Pro-Russia separatists sat down for preliminary peace talks with Ukraine in the Belarussian capital Minsk on Monday saying they would be prepared to stay part of Ukraine if they were granted "special status", according to Russian news agencies.

• September 1, 2014

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Russia on Monday of "direct and open aggression" which he said had radically changed the battlefield balance as Kiev's forces suffered a further reverse in the war with pro-Moscow separatists.

• September 1, 2014

China opposed additional sanctions against Russia on Monday over accusations Moscow was sending troops into Ukrainian territory, saying the European Union's push to draw up more measures would only complicate the crisis.

• September 1, 2014

European Union leaders will threaten Russia with new sanctions over Ukraine on Saturday but, fearful of a new Cold War and self-inflicted harm to their own economies, should give Moscow another chance to make peace.

• August 30, 2014

Ukraine called on Friday for full membership in NATO, its strongest plea yet for Western military help, after accusing Russia of sending in armored columns that have driven back its forces on behalf of pro-Moscow rebels.

• August 29, 2014

Ukraine's president said on Thursday that Russian troops had entered his country in support of pro-Moscow rebels who captured a key coastal town, sharply escalating a five-month-old separatist war.

• August 28, 2014

Well over 1,000 Russian troops are operating inside Ukraine, marking a significant escalation of Moscow's military involvement in the country, NATO said on Thursday.

• August 28, 2014

French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday it would be "intolerable and unacceptable" if it were proven that Russian troops had entered Ukrainian territory, warning that a further escalation would lead to more sanctions.

• August 28, 2014