Hmm
And here's more from RFE/RL's Brussels correspondent, Rikard Jozwiak, on the extension of Russian sanctions:
EU Leaders Prolong Economic Sanctions On Russia
BRUSSELS -- EU leaders at a summit in Brussels on December 13 said economic sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine will be prolonged for another six months with the official rollover expected next week.
The sanctions, which mainly target the Russian banking and energy sectors, were first imposed in the summer of 2014 and have been extended every six months since then.
"EU unanimously prolongs economic sanctions against Russia given zero progress in implementation of Minsk agreements," European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted from the summit, referring to peace accords brokered by Germany and France in the Belarusian capital to end conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The sanctions came in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 10,300 over the past four-and-a-half-years.
The measures were due to expire next month but lifting them depends on whether the EU considers that Russia is respecting the Minsk peace agreements.
EU leaders are also due to discuss an incident in the Sea of Azov last month in which Russia seized three Ukrainian Navy ships and 24 crewmen.
Draft conclusions seen by RFE/RL do not condemn Moscow for the incident nor do they call for more sanctions, but state that "the EU stands ready to adopt measures to further strengthen its support in favor of the affected areas of Ukraine."
The draft document also states that "there is no justification for the use of military force by Russia," adding that "the European Council requests the immediate release of all detained Ukrainian seamen as well as the return of the seized vessels and free passage of all ships through the Kerch Strait [between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea]."
On December 10, the EU blacklisted nine individuals involved in the organization elections last month in the areas controlled by Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In a meeting in Brussels, the EU's foreign ministers said the individuals were added to the bloc's sanctions list because of their "actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine."
Kyiv and its international backers, including the EU and the United States, have denounced the November 11 polls in the areas held by the separatists in the Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk regions as a sham.
With reporting by AFP, AP, dpa, and Reuters
Here's another item from RFE/RL's news desk:
NATO Pledges Support For Ukraine Over Sea Of Azov Incident
NATO has pledged support for Ukraine's navy more than two weeks after Russia seized three of Kyiv's naval ships and arrested 24 sailors in the Kerch Strait that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov.
The alliance has been "supporting Ukraine to improve its naval capabilities, logistics and cyberdefense," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Brussels on December 13.
NATO will also deliver secure communications equipment to Ukraine's military by the end of this year, Stoltenberg said, according to an official transcript.
On November 25, the Russian Coastguard opened fire and detained several Ukrainian vessels and 24 crew members in the Kerch Strait.
Russia alleged that the vessels had illegally entered Russian territorial waters near the Crimea region, which Russia occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine and most UN member states do not recognize the annexation.
"Russia must immediately release the sailors and ships they seized and allow freedom of navigation including free access to Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov," Stoltenberg said.
"This is part of Russia's pattern of destabilizing behavior," Stoltenberg added. "We strongly condemn Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea."
Poroshenko welcomed NATO's support as his country seeks to join the alliance. He described the seized Ukrainian naval crews as "prisoners of war."