Ukrainians Of Buffalo

Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine said they would honor a cease-fire beginning with the new school year on August 25.

Criminal gangs remain in control of much of Ukraine's amber business. The business is worth as much as $500 million each year. Nine Ukrainian companies are licensed to mine amber legally, but the vast majority of production takes place outside the law. This report was originally produced by Shahida Yakub for Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.

RFE/RL speaks with Ukrainian daredevil Mustang Wanted, three years after the death-defying urban climber defiantly hoisted a Ukrainian flag atop a skyscraper in Russia's capital in "a fit of sincere patriotic sentiment."

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The United States sent its first shipment of anthracite coal to Ukraine from the U.S. port Baltimore on August 22 under a deal designed to increase Ukraine's energy security.

Follow all of the latest developments as they happen.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has proposed a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine starting on August 23 at the beginning of the school year and got unanimous support from Russia, Germany, France, and the United States.

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has rejected reports that Kyiv supplied missile technology to North Korea, saying that such claims amounted to Russian disinformation.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry has invited observers from several countries to the Zapad 2017 joint Belarusian-Russian military exercise that takes place September 14-20 in Belarus, but NATO has said such efforts "fall short."

A Kremlin aide has made upbeat remarks after talking with the new U.S. special envoy for efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, saying they discussed "fresh ideas" in a "constructive" meeting.

Display of power involving up to 100,000 people in Belarus, Kaliningrad and Russia itself comes against backdrop of strained relations with west

‘We know how to live next to Russia’: Lithuania builds border fence with Kaliningrad

Russia is preparing to mount what could be one of its biggest military exercises since the cold war, a display of power that will be watched warily by Nato against a backdrop of east-west tensions.

Western officials and analysts estimate up to 100,000 military personnel and logistical support could participate in the Zapad (West) 17 exercise, which will take place next month in Belarus, Kaliningrad and Russia itself. Moscow puts the number significantly lower.

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US defence secretary issues warning after Pyongyang threatens to launch missiles into the sea near US Pacific island territory

James Mattis, the US defence secretary, has warned that a North Korean missile attack aimed at US territory “could escalate into war very quickly”, saying US forces would know “within moments” if one was heading towards Guam, home to military bases and 160,000 people.

Related:North Korea's Kim to assess 'foolish Yankees' before deciding on Guam missile attack

Related:In 1939, I didn’t hear war coming. Now its thundering approach can’t be ignored | Harry Leslie Smith

What kind of anti-missile defences does the US possess?

Related:Guam: life in the nuclear firing line – in pictures

Guam, a 210 sq mile sovereign US territory in the western Pacific Ocean, is used by America as a strategic military base. Almost a third of its land is controlled by the US military and about 6,000 American troops are based there.

Related:Japan fears the once distant threat of North Korean missiles is becoming real | Justin McCurry

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Film depicting Vladimir Putin’s 2014 annexing of Crimea from Ukraine will only be shown in Russia and Belarus

“This is the kind of decision that is only taken once a century,” says a voice on the trailer for Crimea, a high-budget Russian film that dramatises the 2014 Russian takeover of the peninsula.

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