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
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 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 another update from our news desk:
UN Says Civilians Still Suffer In Ukraine, Despite Lull In Fighting
The United Nations said on March 3 that the war between Ukrainian government forces and Russia- backed separatists in eastern Ukraine is continuing to "significantly affect" civilians – despite a reduction of fighting under a cease-fire deal.
The report by the UN's human rights office comes as the foreign ministers of Russia, France, Germany, and Ukraine were gathering in Paris on March 3 for talks on how to push the peace process forward.
The Paris talks, assessing implementation of the Minsk accords that were signed a year ago, are aimed at reaching a political resolution to Ukraine's two-year-old civil war.
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein said on March 3 that full implementation of the Minsk accord was crucial "for resolving the human rights crisis in Ukraine."
In an updated toll, the UN said at least 9, 160 people have been killed and 21,000 injured since the conflict began in 2014.
The updated casualty figures include civilians, Ukrainian government troops, and armed fighters.