Ukraine

Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv urged American citizens in Ukraine to consider departing now, saying that the security situation in the country was "unpredictable due to the increased threat of Russian military action."

The security situation in Ukraine "can deteriorate with little notice", the embassy said on its website on Wednesday.

In Washington, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv would remain open but added that Americans in the former Soviet country should "strongly consider leaving."

KYIV, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian film director who was jailed by Russia after opposing Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea said on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin will wreak chaos and destabilisation further west if Ukraine falls.

Russia arrested Oleg Sentsov in Crimea, his native Black Sea peninsula, and sentenced him to 20 years in a maximum security prison over terrorist charges he says amounted to a political vendetta.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s leaders sought to reassure the nation that a feared invasion from neighboring Russia was not imminent, even as they acknowledged the threat is real and prepared to accept a shipment of American military equipment Tuesday to shore up their defenses.

Russia has denied it is planning an assault, but it has massed an estimated 100,000 troops near Ukraine in recent weeks, leading the United States and its NATO allies to rush to prepare for a possible war.

KIEV, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday welcomed the decision of the European Union (EU) to approve 1.2 billion euros (about 1.36 billion U.S. dollars) macro-financial assistance to Ukraine.

"The EU once again demonstrates its firm support for Ukraine," Zelensky tweeted.

Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the new financial assistance package to Ukraine, saying it will help the Eastern European country to address its financing needs.

DOENTSK, January 23. /TASS/: Ukraine has deployed Uragan multiple missile launcher systems northwest of the city of Slavyansk, a spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Sunday.

"Under the pretext of drills, the command of the united forces’ operation (Kiev’s military operation in Donbass - TASS) deployed the third artillery division of the 27th artillery brigade armed with 220mm Uragan multiple missile launcher systems to the settlements of Krasnopolye and Adamovka," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

LUGANSK, January 23. /TASS/: Ukraine’s security forces have kidnapped a serviceman of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, the LPR’s People’s Militia Spokesman Ivan Filiponenko said on Sunday.

"On January 22, a serviceman of the LPR’s People’s Militia was abducted by a sabotage group of the Ukrainian armed forces, while patrolling a section of the Svetlodarskaya bulge (a strategically important section near the Svetlodarsk village)," the LuganskInformCenter quoted Filiponenko as saying.

KYIV, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev derided British allegations that he could be installed as leader of a Kremlin puppet government in Kyiv, and told Reuters in an interview that he was considering legal action.

Britain's foreign ministry said on Sunday that Moscow was considering Murayev as a potential candidate to lead Ukraine if Russia launched an invasion, and said Russian intelligence officers were in contact with several other former Ukrainian politicians about planning an attack. 

KYIV, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The first shipment of the United States' $200 million security support package for Ukraine arrived in Kyiv, the U.S. Embassy said on Saturday.

The delivery followed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Kyiv this week amid concerns from Kyiv and its Western allies over tens of thousands of Russian troops amassed at the border with Ukraine. Russia denies planning a new military offensive.

Washington approved the $200 million package in December.

KIEV, January 19. /TASS/: A court in Kiev ruled that former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko be released pending his trial on treason charges as long as he pledged to appear in court and law enforcement offices, according to a TASS reporter present in the courtroom.

The court rejected the motion by the prosecution to arrest the former president or have him pay a bail of $35.8 million.

Several thousands of Poroshenko’s supporters rallied outside the court building during the hearing.

KYIV, Jan 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Germany will do everything in its power to guarantee Ukraine’s security, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on her first visit to Ukraine, amid rising fears of a Russian invasion.

   “We will do our all to guarantee Ukraine’s security. We will do our all to guarantee Europe’s security,” she said at a Monday press conference following talks with her Ukrainian counterpart, a day before she is due to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow.