Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich shows us "my reaction to the imposing of new sanctions against" the Russian Federation:
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have continued military operations against government forces. On February 8, separatist forces in the town of Vuhlehirsk, near Debaltseve, were filmed by RFE/RL's Current Time program firing missiles from a Grad rocket launcher. The Ukrainian military said on January 29 that its troops had retreated from Vuhlehirsk and the town has suffered huge damage in recent fighting.
The incident in question was Sunday:
Confirming what our Brussels correspondent was tweeting earlier today. This from our newsroom:
EU foreign ministers have approved an expanded sanctions list over Ukraine's conflict but will wait to implement the measures in order to see if a proposed four-way Ukraine peace summit makes progress.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said in Brussels on February 9 that "the principle of the sanctions will be kept, but their implementation will depend on the situation on the ground."
He said the EU will assess the situation again on February 16.
Earlier on February 9, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier raised doubts about the Minsk peace summit scheduled for February 11, suggesting it was not yet certain it would take place.
Steinmeier said there much work must be done on “open points” before the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany would meet.
Putin also has said Minsk summit would not take place if the four leaders fail to agree on a "number of points" before February 11.
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters