Ukrainian leader Oleksander Turchinov accused Russia of working to overthrow legitimate state power in Ukraine on Monday after pro-Russian rebels declared a resounding victory in rebel referendums on self-rule in eastern regions.

• May 12, 2014

Russia will be ready to hold more talks with Ukraine on its natural gas supplies only when Kiev pays its gas debt to Moscow, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky said on Monday.

• May 12, 2014

The European Union was set to take a cautious step towards extending sanctions against Russia on Monday, targeting companies, as well as people, linked to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

• May 12, 2014

Acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov told eastern regions gripped by a pro-Russian uprising that they would be courting catastrophe if they voted "yes" in a separatist referendum on Sunday.

• May 10, 2014

Romania asked Moscow for an explanation on Saturday after Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin, reacting to being barred from its airspace, tweeted he would return in a TU-160 strategic bomber

• May 10, 2014

President Vladimir Putin flew in to Crimea on Friday for the first time since it was annexed by Moscow, proclaiming as he marked the Soviet victory in World War Two that incorporating the former Ukrainian territory had made Russia stronger.

• May 9, 2014

China's foreign ministry blamed the United States on Friday for stoking tensions in the disputed South China Sea by encouraging countries to engage in dangerous behavior, following an uptick in tensions between China and both the Philippines and Vietnam.

• May 9, 2014

Pro-Russian separatists voted unanimously on Thursday in favor of holding a referendum on independence, defying calls by Russian President Vladimir Putin to postpone the vote to open the way for talks with the Kiev authorities.

• May 8, 2014