Autonomous Republic of Crimea

China and Russia will continue to test the limits of their power until they are stopped. When the bayonet meets flesh, it plunges deeper. Xi recently warned that those who try to block China's ascent will be met with a "wall of steel". Were his remarks a warning to the West, or for domestic consumption? Xi's reputation has been tarnished by his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ankara is ready to host a future conference to show support for Ukraine's reform efforts, Turkey's foreign minister said on July 7.

Speaking at the Fourth Ukraine Reform Conference in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu voiced Turkey's support and solidarity with Ukraine "on its path of reforms."

Russia has sent a complaint letter to the European football's governing body Uefa over what Moscow says is Ukraine's "political" Euro 2020 kit.

The Russian Football Union (RFS) argues that this "goes against the basic principles" of the Uefa.

The shirt, with a map showing Russian-annexed Crimea as part of Ukraine, earlier provoked anger in Moscow.

Russia temporarily restricted flights of aviation over parts of Crimea and the Black Sea, according to a notice to airmen (NOTAM).

"The area has been declared temporarily dangerous for aircraft flights," the NOTAM document said.

Russia has concentrated more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine's border and in annexed Crimea, the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Monday after EU foreign ministers were briefed by Ukraine's foreign minister.

U.S. President Joe Biden called on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to reduce tensions stirred by a Russian military build-up on Ukraine's border and proposed a summit of the estranged leaders to tackle a raft of disputes.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Moscow on April 13 not to push its troop buildup along the frontier with Ukraine, and expressed the alliance's "unwavering" support for Russia's neighbor.

Turkey's presidential spokesman on April 11 reiterated his country's call for a de-escalation of tension between Russia and Ukraine.

"Turkey defends Ukraine's territorial integrity and the rights of Crimean Tatars and supports the settlement of the problems between Russia and Ukraine through negotiations," Ibrahim Kalın said on Twitter.

Turkey on March 15 denounced the Russian annexation of Crimea on its sixth anniversary and voiced support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

On the sixth anniversary of Russia's attempted annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo released a press statement to confirm that Crimea belongs to Ukraine.