Calling Russia the biggest challenge to European security, Nordic nations agreed on closer defense ties and increased solidarity with the Baltic states on Thursday, aiming to increase regional security through deterrence.
When Ukrainians toppled a pro-Russian president last year, nowhere was the euphoria greater than in Lviv, a short drive from the EU border, where people have dreamt for generations of escaping Moscow's orbit to join the West.
Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels accused each other on Friday of intensifying attacks in separatist eastern territories despite a two-month-old ceasefire deal.
China's plans for islands it is creating in the South China Sea show for the first time the scale of civilian architecture it will extend across the disputed waterway, entrenching its reach in the maritime heart of Southeast Asia, experts say.
