Moscow, according to Kyiv, is menacing NATO ships in the Black Sea

The European Union posted bail of 40,000 lari ($11,700) to secure the release of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia, a condition for implementing a European Union-brokered deal to resolve a long-running crisis that has brought all political activity to a halt.

Some analysts and a few bureaucrats still cling to what seems to be almost a warped hope that the conflict lives on.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, met with derision in his attempts to discuss the conflict in separatist-held Donbass with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, has launched new overtures to shore up support in the West in the light of Russia’s buildup of troops and weaponry on his country’s borders.