EU consensus on Russia sanctions stalled by Greek objections, our Brussels correspondent reports:
BRUSSELS -- EU diplomats say ambassadors of the 28-nation bloc have failed to reach consensus on new sanctions targeting Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis and the extension of current sanctions due to objections from Greece.
EU ambassadors met on January 28 in Brussels to discuss fresh punitive measures against Russian officials, companies, and Moscow-backed separatists and the extension of the current sanctions until December.
But EU diplomats told RFE/RL that they were unable to reach an agreement because Greek officials opposed the text of the proposed conclusions.
Consensus among all EU member states is necessary to approve new sanctions or to extend the current ones.
The ambassadors are set to reconvene early on January 29 in a bid to secure an agreement on possible Ukraine-related sanctions ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers later that day.
The office of new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras this week complained that it was not consulted about EU leaders' January 27 statement calling for further "restrictive measures" against Russia.
Three more Lenin statues have been dismantled in Ukraine, our Ukrainian Service reports:
Three more statues of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin have been dismantled in Ukraine.
Two Lenin monuments were demolished by a group of men in military uniforms in the city of Berdyansk in Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya on January 28.
The men called themselves "patriots of Ukraine."
In the regional capital, Zaporizhzhya, unknown armed individuals demolished a Lenin statue in the city's suburbs late on January 27.
Dozens of Lenin's statues have been toppled in cities across Ukraine in the wake of antigovernment pro-European popular protests in Kyiv that toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych in February last year.
The process has accelerated since fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces began in April.
This ends our live-blogging for January 28. Be sure to check back for our continuing coverage tomorrow.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine claim they have nearly encircled government forces in a strategic town.
Eduard Basurin, a rebel military leader, said the highway linking the town of Debaltseve to other government-held areas had fallen into rebel hands.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko confirmed Debaltseve was surrounded on two flanks and said it was coming under heavy fire from Grad multiple-rocket launchers.
Other Ukranian officials said separatist claims were exaggerated.
Debaltseve is one of several sites of fighting that has intensified in recent weeks in what the White House has described as a "Russian-backed offensive" by the rebels.
Kyiv and the West says rebel attacks violate a cease-fire deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, and decrease the chances of ending a conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people since April.
Basurin said the terms of the Minsk agreement are no longer in force.
Read more here.
More from RFE/RL's News Desk:
The United States has voiced deep concern over the health of a Ukrainian pilot detained in Russia after her capture by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
Nadia Savchenko has been on a hunger strike since December 13 and is "gravely ill due to her continued detention by Russia," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Calling for Savchenko's immediate release, Psaki said the pilot had been captured in June in eastern Ukraine and "illegally transferred to Russia by the separatists."
The arrest of Savchenko, 33, in August has become a rallying cause in her homeland. She was elected to the national parliament in absentia in elections in October.
Her lawyer told AFP earlier this month that Savchenko had lost some 12 kilograms and was being held on charges of being involved in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine, charges she strongly denies.
Read more about the devastating effects of her hunger strike here.
In case you missed it, our story on the Ukrainian students who recorded an emotional video calling on their Russian counterparts not to believe what Russia's state-controlled media are saying about their country can be found here.