Putin says Russia will consider an appeal from the leaders of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine for their recognition as independent.

Russia test fires nuclear-capable ballistic missiles amid rising tensions with the US and its allies over Ukraine.

New Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has defined his top priority as ending the conflict in the country’s volatile east, calls for the return of all pro-Russia areas under Kiev's command.

The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic marked the fifth anniversary of its independence from Ukraine with a mass parade in the city center.

Pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine are holding elections to choose parliament members as well as a new leader.

Three children were killed and another injured by a landmine blast in the city of Gorlivka, 30 kilometers north of the rebel area's de facto capital Donetsk.

The funeral in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk of a pro-Russian rebel leader killed in an explosion last week drew vast crowds of mourners on Sunday.

Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in a blast Moscow blamed on Kiev.

Demonstrators took to the streets of Kiev on Thursday, to demand the release of Ukrainians currently held prisoner in the eastern territories of Ukraine.

At least three people have been killed and nine others wounded in Ukraine's eastern region in the latest surge in violence between pro-Russian forces and the Ukrainian army.