Ukrainian nationalists have marched in Kyiv:
Thousands of Ukrainians have marched in Kyiv to mark the birthday of controversial World War II anti-Soviet insurgent Stepan Bandera.
Some marchers carried red-and-black nationalist flags while chanting "Ukraine belongs to Ukrainians" and "Bandera will return and restore order."
Bandera, who is considered by Moscow and many ethnic Russians in Ukraine as a Nazi collaborator, was born on January 1, 1909.
The Bandera movement's slogan -- "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" -- has been used by Ukrainians in their battle against pro-Russian separatists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the leaders of the pro-Europe Maidan movement that ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power "the ideological heirs of Bandera" and "[Adolf] Hitler's accomplice."
Bandera was arrested and jailed by the Nazis and poisoned by a KGB agent in Munich in 1959. (AFP, TASS, and Interfax)
The foreign minister for EU president Latvia to visit Kyiv, Moscow:
The foreign minister of Latvia, which now holds the European Union presidency, plans to visit Kyiv and Moscow early this month.
Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted a Latvian Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying the conflict in Ukraine would be a main focus of Edgars Rinkevics's talks in both capitals.
The spokesman said Latvia wanted to hear their views "on how to end the crisis."
Rinkevics is expected to visit Kyiv on January 9-10.
TASS quoted a diplomatic source as saying he plans to visit Moscow on January 12.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council meets on January 19 to discuss relations with Russia.
Relations between Moscow and the EU are severely strained over Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists whose conflict with government forces has killed more than 4,700 people in eastern Ukraine.
Latvia took over the six-month rotating EU presidency on January 1. (RIA Novosti and TASS)
Russia has introduced duties on Ukrainian goods entering Crimea:
Russian authorities in annexed Crimea say all goods brought to the peninsula from the Ukrainian mainland are now subject to customs declaration and duties.
Following its annexation by Russia in March, the Russian authorities had declared a "transition period" during which goods from the Ukrainian mainland could travel freely into the peninsula. That period ended on January 1.
The region's customs service said in a statement that all imports from Ukraine must now be declared "in writing or electronic forms using the customs declaration and paying customs duties" into the Russian budget.
There are concerns the new customs duties will further raise prices in Crimea.
Russia annexed Crimea after deploying troops across the Black Sea peninsula and carrying out an independence referendum that has been condemned by Kyiv, the United States, the EU, and others around the world as illegal.
Ukrainian TV under fire for airing Russian concert:
Ukraine's biggest television channel is under fire after broadcasting a New Year's Eve concert featuring Russian singers who have publicly supported separatists in eastern Ukraine.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has called on the National Council on Television and Radio to immediately consider stripping the channel, Inter, of its license.
Turchynov accused Inter of "acting against the Ukrainian state" by showcasing Russian singers "who have mocked our country by supporting terrorists and welcoming the seizure of Crimea and the Donbas."
One of the acts in the concert ridiculed Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
Ukraine's minister of information policy, Yuriy Stets, said he planned to introduce a bill under which Russian performers will be barred from Ukrainian broadcasts.
The New Year's Eve concert was recorded in Moscow and featured Iosif Kobzon, a prominent crooner and ruling-party Russian parliament deputy who has been declared persona non grata in Ukraine, along with singers Valeria, Oleg Gazmanov, and Nikolai Baskov.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
