Conflict in Ukraine will be more difficult to resolve after the latest round of sanctions by the United States and Canada, Russia’s foreign ministry says.

Russia has responded with anger to news the US Senate passed a bill calling for fresh sanctions against Moscow and the supply of lethal military aid to Ukraine.

Some 100,000 workers on Thursday paraded on Red Square for the first time since the 1991 Soviet breakup as the takeover of Crimea triggered a surge of patriotism and boosted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s standing.

The defeat in Georgia’s parliamentary polls of Russia’s bitter foe President Mikhail Saakashvili may remove some poison from venomous bilateral relations.

Russia on Thursday warned Turkey against deploying Patriot missiles to protect its troubled border with Syria, saying it should instead help broker peace.

Two members of punk band Pussy Riot have been taken to remote Russian prison colonies notorious for their harsh conditions after a court this month upheld their two-year sentences, their lawyer said on Monday.

A Russian appeals court on Wednesday ordered the release of one member of anti-Putin punk band Pussy Riot after giving her a suspended term but ordered two others serve two years in prison.

The United States has told Moscow of its concerns over the case of an opposition activist who claims he was abducted from Ukraine by Russian agents and tortured into making a confession.