Russia says apprehends Ukrainian "saboteur group" in Crimea:
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has apprehended three suspected members of a Ukrainian "saboteur group" in Russian-annexed Crimea.
In a statement on November 10, the FSB said it "detained members of a sabotage-terrorist group from the main intelligence directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry" in the city of Sevastopol on November 9.
The FSB said the group "planned to carry out acts of sabotage on objects of military and public infrastructure," and had in their possession "powerful explosive devices, weapons, ammunition" and communication equipment.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry rejected the FSB's claims, calling it "another fabrication of the Russian secret services aimed to justify its own repressive measures against local residents and discredit Ukraine on the international arena."
Earlier in August, Moscow said it thwarted an incursion into the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula by Ukrainian saboteurs and accused Kyiv of plotting "terror" in Crimea.
Kyiv rejected the charges as "cynical" and deployed troops near Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, on high alert. (TASS, Interfax)
Savchenko urges Trump to "strengthen" sanctions against Russia:
By RFE/RL
Ukrainian lawmaker Nadia Savchenko has urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to "strengthen sanctions" against Russia.
In her letter posted on Facebook on November 10, Savchenko urged Trump to provide Ukraine with the "diplomatic, technical, and military support" to fight Russia's aggression.
Savchenko said the current standoff between Kyiv and Moscow over Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its support of pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine was reminiscent of the situation in Europe before World War II.
"I want to add that you have all the possibilities to prevent World War III," Savchenko wrote.
Savchenko, a former military pilot, spent nearly two years in Russian custody before she was released and returned to Ukraine in May. She was elected to parliament in 2014 while being held in Russia.
During his election campaign, Trump said he might look into the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.