Here is a short item from our news desk on General Breedlove's statement in Washington on the state of the U.S. European Command:
NATO's top military commander says Russia could destabilize other neighboring countries if Western nations do not punish Moscow sufficiently for its actions in the Ukraine crisis.
U.S. General Philip Breedlove told a February 25 hearing of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee that "Russia is learning lessons from our responses to their actions. If they feel rewarded by the outcomes, this might embolden them to try them again elsewhere."
He said a "revanchist" Russia is "blatantly challenging the rules and principles that have been the bedrock of European security for decades."
Breedlove accused Russian forces of fighting "hard to change the facts on the ground" in eastern Ukraine ahead of a February 12 cease-fire agreement between pro-Moscow separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Russia has denied accusations from Ukraine, western countries, NATO, and others that it is backing the rebels.
Meanwhile, in Kyiv (from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service):
Groups ranging from right-wing nationalists to football hooligans marched in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on February 25 to protest against government policies.
Several hundred people, some in military uniforms, marched through the streets as police and members of the National Guard stood along the road.
National Guard members reportedly searched some of the protesters for weapons before allowing the march to proceed.
Earlier in the day, a group of some 400 people demonstrated outside the National Bank and called for the resignation of its governor, Valeriya Gontareva, and her deputy, Oleksandr Pinchuk.
Prosecutors are investigating possible abuse of office by some officials at the National Bank but have not named Gontareva or Pinchuk as suspects.
There was also a strike at the Kyiv's Borispol Airport where demonstrators recently demanded that fired employees be rehired.
(With reporting by TASS and Interfax)