Kiev - Ukraine on Thursday disbanded an army unit that lost six armoured vehicles to pro-Russian militants, as Kiev's military reeled from a disastrous attempt to oust separatists in its eastern regions.

Kiev - Ukraine's defence ministry said on Wednesday that pro-Russian militants had taken two of its soldiers "hostage" in the separatist eastern region of Lugansk.

Donetskiy - Ukrainian and pro-Russian forces flexed their military muscles in the restive east of the country on Wednesday, a day ahead of high-level international talks on the escalating crisis.

Kramatorsk - Ukraine launched its counterattack Tuesday against protesters who seized buildings in the east but has had only limited success so far.

Kiev - Ukraine's currency steadied on Tuesday from heavy falls after the crisis-hit country's central bank unexpectedly raised its key interest rate by nearly 50 percent to boost consumer confidence and stop spiralling inflation.

Kiev - As the protests in eastern Ukraine continue with Ukraine threatening to use force to disperse protests and occupations, CIA director John Brennan visited the Ukrainian capital over the weekend.

- The UN Security Council has held emergency talks after Ukraine declared a "full-scale" military operation against pro-Russia forces, amid deadly clashes in its restive east.

Slavyansk - Kiev’s response to evict pro-Russians from government buildings in eastern Ukrainian cities has turned deadly with casualties reported on both sides.

Kiev - Ukraine's interior minister said on Sunday that both sides had suffered casualties during a raid launched by Ukrainian special forces on a police station in the eastern city of Slavyansk that was seized by pro-Russian gunmen.

Donetsk - Ukraine on Sunday launched an "anti-terrorist operation" in the eastern town of Slavyansk, where pro-Russian gunmen have seized police and security services buildings, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.

Kiev - Ukraine is preparing troops to tackle what it terms an “act of aggression by Russia” following the seizure of government buildings by pro-Russians in different cities of eastern Ukraine.

Slavyansk - Russia's long-expected invasion of eastern Ukraine may be underway Saturday as masked gunmen have seized government buildings in two cities near the border.

Kiev - The government ultimatum to protesters in Donetsk to surrender or face forcible eviction from the regional administration building has expired but the building remains occupied. Instead the government is seeking a negotiated solution to the situation.

Donetsk - Pro-Russians cheer and clap as miners in hard hats march into the heavily fortified zone around the occupied state building in Donetsk: here they are heroes, the soul of an economically depressed coal region fighting for survival.

Donetsk - Pro-Russian separatists retained control of key government buildings in eastern Ukraine Saturday despite a vow by the country's premier to cede more power to the regions, amid rising tensions between Russia and the West.

Moscow - Russian officials claim that the satellite images being distributed by NATO military commanders to prove that Russia is preparing for an invasion of eastern Ukraine were actually taken last summer.

Kiev - The World Bank warns that the conditions set by the IMF for granting loans to the Ukraine will have very damaging effects on the Ukraine economy and cut consumption considerably.

Reports that fast-food giant Burger King plans to fill the void left by McDonald’s pullout from Crimea last week are at best premature.

Donetsk - Ukraine's embattled premier on Friday vowed to give more powers to the country's regions in an effort to stamp out a separatist insurgency as a new gas war with Russia threatened European supplies.

Because of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, work on a permanent containment structure for the Chernobyl Reactor 4 site, due to be finished by 2015, has been halted. This critical work is considered a top priority, not only for Ukraine, but for Europe.