BRUSSELS, Sept. 16 - NATO believes Russia still has around 1,000 soldiers inside Ukraine despite some cuts in troop numbers since a ceasefire began there on Sept. 5, a NATO military officer said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

PRAGUE, Sept. 16 - Slovak gas importer SPP reported a 25 percent reduction in gas supplies from Russia via Ukraine on Tuesday, the biggest drop since a decline in deliveries was first reported last week, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Sept. 16 – Russia threatened to send more troops to its newly-annexed territory of Crimea on Tuesday, after NATO began exercises in western Ukraine while Kiev's forces are fighting pro-Russian separatists in the east, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Sept. 16 - Ukrainian lawmakers on Tuesday ratified a landmark EU pact and adopted laws granting self-rule to the east in crucial votes that will shape the future of the splintered former Soviet state, AFP reported.

But Russia signaled it had no intention of backing down in the most serious East-West standoff since the Cold War, announcing it plans to boost its troop presence in annexed Crimea.

KIEV, Sept. 17 – Ukraine, owing to a "trade war" with Russia, is gaining for many centuries its economic independence from the unpredictable northern neighbor, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said.

KIEV, Sept. 17 – Ukraine plans a push on Wednesday towards signing a landmark agreement with the European Union by scheduling a debate in the government and sending a senior official to Brussels.

YALTA, Sept. 14 - The world has been ruled by countries possessing oil and gas, but in the next decade the leadership will pass to countries with grain and water, according to Ukrainian Economic Development and Trade Minister Petro Poroshenko.

BRUSSELS, Sept. 14 – There should be no room for a pause in EU-Ukraine relations and no room for compromise on European values, according to European politicians.

KIEV, Sept. 15 – The Front for Change initiative leader, Arseniy Yatseniuk, believes that Turkmen gas supplies to Ukraine could be restored through the formation of an energy consortium.

"The issue of Turkmen gas supplies to Ukraine doesn't lie today within the area of bilateral relations. We have actually lost the market after signing the gas agreement with Russia. I would like to remind you that Ukraine previously didn't buy gas from Russia.

KIEV, Sept. 17 – Ukraine should carry out reforms to deepen its relations with the European Union, ex-President of the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pottering said in a letter to Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn.

"The unbiased, democratic and comprehensive implementation of ambitious reforms is a step required not only for Ukraine, but also for deepening relations between Ukraine and the European Union," Pottering said.