Russia on Friday responded to a barrage of new US sanctions by saying it would expel 10 US diplomats and take other retaliatory moves in a tense showdown with Washington. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said Moscow will move to shut down those US nongovernment organizations that remain in Russia to end what he described as their meddling in Russia’s politics.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin would decide what counter sanctions to impose on Washington, a day after US President Joe Biden hit Moscow with an array of punitive measures, but gave no indication of timing.

Russia said on Wednesday it was too early to talk tangibly about US President Joe Biden’s proposal to meet President Vladimir Putin, and the Kremlin told Washington not to impose any new sanctions on Moscow, according to the RIA news agency.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday it was moving more than 10 navy vessels, including landing boats and artillery warships, from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea to take part in exercises, Interfax news agency reported.

Ukraine signed a contract with Pfizer for the supply of 10 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden expressed strong support for Ukraine in a call with the country's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the White House said in a statement, quoted by AP. The call was provoked by latest Russian army buildup near the border with Ukraine. "President Biden affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression in the Donbass and Crimea," the statement said.

Armenia’s embattled prime minister on Sunday confirmed that he will step down from the post in April in order to allow for an early parliamentary election.

Protesters calling for the resignation of Belarus’ authoritarian president marched in small groups Thursday throughout the capital of Minsk, the first sizable turnout of demonstrators since weeks of protest rocked the country last year.

In a bid to defuse the political crisis, Armenia's PM Nikol Pashinyan announced snap polls on Thursday, news wires reported. "Snap parliamentary elections will be held on 20 June," Pashinyan wrote on Facebook.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu announced on Tuesday she was nominating the leader of her parliamentary party, Igor Grosu, to be the ex-Soviet republic's next prime minister, Reuters reported. It is the second attempt by the pro-Western president to appoint a government since she won a presidential election in November against the incumbent Igor Dodon.