KIEV, March 21 - Ukraine's foreign ministry has registered its strong protest against the visit of March 18 - the second anniversary of Russia's annexation of Crimea - to the disputed peninsula by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials.

KIEV, March 21 - Ukraine's war-torn economy shrank by nearly 10 percent in 2015 as its financial sector imploded and consumer demand shriveled up due to the currency's steep drop against the dollar, the State Statistics Service reported.

GORKI, March 21 - Observer status in the Customs Union will not allow Ukraine to influence decision-making in the union, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said.

KIEV, March 21 – Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev said Thursday Ukraine should quit the European Energy Community for Gazprom to participate in a joint venture to operate Ukrainian pipelines moving Russian gas to Europe.

KIEV, March 21 – Parliament on Thursday gave preliminary approval to a resolution opening the way for a Kiev mayoral election, but developments may escalate into political crisis when the Constitutional Court announces its verdict on the matter.

NEW YORK, March 21 – Ukraine’s top diplomat promised fair and free parliamentary elections in October, but offered few clues to whether jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and other opposition leaders will be able to run for seats.

KHARKIV, March 21 – Sanctions may be imposed on Ukraine if it ignores an instruction of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the treatment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in a hospital outside the Kachanivska Penal Colony (Kharkiv), according to Tymoshenko's defense lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko.

KIEV, March 18 – President Viktor Yanukovych has instructed Deputy Prime Minister and Social Policy Minister Serhiy Tyhypko to take steps to eliminate wage arrears in the country.

KIEV, March 18 – The final date for the completion of reconstruction work at the Olympiysky National Sports Complex in Kiev will be disclosed in late May, President Viktor Yanukovych has said.

MINSK, March 21 - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko plans to take part in events devoted to the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster to be held in Kiev in April, said Valentin Velichko Belarusian ambassador to Ukraine.