A Politico piece arguing Obama's Ukraine policy is "in shambles."
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
OSCE Chief Calls For Trust-Building To End Crises In East Ukraine
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says it remains “deeply concerned” over continuing cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine.
Addressing the UN Security Council on February 29 as chair of the OSCE, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Kyiv and Moscow to “live up to their responsibilities” and abide by the terms of the Minsk peace agreement signed a year ago.
Implementing the deal is the only way to a political solution in Ukraine, Steinmeier said.
He said foreign ministers from France, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine would meet in Paris on March 3 to try to achieve progress on the security situation and a new electoral law for eastern Ukraine, where fighting between Russian-Backed separatists and government forces has killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014.
The February 2015 peace agreement has helped reduce fighting in Ukraine's east, but skirmishes have continued.
Based on reporting by AP and dpa
Germany says credibility of Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine at stake
WASHINGTON, Feb 29 (Reuters) -- The credibility of the Minsk peace deal for eastern Ukraine will come under threat unless both sides in the conflict make faster progress in implementing the agreement, Germany's foreign minister said on Monday.
Speaking at a news conference in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Frank-Walter Steinmeier conceded that the readiness of the government in Kiev and pro-Russian separatists to move forward with Minsk was "very limited".
"Implementation must continue. The credibility of the whole process rests on this," Steinmeier said.
Kerry said "both sides need to perform", and that Russia must ensure that the separatists do their part.
Kiev's struggles to get an election law for eastern Ukraine through parliament and an increase in ceasefire violations in the region have raised fears that the deal, sealed one year ago in the Belarus capital, could collapse, sparking a new wave of fighting.
European countries have tied the removal of sanctions against Russia to the implementation of Minsk. Germany and its allies worry that if Ukraine does not implement its side of the agreement, pressure could rise to ease those sanctions when they expire in July.
Earlier on Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned the European Union against extending the sanctions automatically when they lapse, urging instead a "serious debate" on the matter.
Steinmeier said he hoped that a meeting of the foreign ministers of Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine scheduled to take place on Thursday in Paris would lead to progress on planned elections in eastern Ukraine.
"If elections take place, and everyone says this, then we need two things: first an election law and second security conditions which allow an election to be held," he said. "I hope that we make a small step forward on Thursday."
Russia and Ukraine urged to live up to 2015 peace agreement
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The European security organization expressed deep concern at continuing cease-fire violations in eastern Ukraine on Monday and urged the Russian and Ukrainian governments to live up to their commitments in the peace agreement they signed a year ago.
Addressing the U.N. Security Council as the current chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said implementing the Minsk agreement is the only way to a political solution in Ukraine.
He said foreign ministers from the so-called Normandy Group -- Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine -- will meet in Paris on Thursday to try to achieve progress on the security situation and a new electoral law for the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine which includes Donetsk and Luhansk.
This is "the main condition for elections which should take place in the first half of this year," he said.
After the 2014 ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych, Russia seized the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and Russian-speaking separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions launched protests that escalated into a war that has killed more than 9,000 people.
The February 2015 Minsk agreement has helped reduce fighting in eastern Ukraine, but skirmishes have continued and there has been little progress in bringing about a political settlement.
The warring parties have blamed each other for numerous violations, and Russia and Ukraine went after each other in the Security Council after Steinmeier's briefing.
Steinmeier called on both countries "to live up to their responsibilities."
Ukraine's U.N. Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko accused Russia of carrying out a "'hybrid war' against Ukraine, marked with invention of artificial grounds for invasions, sending regular troops without insignia and the use of pervasive, virulent propaganda." He warned that the situation in Donbas could escalate.
Yelchenko said Ukraine's steps toward implementing the Minsk agreements haven't been reciprocated by Russia. But he said Kiev is ready to fully implement the agreements "and move forward on all aspects" including local elections in certain areas of Donbas.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin accused Ukraine of violating Minsk by using heavy weaponry instead of withdrawing its forces and of failing to adopt laws on the special status of Donbas, amnesty, and elections as the agreement requires.
"Kiev should want to see the implementation of the package of measures, just as Russia does," Churkin said. "It's time to halt the crisis."
What is needed to move forward, Yelchenko said, is "a comprehensive and sustainable cease-fire, verified withdrawal of heavy weapons, unfettered OSCE monitoring throughout the conflict area, including at the border with Russia."
Little Green Babies: Crimean Newborns Handed Military Draft Notices
By Steve Gutterman
Welcome to the world, kid -- and don't forget to report for duty in 16 years.
Three newborn babies were presented with military draft notices along with their birth certificates last week by the Russian authorities who control the Crimean Peninsula.
The boys were given the notices by the chief Russian military recruiting officer in the Simferopol district of Crimea, the Moscow-installed Justice Ministry for the region said on its website.
The documents were presented as part of a celebration of "the glorious sons of Russia" marking Defenders of the Fatherland Day, the February 23 holiday honoring the Russian military -- and, unofficially, all Russian men.
The ministry said the notices indicated the boys should report for military service on January 24, 2032.
Read more here.