.

The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday renounced Ukraine's "non-aligned" status with the aim of eventually joining NATO.

According to a report from the CPJ, Syria remained the deadliest country for reporters -- for the third year in a row.

The dates were discussed in a phone conversation among France's Hollande, Germany's Merkel and Russia's Putin.

Tranformations by plastic surgery to change their appearance, and 2014 was no exception.

China's trade minister proposed more use of China's currency in settling trade with Russia in the face of a weaker ruble.

Aleksey Navalny, an anti-corruption blogger, is to be sentenced Jan. 15 on embezzlement charges.

While almost three out of four people vote, a large majority of them say government doesn't care.

Despite its crumbling economy, Russia says a new round of U.S. sanctions won't have the desired effect.

Putin, himself a former KGB agent, sent the message in a letter to to veterans and current operatives of Russia's security services on the day Moscow traditionally honors them..

The U.S. will not bomb North Korea over its role in the Sony cyberattack, experts say, but it has other weapons.

EU leaders decided to maintain a tough stance toward Russia Thursday, while also sustaining mutually beneficial commerce.

The White House does not have immediate plans to impose the sanctions the law authorizes.

President Obama is pondering whether to sign a bill allowing the U.S. to give weapons to the Ukrainian military.

Putin advocated for diversity in revenue sources while reducing dependency on oil to strengthen Russia's economy.

Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev told a Russian paper: "When a U.S. law is passed it is very hard to change it afterwards."

The ruble crisis is overstated, says Russian state-owned media. Kremlin-critical outlets, however, are piling on and linking the crisis to Ukraine.