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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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EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini

RFE/RL's Rikard Jozwiak reports from Brussels:

Badly strained relations with Russia are expected to top the agenda at a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on January 19.

The ministers are also likely to discuss heightened concerns about security and terrorism following attacks by Islamist militants in Paris.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said last week the meeting would focus on possible steps to "induce a policy change from Russia" in eastern Ukraine, where fighting between pro-Russian separatists and government forces has increased in recent days.

A document seen by RFE/RL suggested the ministers would be exploring "possible elements for selective and gradual reengagement" with Russia, citing areas of shared concern such as Syria, Iraq, and the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

IS and other militants are also likely to receive much attention at the ministers' meeting.

The January 7-9 attacks in Paris and last week's raids on suspected Islamists in Western Europe have raised fears about the potential threat from European citizens returning from wars on the battlefields in Syria and Iraq.

15:27 18.1.2015

We'll conclude our live blogging for Sunday, January 18 with this wrap-up from our newsroom.

Ukraine President Vows To Retake Rebel-Held East

File photo of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addressing servicemen
File photo of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addressing servicemen

15:25 18.1.2015

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15:23 18.1.2015

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