Ukraine

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The first contingent of American troops has landed in Poland for military exercises amid regional security concerns over nearby Ukraine, where officials said at least five people have died in clashes.

By BosNewsLife UZHHOROD, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Svetlana Milchevich, an evangelical Christian who became a voice of the voiceless with her public fight against abuse of power and corruption by Ukrainian authorities, has died after officials refused to allow her to seek medical treatment in neighboring Hungary. She was 64

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.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife UZZHOROD, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian election officials say they will not consider Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's complaints of presidential election fraud. Results show opposition leader Victor Yanukovich defeated  Tymoshenko by 3.5 percentage points in the February 7 runoff election.

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.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Officials say heavy fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has forced hundreds of Ukrainian army soldiers to cross into Russia. Kiev says it will pressure Moscow to get them back.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KIEV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- One year after the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, Ukrainian Christians say they are still facing persecution there by pro-Russian separatists who already killed several believers.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Bos NewsLife KIEV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- A ceasefire called by President Petro Poroshenko has begun in eastern Ukraine as part of efforts to revive a much-violated truce with pro-Russian separatists, but it remained unclear whether a peace meeting would go ahead as planned on Tuesday.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine has released what it says are intercepted phone calls in which pro-Russian separatists admit to shooting down a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, killing all 298 people on board. The Boeing 777 went down in eastern Ukraine while on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Most of the victims, 293 according to Dutch officials, came from the Netherlands.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KIEV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden has arrived in Ukraine, where he was to announce an increase in American nonlethal aid for the nation’s fight against pro-Russian separatists amid a rising death toll, though talks about more serious weapons were not excluded. His arrival came after the United Nations said nearly 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine since a ceasefire was agreed between the fighting parties in September.