Pro-Russia rebels and the Ukrainian authorities agreed on Friday on a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the epicentre of fighting in eastern Ukraine, rebel and government officials said, as German and French leaders prepared to bring their peace plan to Moscow. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois …

NATO was set Thursday to agree a major boost to its defences in eastern Europe including six bases and a spearhead force of 5,000 troops in response to what it called Russian aggression in Ukraine. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that the moves likely to be approved by defence ministers …

The NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday welcomed the visit by French President Francois Hollande with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, with a new peace initiative amid escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine. “NATO fully supports all efforts to reach a negotiated peaceful solution to the conflict …