From RFE/RL's News Desk:
A pro-Russian computer hacking group has claimed responsibility for a January 7 cyberattack on German government websites, including Chancellor Angela Merkel’s page.
The group, called CyberBerkut, demanded Berlin stop "financial and political support" for Ukraine’s government.
Berkut refers to riot police deployed in Kyiv against protesters by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February 2014 after spurning a deal with the EU and turning toward Russia.
The group’s claim of responsibility, made on its website, could not be independently verified.
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said the attacks began at 10 a.m., leaving government websites periodically inaccessible.
He said the data center for the service provider was "under a severe attack" apparently "caused by a variety of external systems."
The attack came hours before Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk was due to meet in Berlin with German President Joachim Gauck on January 7.
This ends our live-blogging for January 7. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
From our newsroom overnight:
Latvia, the holder of the EU presidency, says it sees an opportunity for Russia to agree to a negotiated settlement of the Ukraine crisis.
Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said January 7 that Russia's economy is hurting due to Western trade sanctions and falling oil prices.
Rinkevics, who will travel to Kyiv and Moscow for meetings this week, said he sees "signals" from the Kremlin indicating "a willingness" for cooperation with the EU.
Rinkevics said an improvement in the situation in eastern Ukraine, where Russia holds influence over pro-Russian separatists battling Ukrainian forces, could result in a softening of sanctions.
Rinkevics said the EU wants Moscow to prevent fighters and weapons from crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and French President Francois Hollande for talks in Kazakhstan on January 15.
Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP
Ukraine's prime minister, visiting Germany, has urged the West to present a united front in demanding Russia comply with a September 5 deal on a cease-fire and steps to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk spoke at the German Council on Foreign Relations ahead of a meeting on January 8 with Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"We can only succeed if we act together, when everybody in the EU, the United States, and Ukraine remains united," Yatsenyuk said.
He said Russia had only partially adhered to the agreement signed on September 5 in Minsk by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and pro-Russian rebels whose conflict with government forces has killed more than 4,700 people since April.
"The Minsk accord is not a menu, from which you can pick cherries," Yatsenyuk said.
Russia has denied involvement in the conflict, despite what Kyiv and NATO say is overwhelming evidence of direct military support for the separatists.
Based on reporting by dpa and UNIAN
From Reuters:
Billionaire financier George Soros has urged the West to step up aid to Ukraine, outlining steps towards a $50 billion financing package that he said should be viewed as a bulwark against an increasingly aggressive Russia.
Writing in the New York Review of Books, Soros said Europe and the United States needed to balance sanctions imposed on Russia with large-scale assistance to near-bankrupt Ukraine, which risks defaulting on debt as a result of turmoil caused by pro-Russia separatist fighting.
"Europe needs to wake up and recognize that it is under attack from Russia," the Hungarian-born hedge fund magnate wrote. "Assisting Ukraine should also be considered as a defense expenditure by the European Union countries."
The International Monetary Fund has cobbled together a $17 billion programme for Ukraine but says $15 billion more is needed. Soros called on lenders to promise far more to spur Ukraine into radical reform and to send a signal to Russia.