It's estimated that 10,000 Crimean Tatars have left the Ukrainian peninsula since Russia annexed it. Many moved to Kyiv -- where they are determined to preserve their national identity (Current Time TV).
Another item from RFE/RL's news desk:
Top EU Court Upholds Sanctions Against Russia's Rosneft
The top European Union court has ruled that EU sanctions imposed on Russian energy giant Rosneft over Moscow's seizure of Crimea and involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine are lawful.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said in a statement on March 28 that "restrictive measures...in response to the crisis in Ukraine against certain Russian undertakings, including Rosneft, are valid."
The EU imposed sanctions on Russia in July 2014, after it illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine, and later expanded them in response to Moscow's support to for separatists fighting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
The court said in its ruling that the EU's hindering of state-controlled Rosneft's ability to conduct business was in proportion to the level of economic sanctions placed on Russia.
Rosneft said in a statement that it was disappointed with the decision, saying "the decision proves that the rule of law in Europe is being replaced by the primacy of political situation."
Rosneft lawyer Lode van den Hende called the ruling "a setback for judicial protection in the EU."
Rosneft is headed by Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It became Russia's largest oil producer after acquiring the main production assets of Yukos, which was dismantled and sold off following the arrest of its chief, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, in 2003.
Khodorkovsky spent 10 years in prison on two convictions on financial-crimes charges he and supporters say were orchestrated by the Kremlin to punish him for challenging Putin and seize control of Yukos.
The oil and gas company had challenged the EU's restrictions against it, which include its ability to conduct oil deals within the European Union.
The court ruling is seen as establishing its jurisdiction over the EU's common foreign policy, an issue that is being contested by some EU member countries.
With reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and AFP
Here's an item from our news desk on the sale of Sberbank's Ukrainian branches:
Russia's Sberbank To Sell Ukrainian Branches
The largest Russian bank, Sberbank, is selling its Ukrainian branches amid increasing pressure from the Ukrainian government and protesters in Ukraine.
State-controlled Sberbank said in a March 27 statement that a consortium led by Norvik Bank of Latvia and a private Belarusian firm would purchase the Russian bank's assets in Ukraine.
The sale comes less than two weeks after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree imposing sanctions on Sberbank and four other banks with Russian financing.
The bank's outlets in Ukraine have also been the focus of protests led by Ukrainian nationalists angered after Sberbank said it would comply with Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 18 decree ordering Russian authorities to recognize identity documents issued by Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Sberbank later said that it would not recognize the documents in Ukraine.
Sberbank said the sale of its Ukrainian assets is expected to be completed by July after gaining approval from antitrust regulators.
Said Gutseriyev, head of the Belarusian company involved in the sale and the son of Russian billionaire Mikhail Gutseriyev, will become the largest shareholder in Sberbank's Ukrainian holdings after the transaction.
Sberbank said that it hopes the sale will allow for the "resumption of regular operations" and that its customers will no longer be hindered at its branches in Ukraine.