UPDATE: Moscow rejects French, German appeal to free Ukrainian sailors:
By RFE/RL
The Russian Foreign Ministry has rejected what it says are unacceptable demands by Germany and France to release Ukrainian soldiers held by Russia.
The statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry on December 29 follows an appeal by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron in a statement on December 28.
Russia is holding the 24 Ukrainian sailors after capturing them along with their Ukrainian naval vessels last month near the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Moscow alleged that the vessels had illegally entered Russian territorial waters near Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Ukraine and most UN member states do not recognize the annexation.
The European Union and the United States say Russia's actions were illegal and have called on Moscow to immediately return the vessels and their crews to Ukraine.
Merkel presses Putin on detained Ukrainian sailors:
By RFE/RL
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, with Merkel pressing Putin on the continued detention of 24 Ukrainian sailors seized by Moscow's forces near the Kerch Strait.
German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer on December 28 said the situation in Ukraine was one of two deadly conflicts discussed by Merkel and Putin in a phone call, with the leaders also addressing Syria in the wake of the U.S. decision to withdraw its troops from the war-torn country.
Tensions have risen in the Crimea region after Russian Coast Guard forces on November 25 opened fire and detained several Ukrainian vessels and 24 crew members in the Black Sea. The seamen remain in Russian custody and are facing criminal charges of illegally crossing Russia's border.
Moscow 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.
The European Union and the United States have said Russia's actions were illegal and have called on Moscow to immediately return the vessels and their crews to Ukraine.
The German government said Merkel -- in the phone call and a separate joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron -- also welcomed a cease-fire that took effect at 12:01 a.m. on December 29 in the conflict area of eastern Ukraine.
Merkel and Macron said, "The approach of the New Year's and Orthodox Christmas holidays must serve as an opportunity for the stakeholders in the conflict in eastern Ukraine to focus on the needs of civilians, who have suffered all too long as a result of this conflict and its consequences."
The Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also welcomed the deal to establish the New Year cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian government forces have been fighting against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, shortly after Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Some 10,300 people have been killed in the fighting since early 2014.
Although Moscow denies interfering in Ukraine's domestic affairs, the International Criminal Court in November 2016 ruled that the fighting in eastern Ukraine was "an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."
The truce, set to begin on December 29 and run through January 7, was reached by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, which consists of Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE.
Several cease-fires have been called in the region as part of the so-called Minsk agreements, but none has met with success. (w/dpa, AFP, and TASS)
This ends our live blogging for December 28. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.