Russia

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/SIMFEROPOL (BosNewsLife)-- The European Union and the United States have imposed wide ranging travel bans and asset freezes against dozens of officials from Russia and Ukraine who they blame for Russia's military incursion into Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Monday's announcements follows a disputed referendum in Crimea where election officials said nearly 97 percent of voters decided to join Russia.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian officials say as many as 17 people, including two police officers, have died and 50 others were injured in a suicide blast that devastated a train station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd.

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Baptists in the Russian town of Lipetsk south-east of Moscow say local authorities are using "a bureaucratic way" to restrict their activities, BosNewsLife monitored Wednesday, December 3.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KIEV/MINSK (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, February 12, that a ceasefire had been agreed in eastern Ukraine, starting February 15.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian officials say dozens of people have died after pro-Russian forces shot down a military aircraft in the east, amid heavy fighting and U.S. concerns over Russian tanks entering the country. 

By BosNewsLife News Center in Budapest with BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos MOSCOW/BUDAPEST-- Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who oversaw the post-Soviet revival of the Christian faith after decades of Communism but was accused of encouraging nationalism, died early Friday, December 5, at his residence at the age of 79, his church said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife reporting from Budapest, Hungary BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (BosNewsLife)-- Leaders of Hungary and Russia have agreed to cooperate in...

Listen to this BosNewsLife News Report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has eased restrictions on protests in and around the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Winter Olympics and Paralympics will be held next month, but concerns remain whether local residents complaining about construction can hold rallies.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/BUDAPEST (Vatican Radio)-- A tense calm has returned to the streets of Ukraine's capital Kyiv's following clashes between pro and anti-government demonstrators. It comes at a time when protesters are remembering those who died in more than two months of unrest.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting by Vatican Radio's Laura Ieraci KIEV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which suffered persecution under Communism, has urged voters to act against corruption and political candidates to stay away of populism.