Russia’s Foreign Ministry has published a reciprocal sanctions list of US citizens, consisting of 10 names, including: House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, Senator J. McCain; and advisers to President Obama D. Pfeiffer and C. Atkinson. These officials, along with another five named by the Foreign Ministry, are banned from entering the country. The move comes in response to US sanctions... 

From Left to Right: Aleksey Gromov, Sergey Ivanov, Sergey Naryshkin, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, Vladimir Yakunin, Gennady Timchenko. US President Barack Obama has announced a new executive order imposing further sanctions on top Russian officials and businessmen. The order also allows for measures against Russian energy, mining, defense, and engineering sectors. “We’re imposing sanctions... 

Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, March 18, 2014. US Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Russia about the Ukraine crisis, saying the “nationalistic fervor” in Crimea is similar to the build-up before World War II. During a speech at the State Department on Tuesday, Kerry said he saw a “nationalist fervor which could, in fact, infect in ways... 

Crimea has declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to join Russia, following a referendum in which Crimeans overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation. The Crimean Supreme Council passed the decree on Monday after all the 85 lawmakers present in the 100-seat assembly voted in support of seceding from Ukraine. “The Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of... 

The United States says it does not recognize the outcome of the referendum held in the Ukrainian region of Crimea and is preparing to impose retaliatory penalties against Russia if it annexes the strategic peninsula on the Black Sea. “The United States has steadfastly supported the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine since it declared its independence in 1991, and we... 

Over 95 percent of voters in the Crimean referendum have answered ‘yes’ to the autonomous republic joining Russia and less than 5 percent of the vote participants want the region to remain part of Ukraine, according to preliminary results. With over 75 percent of the votes already counted, preliminary result show that 95.7 percent of voters said ‘yes’ to the reunion of the republic... 

Russia is ready to retaliate with counter sanctions against the EU and US if they go ahead with economic measures against Russia over tension in Crimea, the Russian Economic Ministry has said. “We hope that there will only be targeted political sanctions, and not a broad package affecting economic trade,” Deputy Economic Development Minister Aleksey Likhachev said. “Our sanctions will be,... 

Grainy footage apparently shows Russian tanks on the way to the Donetsk region border. Ukraine warned last night that 80,000 Russian troops were massing on its borders and could invade – as world leaders told Vladimir Putin to back off. A senior security chief in Kiev said Moscow could launch a full-scale invasion and Russian troops would be in the Ukrainian capital within ‘two or three hours’... 

Washington’s decision to provide financial aid to the coup-appointed government of Ukraine goes against the US laws, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said, urging American politicians to think about the consequences of supporting the radicals in Kiev. Ukraine’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovich, said on Tuesday that the US plans to loan $1 billion to the country’s new authorities are illegal. “Indeed,... 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has said that it will deploy Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) reconnaissance planes in Poland and Romania to monitor the spiraling crisis in Ukraine. A NATO spokesman said the alliance gave the go-ahead on Monday for the reconnaissance flights following a recommendation from US Air Force General Philip Breedlove, who is NATO’s Supreme... 

Did somebody say de-escalation? Earlier today, photos were distributed showing the latest military convoy reinforcements heading into the Crimea, accompanies by a Police car demonstrating Moscow license plate numbers, most likely providing further support to the pro-Russian forces in the peninsula. Supposedly the trucks are carrying troops to reinforces the members of the new Crimean army, pictured... 

Russia has defended a decision by Ukraine’s Crimean authorities to hold a referendum as the standoff between Moscow and the West over the crisis-hit Eastern European country continues. Speaking by telephone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said steps taken by authorities in Crimea were “based on international... 

Participants in the “We Are Together” rally and concert to support the residents of the Crimea, at Vasilyevsky Slope, Moscow on March 7, 2014. Over 65,000 people gathered on Friday for a demonstration in central Moscow to support residents of Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The mostly Russian-speaking region has become a major stumbling block in Moscow-Kiev relations. The ‘We... 

Turkey has given a US Navy Warship the green light to pass through the Bosphorus within the next two days as tensions in Ukraine’s Crimea region continue to divide world powers. Turkish sources, speaking with the Hurriyet Daily News on Wednesday, declined to elaborate on the name of the US warship. The same officials told the daily on condition of anonymity that the ship in question was not the... 

Russian-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom has threatened to disrupt gas supplies to Europe following warnings by John Kerry and others that harsh economic sanctions could be imposed on Moscow, as the Ukraine crisis threatens to spiral into a trade war. “Simmering political tensions in Ukraine, that are aggravated by inadequate economic conditions, may cause disruptions of gas supplies to Europe,”...