From our news desk:
Russian natural-gas giant Gazprom is threatening to cut off supplies to Ukraine entirely as early as February 26, a move the Russian company says could result in a suspension of supplies to Europe.
Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller said in a February 24 statement that "Ukraine has not made a new prepayment for gas in time."
Miller's statement comes as Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz has accused Gazprom of failing to send all of the gas Ukraine has paid for.
Nafotgaz said on February 23 that it had paid in advance for 114 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas but had received only some 47 mcm.
Gazprom said it is supplying gas to the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists -- after Kyiv stopped supplying them.
Gazprom said it considers those two regions as being part of the contract with Naftogaz for supplies to Ukraine.
Latest:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of lying over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Kerry was asked on February 24 by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina) whether he agreed that Russia was "lying" when it says there are no Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine. He responded "Yes."
Kerry, speaking at a Senate appropriations subcommittee meeting in Washington, added that the Russians "have been persisting in their misrepresentations, lies, whatever you want to call them, about their activities there [in Ukraine] to my face, to the faces of others, on many different occasions."
Moscow has denied backing separatists in eastern Ukraine in the conflict, which has killed at least 5,600 people.
Kerry said on February 21 that the United States and the EU were considering adding more sanctions against Russia.
The European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue, former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, has said the EU is ready to respond with further sanctions if Russia supports further escalation in Ukraine. Speaking to RFE/RL in Brussels, he said the Commission was evaluating its response and would be ready to react to any situation.
Latest from our news desk:
Ukraine has signed a deal to purchase weapons from the United Arab Emirates.
Viktor Muzhenko, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian military, signed the agreement on February 24 during a visit to IDEX-2015 (International Defense Exhibition & Conference) in Abu Dhabi.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was also in Abu Dhabi and attended the signing of the agreement, calling the visit to the U.A.E. "extremely successful."
There were no details about what military equipment and weapons Ukraine is purchasing from the U.A.E.
In Ukraine, lawmaker and adviser to Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said, "Arabs, unlike Europeans and Americans, are not scared by Putin's threats to unleash the third world war in the case of delivering arms and military equipment to Ukraine."
Meanwhile, in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on February 24 that his country would send military personnel to Ukraine in the next month to help train the Ukrainian army.
Latest from our news desk:
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany have called for Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to adhere to the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, reading from a joint statement after the ministers held talks in Paris on February 24, urged the fighting sides to "start with a total cease-fire and [then] complete a withdrawal of heavy weapons."
Although fighting decreased after the peace deal was signed on February 12, mortar shelling and other violations have been reported, particularly near the southern port city of Mariupol.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the Paris talks as "useful" and left early for Moscow.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks had been "difficult."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the four had agreed on some "technical aspects" and support for an extension of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
Apart from this:
You can find the Amnesty International annual report on The State Of The World's Human Rights in 2014-15 here.
Concerning Ukraine (beginning on page 382), the report criticizes security forces' response to Euromaidan, as well as Russian occupiers in Crimea for disappearances and suppression, pro-Russian fighters and pro-Kyiv forces for summary justice during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and "scant regard for civilians caught in the crossfire."
Here's our newsroom's writeup of the report:
Amnesty International Condemns 'Shameful' Global Response To Rights Abuses
Doug Schoen asserts flatly in Forbes that "Russian And Ukraine Are At War." Here's an excerpt:
It goes without saying that by this point no competent Western leader should take the wily Vladimir Putin at his word.
The movement of Russian forces into Ukraine signals that the Kremlin is invested in this conflict and is willing to devote significant resources, not to mention take great risks, in pursuit of victory.
America and the West must be no less invested in achieving peace, defending sovereignty, and protecting international norms by refusing to allow Russia to achieve its aims in Ukraine.
By sending regular Russian army forces into Ukraine, Putin shows that he understands the importance of this fight.
More detail on British government's plans for Ukraine military aid: