Russia's prime minister hits out at Ukraine, U.S.:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has sharply criticized a U.S. law authorizing new sanctions against Moscow and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's effort to abandon the country's neutral "non-bloc" status.
In a Facebook post on December 23, Medvedev said that "both of these decisions will have extremely negative consequences. And our country will have to react to them."
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the law authorizing further sanctions over Moscow's interference in Ukraine on December 18, but said he would not immediately impose the measures.
Medvedev called it an "anti-Russian law" and said "our relations with America will be poisoned for decades."
The Russian prime minister lashed out at a measure Poroshenko submitted last week to revoke a 2010 law codifying Ukraine's nonaligned status.
Medvedev said it was "in essence, an application to enter NATO, turning Ukraine into a potential military opponent of Russia."
This concludes are live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Monday, December 22. As always, check back here in the morning for more continuing coverage.