Here's another Ukraine-related news item, this time from RFE/RL's news desk:
Belarusian Opposition Activist Suspected Of Taking Part In Military Conflict In Ukraine
MINSK -- Belarus authorities are seeking a prominent pro-democracy activist for allegedly taking part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia separatists have been battling Ukrainian government forces.
The mother of Eduard Lobau told RFE/RL's Belarus Service that her apartment in the capital of Minsk had been searched by police on March 31.
Maryna Lobava said the search warrant was connected to the probe into her son who is an activist of the unregistered opposition Young Front organization in Belarus.
Lobava said police confiscated two laptops, a PC processor, several memory cards, and a book.
It is unclear which side Lobau may have been fighting for, although he is known for his strong pro-Ukranian stance.
Lobau, who is reportedly now in Ukraine, spent four years in jail in 2010-2014 after a court found him guilty of assaulting two people.
He claimed then that his imprisonment was an attempt by the authorities to isolate him on the eve of the disputed reelection in 2010 of Alyaksandr Lukashenka as president that ended with demonstrations and the mass arrests of activists.
At the time, Amnesty International recognized Lobau as a "prisoner of conscience."
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone, courtesy of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
Here's a new item from our news desk:
Russia Claims To Detain Ukrainian Spy
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has captured a Ukrainian security officer who volunteered to spy for Moscow and will send him back because they believe he is a double agent.
In a statement quoted by Russian news agencies, the FSB, the main KGB successor agency, said the man, Yuri Ivanchenko, was detained on March 26.
The FSB said on March 31 that Ivanchenko traveled to Moscow to offer his services to the FSB. It claimed that the CIA had helped the Ukrainian security service prepare Ivanchenko for the mission aimed at eventually exposing his Russian contacts. It said Ivanchenko will be sent home.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine have been tense after Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and AFP
Here's an update on Poroshenko's Washington video:
Poroshenko Calls For Sanctions On Russia To Remain
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called for Western sanctions against Russia for its actions in his country to remain intact.
Speaking at a seminar in Washington D.C. on March 30, Poroshenko said the sanctions should stay until the restoration of peace in Ukraine's east and Kyiv's sovereignty over Crimea.
"Anything less would be a compromise at the cost of values and justice," Poroshenko added.
Poroshenko also said that some 10,000 people, including more than 2,700 Ukrainian army troops, had been killed in fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian armed forces since April 2014.
He said nearly 1.8 million people had been forced to leave their homes in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk over the same time period.
Poroshenko also expressed surprise at the international community's reluctance to provide Ukraine with lethal military assistance.
Poroshenko is in Washington to take part in the Nuclear Security Summit being hosted by U.S. President Barack Obama.
The Ukrainian leader is scheduled to meet with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden later on March 31.
Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax