Ukraine

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- An ethnic Polish priest who was abducted by armed pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has been freed, but his release did little to ease tensions as Ukrainian government forces advanced to the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine and Russia have signed a major economic trade deal, despite massive protests in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for European Union integration , with Moscow promising massive financial assistance and cuts in natural gas prices.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)--Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, May 9, arrived in the Crimean Peninsula he annexed from Ukraine, after a Christian mission group said it would distribute hundreds of thousands of 'Gospel of Luke' Bible books in the region to help ease tensions amid fears of a new world war.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's government has threatened to impose a state of emergency as unrest spreads across the former Soviet nation, while Ukrainians remember as many as four demonstrators who died in clashes between anti-government protesters and police.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: Listen to Stefan Bos' report:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Thousands of Ukrainians have demonstrated against a government decision to suspend preparations for a trade pact with the European Union. The protests come as the country also commemorates a Soviet-era famine that killed millions of people.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Braving freezing temperatures, thousands of protesters were weighting their options amid confusion if and when the president would meet their demands for early elections, closer ties with the European Union, and more freedom in this former Soviet nation.

Listen to the BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KIEV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's main opposition parties, known as the United Opposition, have pledged to impeach President Viktor Yanukovich after European leaders questioned the fairness of recent parliamentary elections. The announcement came at the start of an international gathering on Ukraine's future in neighbouring Hungary.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's minority Tatars are are bracing for a breakaway vote in the Crimean Peninsula amid the biggest East-West confrontation since the Cold War.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/KYIV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Russian President Vladimir Putin has recognized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as an independent state and says approving the region's entry into the Russian Federation makes sense.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian Christians gathered for prayers as pro-Russian activists attacked a pro-Kyiv rally on Ukraine's disputed Crimea's peninsula with clubs and whips on Sunday, March 9, while thousands took to the streets across Ukraine in rival demonstrations. The protests came while Interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk vowed Ukraine would not cede "an inch" of its territory to Moscow.