KIEV, Feb. 29 – President Petro Poroshenko said that he will be against an early election of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament.

KIEV, March 1 - Ukraine banned government officials on Tuesday from publicly criticizing the work of state institutions and their colleagues, after damaging disclosures last month that highlighted slow progress in fighting corruption, Reuters reported.

KIEV, March 2 - Ukraine and Russia will hold a meeting by the end of March to try to agree on natural gas prices and transit fees, Energy and Coal Industry Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said Wednesday.

PARIS, March 2 - As ceasefire violations in Ukraine's east rise, foreign ministers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine are expected to meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss the Minsk peace deal.

KIEV, Feb. 26 - The only condition which was discussed by Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund mission on providing the country with a new loan under the EFF program was Kiev's fulfillment of a number of prior actions before a meeting of the IMF Board of Directors, the Ministry of Finance reported.

KIEV, Feb. 26 – Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who now heads the Ukrainian Advisory International Reform Council, said he was meeting with U.S. lawmakers and officials in Washington "increasing legislative pressure" to provide weapons to Ukraine.

MOSCOW, Feb. 26 – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) plans to step up its activities in Ukraine in order to give more help to the population of the east of the country, ICRC President Peter Maurer said.

MOSCOW, Feb. 27 – Both conflicting sides in Ukraine have been observing the Minsk agreements, for instance, they have been withdrawing heavy armaments from the frontline, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE SMM) Alexander Hug said.

MOSCOW, Feb. 27 – The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russian citizens going to Ukraine will need foreign travel passports to enter and leave the country starting March 1.

MOSCOW, March 1 - Tens of thousands of Russians marched through central Moscow on Sunday, carrying banners declaring "I am not afraid" and chanting "Russia without Putin" in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov, Reuters reported.