[JURIST] The Ukraine Prosecutor General [official website] on Wednesday revealed that two government soldiers have been detained for alleged links to the murders of two women who sympathized with armed separatists from the east. It is reported [AP report] that earlier this week the soldiers broke into the home of the victims in village of Luhanske and shot them both dead. The two women were a mother and daughter whose ages were 77 and 45. Complaints of mistreatment of civilians by Ukrainian soldiers have become prevalent, which has lead to ongoing investigations by the Ukrainian government.

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.