Ukraine crisis: Timeline

November 2014

12 November: Nato commander Gen Philip Breedlove says Russian military equipment and Russian combat troops have been seen entering Ukraine in columns over several days.

Will Ukraine return to war?

11 November: Dutch efforts to salvage wreckage from the Malaysia Airlines crash site stall over disagreements with local rebel groups.

MH17 Dutch memorial day: Air disaster that touched a nation

2-3 November: Separatists in eastern Ukraine elect new leaders in polls backed by Russia and denounced by the West. PresidentPoroshenko accuses the rebels of jeopardising “the entire peace process” and says Ukrainian forces should prepare defences against separatist attack.

Summary justice in Ukraine’s rebel east

October 2014

31 October: Russia agrees to resume gas supplies to Ukraine over the winter in a deal brokered by the EU.

Russia’s gas fight with Ukraine

26 October: Pro-Western parties win Ukraine’s parliamentary elections.

Ukraine ready to trash politicians

21 October: Human Rights Watch says it has strong evidence Ukraine attacked populated areas of Donetsk with cluster bombs, banned by many other states.

12 October: President Putin orders thousands of troops stationed near the Ukrainian border to return to their bases.

24 September: Nato reports a “significant” withdrawal of Russian troops from eastern Ukraine.

9 September: Dutch experts find that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 broke up in mid-air after being hit by “objects” that “pierced the plane at high velocity” in July.

5 September: Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels sign a truce in Minsk.

1 September: Ukraine says 700 of its men have been taken prisoneras pro-Russian rebels advance in the east.