RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak has sent us this item from Brussels on reaction to Moscow's decision to abandon the South Stream project:
BRUSSELS -- A senior European Union official says Russia's surprise abandonment of the long-planned South Stream natural-gas pipeline project underscores the need for the EU to diversify its sources of energy supplies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in Turkey on December 1 that Russia was shelving plans for South Stream, a multibillion-dollar project to pipe gas under the Black Sea to Bulgaria and then deeper into the EU, bypassing Ukraine.
European Commission Vice President Kristalina Georgieva said in Brussels on December 2 that "Russia's decision to stop South Stream and the way it was taken shows why the diversification of energy sources is important for Europe."
She said the EU would "closely examine the consequences of this decision and how we can speed up the interconnection of member states."
(With reporting by AFP and Reuters)
Our multimedia department has issued this Reuters video of NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg saying Russia was violating the cease-fire in Ukraine and not respecting agreements reached in Minsk, Belarus, to defuse the conflict.
And here's a video of a vox pop conducted in Moscow by RFE/RL's Tom Balmforth, who was guaging reaction on the streets to the flailing ruble:
If you're a Russian-speaker, you might enjoy this collection of humorous tweets compiled by RFE/RL's Belarus Service on the state of the Russian ruble.