[JURIST] The Ukranian Parliament on Tuesday approved controversial martial law regulations that will purportedly allow for extrajudicial detention and relocation of foreign citizens “who threaten or undertake aggression towards Ukraine.” If enacted, the new law will also allow Ukrainian authorities to condemn private property and proscribe conduct and political parties that clash with the country’s accepted notion of “independence.” The law will likely affect [RT report] a greater number of Russian citizens, as Parliament adopted a declaration in January naming Russia as an “aggressor state.” The law will take effect if Parliament chooses to approve a similar measure introduced by the Ukrainian president.

Russia’s ongoing conflict [BBC timeline] with Ukraine [JURIST news archive] has reinvigorated fears of Cold War Era politics and increased tensions between Russia and the West. In late February US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website] announced [JURIST report] that Washington is considering “additional sanctions” against Russia in light of the most recent events in Ukraine. Also in late February a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a revealed [JURIST report] that he had spoken with Ukraine Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine. Ban expressed concern over the situation and informed Klimkin that the UN would continue to follow the Security Council’s guidance. Earlier in February UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for [JURIST report] both sides of the Ukraine conflict to halt “the dangerous escalation in the fighting” in response to the human rights “situation in the east of the country.” In January the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement [JURIST report] saying that at least 5,086 people have been killed since the conflict in Ukraine began in April 2014, but expressed concerns that the real figure may be much higher.