KIEV, Feb. 15 - Ukraine on Monday banned the transit of Russian trucks across its territory in a tit-for-tat response to an escalating trade war between the feuding ex-Soviet states.

KIEV, Feb. 15 – President Petro Poroshenko and Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at a meeting in Kiev on Monday discussed the preparations for the fifth meeting of the High Level Strategic Council which has been scheduled in Ankara for March.

KIEV, Feb. 16 - The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) has again called for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to designate Ukraine as a Priority Foreign Country (PFC) in its Special 301 Report that presents grossest violation of copyrights, according to a report of IIPA posted on its website.

KIEV, Feb. 16 - Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk and his Cabinet survived a no-confidence vote on Tuesday though a majority of lawmakers harshly criticized its work.

KIEV, Feb. 16 – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the creation of the Advisory International Council of Reforms, and the appointment of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as its head, is needed to obtain the experience of supporters of Ukraine and to introduce reforms.

KIEV, Feb. 16 – A group of lawmakers have asked Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk to settle the issue of wage arrears at Pivdenmash state enterprise (Dnipropetrovsk).

MOSCOW, Feb. 16 – Ukraine after the approval of the Extended Fund Facility Arrangement of the International Monetary Fund will be able to start negotiations with holders of sovereign bonds, although now it is unclear whether it is the restructuring of the Ukrainian debt or the payment in installments that will be discussed.

KIEV, Feb. 16 – The United States said it was "gravely concerned" by the fighting in and around the town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine after a ceasefire agreement that came into force on Sunday, Reuters reported.

KIEV, Feb. 13 – President Viktor Yanukovych will visit the Czech Republic on April 23-24, Special Envoy for Eastern Partnership at the Czech Foreign Ministry Petr Mares said.

KIEV, Feb. 14 – Ukraine placed 155th in the Index of Economic Freedom 2014 among 178 countries, going from a 46.3 score in 2013 to 49.3 graded on a scale of 0 to 100, the Bleyzer Foundation and the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council reported.