Russia-US ties

The copter crashed while offering retrieval support for a training operation; investigation launched

The sanctions were placed on a bank 'privately owned by elite Russian billionaires with direct links to Putin'

The approval also allows the Russian leader to deploy 'peacekeepers' to two breakaway Ukrainian regions

Russian military says five people were killed when the Ukrainian saboteurs were thwarted

Wang Yi says certain big powers were reviving a cold war mentality and stoking confrontations between blocs

Berlin warns against trying to guess or assume Russia's decisions on Ukraine

Pentagon says US flight crews were flying in international airspace at time of intercepts

Beijing says Washington is 'playing up the threat of warfare and creating tension'

Moscow has over 100,000 troops massed near Ukraine, but has repeatedly denied any plans to invade

Francis spoke a day after US president told Russia's Putin West would respond decisively to any invasion of Ukraine