By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Initial election results of Sunday's blood-stained referendum in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region claim nearly nine out of 10 voters want to breakaway from the country.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's interim President Olexander Turchynov has warned two regions in eastern Ukraine that Sunday's referendums on declaring independence could lead to their destruction. His comments came while Christians were distributing Bible books to help ease tensions, following deadly clashes between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.

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.

(AS UKRAINE PREPARES FOR A TURBULENT SPRING, BOSNEWSLIFE RE-PRINTS A KEY STORY BOSNEWSLIFE COVERED IN 2006). CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE

CHERNOBYL, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Fresh flowers in front of a small statue resembling the Virgin Mary revealed that at least some Ukrainians returned Wednesday, April 26, to the 30 kilometers (19 miles) "exclusion zone" around the country's leaking Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which exploded 20 years ago.

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.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News story via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- U.S Vice President Joe Biden has warned Russia to end what he called the illegal occupation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula as the West is preparing more sanctions against Russian officials. During his visit to Ukraine, he also unveiled a multi-million dollar aid package to support the country's embattled government, while urging Kyiv to crackdown on rampant corruption.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio...   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV/BUDAPEST (BosNewsLife)-- Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov accused Russia on Sunday, April 13, of waging war against Ukraine and said he had decided to launch what he called a "full-scale anti-terrorist operation" in eastern Ukraine.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife

KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The NATO military alliance has warned Russia against making what it calls an "historic mistake" by supporting calls for secession in eastern Ukraine, that Moscow itself admitted could spill into a civil war.  

Listen to the report by correspondent Stefan Bos:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST/BRUSSELS (BosNewsLife)-- Foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are meeting in Brussels for the first time since Russia's takeover of the Crimean Peninsula caused the worst East-West tensions since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio:   By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife  KYIV/AMSTERDAM (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine has ordered the withdrawal of all its forces from Crimea, following the Russian takeover of the peninsula. Monday's announcement came while Western concerns over Ukraine was expected to dominate a nuclear security summit in the Netherlands.