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There is a new landmark in Moscow, opposite the towering ramparts of the Kremlins Borovitskaya Gate. That imposing fortified passage, through which presidential motorcades traditionally enter and exit, now shares its position on the Kremlins southern flank with an enormous statue of Vladimir, which was unveiled late last year. This Vladimir is not Putin, but the sainted Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev, whose baptism signaled the conversion of the Rus to Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century, and the alignment of their vast Eastern European empire with Constantinople and the heirs of Rome. Notably, the so-called Baptism of the Rus took place neither in Moscow nor in Kiev, but in Crimea.

This symbolism is not lost on Russian officials or ordinary Moscovites. Both understand that just as Soviet and post-Soviet rulers have governed Russia from the Kremlin, they now seek to assert their sway over lands once ruled by Vladimir. The conviction that Crimea is legitimately Russian landnever again to be lost, bartered or leasedhas become a catechism. As for the rest of Ukraine, Russians see a mix of a grim but acceptable status quo and developments that may gradually break in their favor. That is why, for now at least, Moscows strategy is to stay the course there. ...

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Russia's Calculus in Ukraine Is a Mix of Strategic Patience and Grim Resignation - World Politics Review

Ukraine has taken another significant step toward the protection and inclusion of the countrys lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In early February, the Ministry of Health released for public discussion a draft medical form for patients choosing a family doctor, as part of broader healthcare reform. In the proposed form, a Ukrainian can choose to indicate which gender they are female or male or choose not to indicate their gender, option N.

Ukraines Ministry of Health draft declaration open for public discussion. Section 4 asks people for gender and offers three options male, female or N (), which means they can choose not to indicate their gender.

If the form is adopted, for the first time in Ukraine, people who do not identify as male or female will be able to fill out an official document that acknowledges their gender identity. The transgender community is diverse, and precisely how their gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth differs from person to person. This community includes gender variant people, whose gender identity may be somewhere on the spectrum between male and female, as well as people who may not define in terms of either male or female.

Principle 3 of the Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law to sexual orientation and gender identity affirms that peoples self-identified gender identity is integral to their personality and is one of the most basic aspects of self-determination, dignity and freedom.

The inclusive medical form proposed in Ukraine is a step towards ensuring peoples gender identity is respected in the process of accessing health care. Gender identity and its recognition are an essential part of any persons wellbeing and a basic human right. Ukraines Ministry of Health is showing leadership in promoting respect for all Ukrainians by developing procedures and documents that recognize their diversity and fundamental right to self-expression and identity. One hopes that after the public discussion ends in March, the ministry will adopt the simple change to the form that will nonetheless have far-reaching effects.

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Ukraine Acts to Improve Diversity and Inclusion - Human Rights Watch

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minnesotans with ties to Ukraine are closely watching events there and in Washington. They heard from Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Sunday, who is pushing for tougher sanctions on Russia in the wake of aggression in the region.

She hosted a town hall meeting at the Ukrainian Center in Minneapolis where the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine joined in via Skype.

Ukrainians are marking the third anniversary of Russias annexation of Crimea, it was a move western countries called illegal.

Three years later, tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to flare, particularly in eastern Ukraine, where the government is battling Russian-backed separatists.

There are really two major challenges right now, said Amb. Marie Yovanovich. The first is the war in the east and that is an existential struggle for Ukraine. I can't put it starkly enough.

Yovanonvich said the other challenge is a need for continued reform of institutions in the country, otherwise it would continue to be vulnerable to Russian interference.

Klobuchar traveled to Ukraine in December to meet with officials and see the problem firsthand.

I stood there on the front lines with the troops, she said. They've lost 10,000 Ukrainians in just the last few years since Russia invaded.

Klobuchar's office estimates Minnesota has one of the highest Ukrainian populations in the country, at 10,000 people.

They know if you just say to Russia, Hey go ahead do whatever you want, sanctions off, they're going to lose a good chunk of their country, she said.

Klobuchar is pushing for more sanctions on Russia and an independent commission to investigate alleged Russian interference with the 2016 election, in addition to probes from several government agencies and congressional committees.

In just the past few months, Ukraine's had 6,500 attempts at hacking into their system by trolls and others in Russia and so, it's no surprise that we also saw it in Lithuania, we saw it in Estonia, and that we've seen in America, it's a modus operandi, Klobuchar said.

Officials with the Trump administration deny anyone with the campaign had inappropriate contact with Russia before the election.

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Sen. Klobuchar holds Minneapolis town hall on Ukraine, Russia tensions - KMSP-TV

Speculation grew that Ukrainescentral bank governor is preparing to step down, a move that could stall the momentum of economic reforms and further delay transfers from a $17.5 billion international bailout.

Valeriya Gontareva has told President Petro Poroshenko and International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde about her plans to resign, theDzerkalo Tyzhnyanewspaper reported Feb. 25, without saying where it got the information. Ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was offered the job, but isnt interested, a party ally said Monday, declining to say who made the approach. The central bankspress office deniedthe governor has announced her intention to quit.

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Gontareva, 52, helped stem a plunge in Ukraines currency and rebuild foreign reserves as a second revolution in 10 years and fighting with Russia-backed insurgents ravaged the ex-Soviet economy. While some reforms to alignUkraine with the European Union have become bogged down as they threaten vested interests, the central bank has won praise from foreign investors for its endeavors, including smoothing IMF disbursements.

Ukraines latest$1 billion tranche from the Washington-based lender has been delayed since November and risks further postponement in the event of a leadership change at the central bank, according to Oleksandr Parashchiy, head of research at the Concorde Capital investment company in Ukraines capital, Kiev.

The possible rotation of the central banks head ahead of a possible signing of the latest IMF memorandum in the coming weeks doesnt look optimal for Ukraine as it would cause instability and delays, he said. Its possible Gontarevawill be allowed to leave, but in exchange for remaining for the next three months.

Gontareva allowed the hryvnia to float freely, brought inflation down from more than 60 percent and cleaned up the financial system by shutting down banks that served the needs of oligarch owners. In December, she oversaw the nationalization of the countrys No. 1 lender, Privatbank.

Selected by Poroshenko in June 2014, Gontareva is less than halfway through her seven-year term.Under Ukrainian legislation, the president nominates central bank governors and parliament must approve them.

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Ukrainian Central Bank Governor's Future in Doubt as Rumors Grow - Bloomberg

The leader of the Dutch Christian-Democrats party CDA is slowly moving away from the traditional pro-EU message of its European political family, the European People's Party (EPP).

Christian-Democrat MP, Sybrand van Haersma Buma, said on Sunday (26 February) at the first nationally televised debate ahead of 15 March general elections that he would throw the ratification bill of the EU-Ukraine association agreement in the bin if he became prime minister.

Last week, the Dutch Lower House voted to ratify the treaty, even though voters had rejected it in a non-binding referendum.

Buma, who has hopes of becoming the next Dutch leader, initially said he could not predict what he would do, but then said he would withdraw the ratification instrument.

His remarks followed the first national election radio debate on Radio 1 that took place on Friday (24 February), in which Buma said that other countries will follow the United Kingdom out of the EU unless the bloc drastically reformed.

If Europe continues on the same track, Brexit will not be the end of it, he said Buma.

Buma's centre-right party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP), the largest political force in the European Parliament, and traditionally very pro-EU.

But Buma appears to be wooing Dutch voters who are disillusioned with European integration and worried about migration, the two main constituencies of Dutch anti-EU populist Geert Wilders, who is leading in the polls.

Buma said on the radio that Europe needed to be less focused on small bureaucratic rules.

Earlier last week, in an interview with financial newspaper Financieel Dagblad, he also criticised EU rules on public tenders.

It is impossible to explain if Europe means that you are not allowed to give your own companies some help, he said.

The EPP politician's eurocritical position has come under fire from Alexander Pechtold, a liberal and pro-EU Dutch MP who also has his sights set on the prime minister's post.

Pechtold said Buma was acting like the Party for Freedom - referring to Wilders' party - to win votes.

Wilders and current prime minister, centre-right Mark Rutte, cancelled their appearances in Sunday's tv debate, broadcast by RTL.

Like the other four debaters who did come on Sunday, Buma disagreed with the perception that Islam is a threat for Dutch identity.

But I will not call it an enrichment, said Buma, who listed Islam alongside health care as one of Dutch people's worries.

He said that after four years of the pragmatic coalition between Rutte's centre-right Liberals, and deputy prime minister Lodewijk Asscher's centre-left Labour, the Netherlands is more angry, more afraid, more divided than ever.

Asscher also appeared to tack toward voters who were worried about immigration.

When asked if the Netherlands should accept more refugees, he said he disagreed.

The Netherlands has already done a lot, he said.

The leader of centrist pro-EU party D66, MP Alexander Pechtold, and his colleague from GreenLeft, MP Jesse Klaver, said the Netherlands should take in more people.

Both debates were mostly about domestic issues, such as the cost of health care, euthanasia, traffic congestion, and whether employers should be allowed to fire people more easily.

US president Donald Trump was mentioned, as well as Nato.

GreenLeft leader Klaver was asked whether as prime minister he would apologise to Trump for calling him a "mafklapper" (an untranslatable, but relatively friendly insult). Pechtold said he would show Trump around, joking he would bring him to two Dutch amusement parks.

Christian-Democrat Buma said his party would increase defence spending to reach the EU average, but not the 2 percent of GDP that Nato members had promised each other in 2014.

At Friday's radio debate, which had prime minister Rutte present, Rutte said the 2 percent goal should be reached in the long run, but he would not name a year.

The latest polls show Wilders' party in the lead, set for 24-28 seats of 150, closely followed by Rutte's party at 23-27 seats.

The runners-up are CDA, D66, and GreenLeft, each between 15 and 19 seats.

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Dutch election: Christian Democrat would bin Ukraine treaty - EUobserver