The schism between Ukrainian churches and the Russia Orthodox Church culminated Saturday in the creation of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, angering Russian religious and political leaders.
It's not by chance that the countries' 4 1/2-year conflict has taken on a naval dimension. Moscow is further imposing on Kiev its annexation of Crimea.
Russia's military already has three of the S-400 "Triumf" divisions on the Black Sea peninsula; it plans to have another in place and operational by the year's end.
The winner of the Sakharov Prize is Ukrainian film director turned activist Oleg Sentsov who is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Russia, accused of plotting to bomb sites in Crimea.
Authorities say an 18-year-old student went on a shooting rampage and then killed himself. An explosion also reportedly went off in the school's cafeteria.
A once-secret underground naval base in Crimea designed to preserve Soviet submarines in case of a nuclear attack is now a museum with an anti-American message.
"Maybe something positive will come out of it," the president said. The date for the summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin will be announced on Thursday. It could come in July.
The Russian leader jumped behind the wheel of an orange dump truck, leading the charge across the 12-mile bridge connecting the two regions for the first time in history.
The leaders of France, Germany and the U.S. say, "We share the U.K. assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation" other than Russia being behind the attack.
Crimeans who criticize Russia's annexation of their peninsula have a difficult road ahead, and say dozens have been jailed or have had to flee to other parts of Ukraine.
As the U.S. issues more sanctions over the Ukraine conflict and Russia's annexation of Crimea, Crimean leader Sergei Aksyonov speaks with NPR in Simferopol and lays out his vision for the region.
When Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, many of the region's most precious artifacts were on loan to a Dutch museum. A court has now ruled that the objects must go to Ukraine, not Crimea.
Musafir was once one of Crimea's most popular restaurants, serving Tatar food. But this ethnic group has been persecuted since Russian annexation. The eatery has found a welcoming refuge in Ukraine.
Russia is racing to build a bridge to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it annexed in 2014. The strategically vital project is beset by charges of near-slave labor for workers and engineering concerns.
Russian journalist Yevgenia Albats, who followed Boris Nemtsov's career for 27 years, says he was one of the few Russian political figures willing to directly criticize President Vladimir Putin.
Russia's seizure of Crimea has been widely criticized. But what if Crimea was given away illegally to Ukraine back in 1954? Russian lawmakers are hard at work on their own version of history.
The Russian economy took a big hit in 2014. The U.S. and other countries imposed economic sanctions after Russia annexed Crimea, but it was falling oil prices that really hurt the country.
"I believe in diplomacy, I believe in dialogue, I believe in engagement," the president says of Iran and other regimes perceived as U.S. enemies. But he says restoring relations is a gradual process.
