Here's another item from our news desk:
Lavrov Says Trump Position On Ukraine Differs From Obama's
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says he views U.S. President Donald Trump's opinion about the conflict in Ukraine as "a qualitative change" compared to that of Barack Obama.
Lavrov told the state-owned news agency TASS on February 7 that Trump's position on the situation in Ukraine is to monitor how the two sides are behaving in the conflict.
"The Obama administration...tried to demand everything from us and absolve [Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko," Lavrov said.
In a recent interview to Fox News, Trump said the United States has insufficient information about the developments in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the conflict, despite evidence to the contrary of financial and military assistance to the separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed at least 9,750 people since breaking out in 2014, just weeks after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
Based on reporting by TASS
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service have been visiting the Donbas where fighting flared up recently around the town of Avdiyivka:
Ukrainian Soldiers Under Fire, Despite Ease In Fighting
Following a week of intense attacks, shelling appeared to ease somewhat around the government-held, eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiyivka, but soldiers there said they still regularly come under fire from Russia-backed separatists.
A tweet from the lawyer of the imprisoned Ukrainian journalist, who is being held in custody in Russia on espionage charges
Merkel urges Putin to help end violence in Donbas:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on separatists in eastern Ukraine to stop the violence there, a German government spokesman says.
At least 35 people were killed in a week of escalated fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the country’s east.
In a telephone call on February 7, both leaders voiced hope the fighting would soon come to an end, spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.
"To this end, the German chancellor appealed to the Russian president to use his influence on the separatists," Seibert added.
"The German chancellor and the Russian president agreed that new efforts must be made to secure a cease-fire and asked foreign ministers and their advisers to remain in close contact," he also said.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin and Merkel called for an immediate restoration of the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine during the phone call.
"Serious concerns were expressed in connection with the escalation of the armed conflict resulting in human losses," a statement said.
According to UN figures, more than 9,800 people have been killed in the conflict since April 2014. (Reuters, AP)