Valery Golubev, the deputy chairman of Russia's state-controlled gas monopoly Gazprom's Management Committee, said in April that the price of gas charged by Gazprom to Ukraine will depend on how closely the economies of both countries are prepared to cooperate, the Ukrainian website proUA.com reported.

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, is due to begin two days of meetings aimed at passing a package of bills enabling the country to hold early elections September 30.

The European Union has welcomed the agreement between rival Ukrainian leaders to end the country's political crisis by holding early parliamentary elections on September 30.

After days of rising political tensions in Ukraine and concerns over the possible use of force, the country's leaders have reached an agreement to settle their long-standing dispute. President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych announced that Ukraine's political crisis -- which had sparked concerns over the possible use of force -- was finally over.

The U.S. administration plans to implement drastic cuts in financial aid to rights groups in Russia and Ukraine next year, The Washington Post said Monday, citing a Freedom House report.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich are set to resume talks Saturday aimed at resolving the escalating political crisis in Ukraine. The United States, European Union and Russia are all calling on Ukraine's two top leaders to avoid the use of force.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says he is taking direct control of Interior Ministry forces during a time of increasing political tensions.

President Viktor Yushchenko today placed the country's Interior Ministry troops under his control as the country's political crisis intensifies. The move comes after riot police from the ministry -- which is loyal to Yushchenko's rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych -- occupied the office of Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun in an attempt to block his sacking yesterday by the president.

Former heavyweight WBC Champion of the World Vitali Klitschko has voiced his intention to run for the post of mayor of the Ukrainian capital for the second time, a local newspaper reported Saturday.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko says parliamentary elections should be held before the October date suggested by his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

A look at Ukraine's mass media provides interesting insight into the ongoing political standoff in Ukraine. Because the country finally has a relatively free media, the behavior of the various political actors is reasonably visible. Their actions toward media, in turn, reveal the divergence in political values which are at the heart of the crisis.

The chairman of Ukraine's Constitutional Court, Ivan Dombrovskyy, has resigned amid deliberations about the country's political standoff. According to a statement posted on the Constitutional Court's website, the court's deputy chairman, Valeriy Pshenychnyy, will assume Dombrovskyy's duties.