In today's Daily Vertical, Brian Whitmore says that if the Minsk peace agreement is not yet dead, it is -- at the very least -- clearly on life support:
Here's a sanctions update from our news desk:
Kremlin 'Regrets' U.S. Extended Sanctions
The Kremlin has expressed "regret" about U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to extend sanctions against Russia for another year in response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Obama announced on March 2 that he was extending the sanctions. He said Russia's actions in Ukraine "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States."
The sanctions initially were imposed in March 2014 in response to actions by the Russian government in Ukraine that "undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation" of Ukraine’s assets.
U.S. sanctions specifically mention Russia's "purported annexation of Crimea and its use of force in Ukraine."
The European Union in December extended its sanctions against Russia until July 2016, and is due to decide in July whether another extension is merited.
With reporting by TASS and Interfax
Nadia Savchenko's defense is making its closing arguments in Russia (from our news desk):
Savchenko's Lawyers Start Final Arguments At Trial In Russian Court
Defense lawyers for Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko have begun their final arguments in a Russian court where Savchenko has been put on trial over the deaths in eastern Ukraine of two Russian journalists.
Savchenko was also expected to make her final remarks to the Russian court on March 3, and a verdict was expected soon after the closing arguments.
Russia's prosecutor on March 2 called for Savchenko to be sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Savchenko was fighting in a volunteer battalion against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine when she was captured in June 2014.
She says separatists kidnapped her and took her into Russia where she was jailed and charged.
WATCH: Live Stream Of The Savchenko Trial (RFE/RL's Russian Service, natural sound)
Kyiv says the charges against her are trumped up and that she should be treated as a prisoner of war.
Savchenko has threatened to stop eating and drinking unless she is returned to Ukraine within 10 days of the verdict.