Here's an item from RFE/RL's Russian Service relating to imprisoned Crimean filmmaker Oleh Sentsov:
Prominent Writers Quit Russian PEN Center
Prominent Russian writer Boris Akunin, whose real name is Grigory Chkhartishvili, has severed his association with the Russian PEN Center in part of a widening split within the rights organization.
Writing on Facebook on January 10, Akunin said that the Russian PEN Center does not defend persecuted writers and so has "nothing in common" with the global PEN movement.
The previous day, poet Lev Rubinshtein and writer Aleksandr Ilichevsky also quit the group to protest the expulsion from the group of prominent journalist and activist Sergei Parkhomenko.
Formally, Parkhomenko was expelled from the group for "provocative activity," but he wrote on the website of Ekho Moskvy radio that he was punished for criticizing the Russian PEN Center for failing to support Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who is serving 20 years in a Russian prison after being convicted of plotting terrorist attacks.
Sentsov, a native of Crimea, was a vocal opponent to Russia's annexation of the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014. He denies the allegations, and the United States, the European Union, Amnesty International, and others in the West have condemned his arrest, trial, and imprisonment.
Speaking to the Interfax news agency on January 10, Russian PEN Center President Yevgeny Popov denied claims of a split in the organization, saying there are more than 400 members of the organization and "only one Parkhomenko."
Akunin participated in a wave of antigovernment protests in 2011-12 that were prompted largely by allegations of widespread fraud in a December 2011 parliamentary election and opposition to Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency in 2012.
With reporting by Interfax
World War II Monument Defaced In Ukraine's Lviv Region
A monument in western Ukraine honoring the memory of some 900 people who were massacred during World War II has been severely damaged by unknown vandals.
Local police reported the damage on January 10, saying that they were investigating.
A stone cross was smashed to pieces and two slabs bearing the names of the victims were painted with a Ukrainian flag, Ukrainian nationalist symbols, and a Nazi SS emblem.
The monument in the village of Huta Peniatska in Ukraine’s Lviv region honors victims of a 1944 massacre by a Nazi unit composed mostly of Ukrainian volunteers.
Most of the victims were ethnic Poles, and Poland’s Foreign Ministry has asked Ukraine to ensure that the perpetrators are revealed and punished.
Poland’s ambassador to Ukraine, Jan Pieklo, plans to attend ceremonies at the site of the monument next month to mark the 73rd anniversary of the massacre.
Based on reporting by AP and Interfax
Trump Secretary of State Nominee To Say Russia Must Be Held To Account
President-elect Donald Trump's choice for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, will express concerns about Russia's actions around the globe and insist that NATO should be alarmed by a resurgent Moscow when he faces a Senate confirmation hearing on January 11.
Trump's transition team circulated the text of the opening statement Tillerson plans to give during the hearing.
According to the text, he will explain why Trump favors a closer relationship with Russia.
But his comments expressing concerns about Russia appear to run counter to Trump's expressed views on the need for better ties with that country.
"Our NATO allies are right to be alarmed at a resurgent Russia," Tillerson will say, while also taking a hit at the Obama administration. "But it was in the absence of American leadership that this door was left open and unintended signals were sent."
"While Russia seeks respect and relevance on the global stage, its recent activities have disregarded American interests," he will testify. "Russia must know that we will be accountable to our commitments and those of our allies and that Russia must be held to account for its actions."
Based on reporting by Reuters and the Washington Post
Canada Appoints Russia Critic Sanctioned By Moscow As Foreign Minister
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on January 10 appointed Chrystia Freeland, a critic of Russia who has been sanctioned by Moscow, as the country's new top diplomat.
Freeland, who is of Ukrainian descent, has been a harsh critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Moscow barred Freeland from entering Russia in 2014 as part of a series of retaliatory sanctions against Canada in response to Ottawa's blacklisting of many Russian officials to punish the country for its illegal annexation of Crimea.
Freeland tweeted afterward: "It's an honor to be on Putin's sanction list."
In 2015, she wrote an article for Quartz magazine titled My Ukraine, And Putin's Big Lie.
Trudeau, in announcing Freeland's appointment as foreign affairs minister, sidestepped a question from reporters over whether her rocky relationship with Russia would have an impact.
Freeland, who once lived in Moscow during her career as a financial correspondent, said that whether she will be able to travel to Russia as foreign minister was not up to her.
"That's a question for Moscow," she said. "I am a very strong supporter of our government's view that it is important to engage with all countries around the world, very much including Russia."
Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.