Just in from Reuters:
Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine note east Ukraine ceasefire holding -Kremlin
MOSCOW, Dec 22 (Reuters) - A ceasefire in east Ukraine has generally been holding in past days, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted along with the leaders of Germany, France and Ukraine in telephone talks on the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin said in a statement on Monday.
"It was noted with satisfaction that the warring parties have generally enforced the ceasefire in past days," the statement said.
It said the leaders emphasized "the paramount importance of guaranteeing a ceasefire in the future, an agreement on a line of demarcation for the sides, the removal of heavy weapons and the activation of prisoner exchanges."
Just in from AFP:
A fresh round of peace talks with Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels will take place in the Belarussian capital on Wednesday and Friday, President Petro Poroshenko said after speaking by phone with his French, Russian and German counterparts.
"The heads of state agreed that the next meetings of the trilateral contact group in Minsk will take place on Wednesday and Friday this week," said a statement on the president's website. The talks will involve envoys from Kiev, Moscow and the pan-European OSCE security body.
This concludes are live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Monday, December 22. As always, check back here in the morning for more continuing coverage.
Russia's prime minister hits out at Ukraine, U.S.:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has sharply criticized a U.S. law authorizing new sanctions against Moscow and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's effort to abandon the country's neutral "non-bloc" status.
In a Facebook post on December 23, Medvedev said that "both of these decisions will have extremely negative consequences. And our country will have to react to them."
U.S. President Barack Obama signed the law authorizing further sanctions over Moscow's interference in Ukraine on December 18, but said he would not immediately impose the measures.
Medvedev called it an "anti-Russian law" and said "our relations with America will be poisoned for decades."
The Russian prime minister lashed out at a measure Poroshenko submitted last week to revoke a 2010 law codifying Ukraine's nonaligned status.
Medvedev said it was "in essence, an application to enter NATO, turning Ukraine into a potential military opponent of Russia."