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 BosNewsLife via Vatican Radio:  By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife MOSCOW/SIMFEROPOL (BosNewsLife)-- Russia and Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula have agreed to make Crimea part of Russia, despite Western outrage and threats of more sanctions.  Tuesday's announcement came while pro-Russian forces reportedly attacked a Ukrainian military base in Crimea, killing one officer.

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.

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 KYIV,UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The foreign ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have condemned the use of what they call "excessive force" against pro-European protesters in Ukraine, amid escalating tensions in the former Soviet nation. Speaking after talks of the NATO military alliance in Brussels, Belgium, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Ukraine's leadership to listen to what he called "the voices of its people".

By Stefan J, Bos Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- A Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest was kidnapped Saturday, March 15, by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, adding to concerns the tensions may turn into a religious and ethnic conflict, church sources said.

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife with additional reporting by Charles Collins and Christopher Wells, Vatican Radio KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- The head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, whose denomination has been threatened with closure by authorities, appealed for peace Wednesday, February 19, after at least 25 people died and over 240 others were injured in the worst violence in Ukraine's post-independence history.

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 Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife KYIV, UKRAINE (BosNewsLife)-- Metropolitan Volodymyr, who led Ukraine's Moscow-linked Orthodox Church for more than two, often turbulent, decades has died, leaving behind members struggling to overcome hardship in the war-torn east. News of his passing prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to express his condolences to the church.

Listen to this BosNewsLife News report via Vatican Radio: By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent BosNewsLife BUDAPEST/KYIV (BosNewsLife)-- Ukraine's jailed former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, has begun a hunger strike in protest of the government's decision to suspend the signing a landmark trade agreement with the European Union. Her announcement came amid more clashes in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv yesterday, where police fired teargas on demonstrators.