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A priest stands in front of a hospital destroyed after shelling between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Donetsk, Ukraine, on January 19.
A priest stands in front of a hospital destroyed after shelling between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in the eastern city of Donetsk, Ukraine, on January 19.

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

Final Summary For January 20

-- A military spokesman says Ukrainian soldiers on January 20 came under attack from Russian regular forces in the north of the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine.

-- Germany's foreign minister says he and his counterparts from Ukraine, Russia, and France will meet on January 21 in Berlin in a bid to de-escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

-- The chief of Russian gas giant Gazprom says Ukraine's discount "winter price" for natural gas will end on April 1. Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller said in a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev that the price for Kyiv would be set in accordance with a long-standing contract, one Kyiv has long sought to change.

-- Russia says a European Union decision to keep sanctions against Russia in place shows the EU is not ready to change an "unfriendly course" toward Moscow. The EU's decision "only confirms the fact that the EU is still not ready to alter its unfriendly course or to give an objective assessment of the Kyiv authorities' actions," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

-- A Georgian man fighting on the Ukrainian side in the conflict in Ukraine has been killed in combat near the Donetsk airport, according to relatives. Media reports in Georgia quote members of Tamaz Sukhiashvili's family as saying he was killed in a battle near the bitterly contested airport on January 17.

-- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has expressed deep concern over what it says is the "escalation" of violence between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine over the past two weeks. In a statement, the ICRC said the fighting in and around the city of Donetsk was killing civilians and "preventing" its team from carrying out its humanitarian work.

-- An explosion near a courthouse in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has wounded 14 people, four of them seriously.

-- Russia says Kyiv is trying to solve the crisis in eastern Ukraine through military force and that could lead to "irreversible consequences for Ukrainian statehood." Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin spoke to Interfax news agency as Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of ignoring appeals for a cease-fire to be respected.

*NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv

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06:45 15.1.2015

From RFE/RL's News Desk:

Ukraine holds a day of mourning on January 15 for the victims of a rocket attack on a commuter bus in eastern Ukraine.

The rocket attack on January 13 near the town of Volnovakha killed 12 people in the bloodiest incident in restive eastern Ukraine for months.

Kyiv blamed pro-Russian separatists for the shelling, a charge denied by the rebels.

On January 14, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk urged the world community to label the pro-Russian separatists as "terrorist organizations."

The day of the bus attack also saw intense fighting around the international airport in the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

The UN Security Council condemned the bus attack, and called for those responsible to face justice.

Both the European Union and United States condemned the rising violence in eastern Ukraine, with Washington blaming the rebels for the bus shelling.

21:25 14.1.2015

This ends our live-blogging for January 14. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.

18:17 14.1.2015

18:16 14.1.2015

General says Russia to "beef up" military in Crimea, Reuters reports:

(Reuters) - Russia's top general said on Tuesday he would beef up combat capabilities this year in Crimea, the Arctic and the country's westernmost Kaliningrad region that borders two NATO states.

The remarks by General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, are likely to deepen concern in the West over what it sees as Russia increasingly flexing its muscles since the start of the crisis in Ukraine.

NATO's top military commander, General Philip Breedlove, said the alliance was already looking at stepping up exercises in the Baltic Sea region in response to a rise in Russian military manoeuvres there late last year.

"In 2015, the Defence Ministry will focus its efforts on increasing the combat capabilities of its units and increasing combat strength in accordance with the military development plans," Gerasimov told Russian journalists.

"Special attention will be given to the groups in Crimea, the Kaliningrad region and the Arctic," he was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies but gave no further details.

His remarks follow the adoption of a new military doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin in December which underlines the need to protect Russia's interests in the Arctic and identifies NATO expansion as an external risk.

Any military build-up on NATO's doorstep in Kaliningrad, an exclave bordering Poland and Lithuania, would worry the Western alliance, while the Arctic's mineral riches and energy reserves ensure that territory there is contested by several nations.

Russia deployed 14 military jets to Crimea last November as part of a squadron of 30 that will be stationed there, making clear it intends to strengthen its presence on the peninsula since annexing it from Kiev last March.

Breedlove warned at the time that Russia's "militarization" of Crimea could be used to exert control over the Black Sea.

He said on Tuesday NATO was considering adapting a programme of military exercises in the Baltic Sea region, where he said Russian activities had changed in character and showed capabilities not seen before.

"The first series of changes will not be an increase in number but they will be to group them together ... to better prepare our forces and to allow nations to work together as a NATO force, but we are looking at increasing some exercises," he said at a NATO base at Szczecin in northwest Poland.

NATO has boosted its military presence in eastern Europe, saying it has evidence Russia orchestrated and armed the rebellion in eastern Ukraine last year that followed the overthrow of a Kremlin-backed president in Kiev.

Putin says Russia poses no threat to anyone and denies Russia has sent troops or weapons to back the separatists.

18:14 14.1.2015

Russia says no reason to change gas deal:

Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak says there is no reason to change terms for gas deliveries to Ukraine after March when the current EU-brokered deal expires.

Maros Sefcovic, the European Union's energy commissioner who met with Novak in Moscow on January 14, said the EU was ready to continue as an "honest broker" in gas talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine, Russia, and the EU on October 30 signed a "winter package" deal designed to ensure Ukraine makes some payments for Russian gas deliveries and that Russia continues to supply gas through the winter.

Under that deal, Russia lowered Ukraine's gas price by $100 to $378 per 1,000 cubic meters through 2014 and to $365 for the first quarter of 2015.

Oettinger said last October that after March, Kyiv will have access to Russian gas deliveries in exchange for pre-payment.

Novak said on January 14 there is no need for a new document after March because the existing agreement "virtually reflects the terms of the existing contract between Gazprom and [Ukraine's] Naftogaz." (Reuters, Interfax, and TASS)

17:04 14.1.2015

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