That concludes our live blogging for Thursday, January 29. Follow our continuing coverage of Ukraine, Russia, and the entire RFE/RL region HERE.
Here's our wrap-up of today's EU foreign-ministers meeting:
EU Agrees To Extend Russian Sanctions Over Ukraine
A protester climbed onto the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City after a performance by Russian classical music titans Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev and held up a sign criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s actions in Ukraine.
Pro-Ukrainian activist Roman Torgovitsky walked onto the stage as Netrebko and the cast received an ovation following their January 29 performance of the Gergiev-conducted Tchaikovsky opera Iolanta.
Netrebko came under fire from critics last year after appearing in public together with Oleg Tsaryov, a leader of pro-Russian separatists fighting in Ukraine.
Gergiev last year signed an open letter published by Russia's culture ministry expressing "firm" support for the Kremlin's Ukraine policy.
Torgovitsky, who showed the audience a sign likening Putin to Adolf Hitler, was arrested after the protest, a friend of his told RFE/RL. He could not be immediately reached for comment.
Here's YouTube video of the incident:
From our newsroom, based on reports by Russian news agencies:
A pro-Russian separatist leader says Ukrainian troops near a Donetsk region town are surrounded and should surrender their weapons or face death.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti cites Aleksandr Zakharchenko as saying rebel forces have surrounded Ukrainian units near Debaltseve, a flashpoint in the recent escalation of a conflict that has killed more than 5,100 people in eastern Ukraine since April.
Zakharchenko reportedly said on January 30 that the Ukrainian troops' lives would be spared if they hand over their weapons.
The demand comes amid expectations of a new round of talks between representatives of the rebels, Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE on January 30 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
The rebels have made gains recenetly in what the Uited States has called a "Russian-backed offensive" that violates the terms of an agreement on a cease-fire and steps toward peace signed in Minsk in September.
Zakharchenko said on January 23 that the rebels would push to the borders of the Donetsk province and cast deep doubt on their commitment to any cease-fire.
Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Ekho Moskvy
