Ukraine

At least one person died on Thursday during clashes between rival rallies in the Eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

The standoff began when members of an anti-war demonstration labelled "For a United Ukraine" ran into a group of pro-Russian activists at Lenin Square, website Interfax has reported. 

Blagoy Ragin, Chair of the Bulgarian Hotel and Restaurant Association (BHRA), has rejected claims of an outflow of Ukrainian tourists from Bulgaria.

EU rejects Crimea-Kosovo comparisons

Threats of genocide spurred Kosovo's separation, but no such threat lies in Crimea.

Propaganda billboards in Crimea draw comparisons to Nazism to persuade voters to separate from Ukraine. [AFP]

About 20 Ukrainians, residing in Bulgaria, staged a peaceful protest against Russia's invasion in Crimea, in the Black Sea city of Varna. 

The protestors were carrying Ukrainians carried the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow balloons and signs saying “Russia is an aggressor”, reported Bulgaria's public TV channel BNT. 

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said it suspends accession talks with Russia, because of the country's involvement in the tensions in Crimea. 

By Andrew Hammond – LSE International Affairs Research Center

For CNN

Ukraine's Foreign Mnister Andrii Deshchytsya on Monday asserted that the situation in his country "is almost like ... a war." With Russian forces effectively having taken control of Crimea, this is Europe's biggest geopolitical crisis for at least two decades.

Russia's Defense Ministry has given permission for a surveillance flight by Ukraine over Russian territory near the border between the countries.

Russia has permitted the flight in order to demonstrate that any threat of military operations on the part of the Russian Armed Forces is absent, after Kiev had claimed Moscow was building up its military presence there.

Ukraine's officials accused Russia of conducting a large military build-up near the country's border that raises the threat of an invasion.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Parubiy warned that he has "every reason to believe" that Russian forces along Ukraine's southern and eastern borders will invade, KyivPost reports.

The political part of EU's Association Agreement in Ukraine will probably be signed next week.

After Wednesday's talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that, "if there are no technical obstacles", signing of some documents regarding the agreement should take place at the upcoming meeting of the European Council, which is next week.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has warned that it will stop supplies to Ukraine if it does not pay its debt.

Alexei Miller, its Executive Director, explained Ukraine currently owes USD 1.89 B and assure his company "cannot supply gas for free", he was reported by Businessweek as saying.