This blog begins coverage on January 21, 2015. Please bookmark it for further use.
Previous coverage can be found at our Ukraine Crisis Live Blog archive HERE.
Obama didn't say much about Ukraine in the State of the Union address. Just this:
Obama said Washington was upholding the principle that bigger nations can't bully the small -- by opposing Russian aggression, and supporting Ukraine's democracy.
Obama said international sanctions slapped on Moscow for its annexation of Crimea and its actions in Ukraine have hurt Russia.
Just in from the news desk:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says U.S. President Barack Obama's state of the union address showed that the United States wants to "dominate" the world.
Speaking at an annual news conference on January 21, Lavrov said the idea that "we are Number 1 and all others must acknowledge this" is the centerpiece of the U.S. "philosophy" reflected in Obama's remarks.
Lavrov said it seems to be in the U.S. "genetic code" to dictate terms to the rest of the world.
Lavrov's remarks echoed many made by Russian officials including himself and President Vladimir Putin in recent years and particularly during the past year, a time when Russia's relations with Washington and the West have been severely strained by the crisis and conflict in Ukraine.
There's also this from Lavrov:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of trying to isolate Russia and warned that such efforts would fail.
Speaking at an annual news conference in Moscow on January 21, Lavrov said that many in the West have called for Russia's isolation and that U.S. President Barack Obama made similar remarks in his state of the union speech on January 20.
Lavrov said that attempts to isolate Russia will not succeed.
He said that Russia does not want a new Cold War and called on the United States to return to cooperation, but complained that efforts to work together are hindered by "one-sided pressure" on Russia from the West.
Lavrov said Russia will do all it can to resolve the crisis in Ukraine but suggested that Kyiv is to blame for persistent fighting in the east, saying "bombardments must stop immediately."
The news conference came hours before Lavrov was to discuss the conflict in Ukraine with the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Germany, and France in Berlin.
Lavrov said Russia would seek an immediate cease-fire.