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Russia is not happy that Congress and not President Donald Trump now holds sway over U.S. sanctions imposed on it. Russias Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even went as far as accusing Trump of weakness portending an impending ouster on social media. Russias official Twitter page responded with a vow and a video.

Whoever comes to us with #sanctions, from sanctions will perish, the page declared, dramatically beneath footage of medieval reenactors, swinging spears at a folk festival in Zaraysk. We dedicate this video to those who try to hurt us with new sanctions!

Read More: Russian agents say Ukrainian spies are ruining summer in annexed Crimea

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The sanctions in question mostly stem from Russias annexation of Crimeaand continued fightingin eastern Ukraine. Catching wind of Russias Twitter declarations, Ukraines verified Twitter account issued a stinging retort.

If you'd respected international law, you would've avoided sanctions & would've been sending missions to Mars now, not running with sticks, the account, operated by the Ukrainian presidents press service, answered.

This is not the first time the two accounts have feuded on Twitter , going at it in May over the claiming rights of an 11th century princess.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin described Anna Yaroslavna as Russian Anne, Ukraines Twitter account decided to distinguish between the kingdom of Kiev that the noble belonged to and the largely underdeveloped lands around Moscow.

"When @Russia says Anne de Kiev established Russia-France relations, let us remember the sequence of events," Ukraine wrote. The tweet described the noblewomans lifeand reignin Kiev; "Meanwhile, in Moscow.." the tweet concluded, attaching a picture of an uninhabited forest.

Russia replied with a call to be proud of our common history next to the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian flags, which the account claimed share the same historical heritage which should unite our nations, not divide us.

Suspecting nefarious motives or possibleflashbacks to thepolitical application of such rhetoric, Ukraines retort was short and direct: You really don't change, do you? beneath which, a gif from the Simpsons, which shows a Russian ambassador at the United Nations laughing sinisterly as he flips his name plate from Russia to Soviet Union.

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Ukraine and Russia Clash on Twitter Over Trump Sanctions - Newsweek

HUMANITARIAN AND DEVELOPMENT NEXUS

As the conflict in eastern Ukraine continues, humanitarian and development actors need to work closely together to support IDPs and the conflict-affected population in order to promote durable solutions, maximize resources, build upon a wide range of expertise, and ensure that their programmes are complementary and sustainable.

This note aims to encourage humanitarian and development actors to work closely together to ensure a rights based approach to assistance in their programs. This New Way of Working for humanitarian and development actors was highlighted in Secretary-General Bans Agenda for Humanity, prepared for the World Humanitarian Summit and reflected in a joint Commitment to Action. It is included in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework Guidance that takes into account the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which incorporates more integrated and interconnected programming by bringing closer development, humanitarian, human rights and peacebuilding agendas.

ENSURING A RIGHTS BASED APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT

Protection has been at the centre of the humanitarian response in Ukraine and it is important that a rights based approach is integrated into the early recovery and development response as well. Many protection issues inform development response and are integral to durable solutions. The need for sustainable livelihoods, employment opportunities, affordable housing and security of tenure, non-discriminatory access to social services, public transport and access to education and health care, are all areas where the development community can play an active role. The need to rebuild and repair essential infrastructure including hospitals, schools, water and energy supply systems, which have been targeted by shelling, is another area where there is a need for development and humanitarian actors to work closely together.

Peacebuilding and reconciliation is also an area where humanitarian and development actors need to work closely together in order to strengthen social cohesion. A growing number of internally displaced people report an increase in discrimination as IDPs and host communities compete for resources within a fragile economy.

A sharp increase in poverty levelsin eastern Ukraine (20% to 74% in Luhansk and from 22% to 65% in Donetsk) highlights how the conflict, coupled with a deteriorating economic situation and high levels of unemployment, has further heightened the vulnerability of conflict-affected and displaced people. Unemployment and poverty are the issues most frequently cited by people in Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts as contributing to feelings of insecurity above shelling and mines.

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Ukraine: Protection for Development Actors - August 2017 [EN/UK/RU] - ReliefWeb

Pentagon spokesperson US Army Lt. Col. Michelle Baldanza told CNN that "The United States has neither provided defensive weapons to Ukraine nor ruled out the option of doing so."

Baldanza added that the Pentagon is "not going to comment about what may or may not be part of internal policy deliberations."

But a US defense official said there is a discussion at higher levels on possibly sending weapons to Ukraine. The official said this is a notion that was repeatedly discussed under the Obama administration.

The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Paul Selva, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 18 that US European Command was preparing a proposal about what a "lethal defensive aid might look like" for Ukraine.

"It will be more than just a military recommendation. This will be a policy choice on whether or not we're going to give the Ukrainian government the tools they need to defend themselves against what we believe to be a Russian-supported insurgency movement in the Donbass," Selva said.

State Department spokesman Heather Nauert was asked on July 25 about arming Ukraine. She said, "there was a headline that implied that we were in the process of doing what you just described. We are not there yet. Let me take out the word 'yet.' We are not there. The United States has not provided defensive weapons nor have we ruled it out to provide to the Ukrainians."

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US considers option of arming Ukraine - CNN

Ukraine is preparing a lawsuit against Russian President Vladimir Putins bridge to Crimea, fearing that it will close off the waters of three other Ukrainian regions, Kiev-based news agency UNIAN reported Wednesday.

The bridge is mired in controversies already, without even having opened. It will be the first land link between Russia and the Crimean Peninsula, a region Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014 but that is still recognized as Ukrainian by U.N. General Assembly majority.

The 12-mile constructionis the project ofArkady Rotenberg's company. The Russian businessman is one of Putins closest associates and is under Western sanctions introduced because of the Crimea annexation. The bridge will cost Russia around $5 billion, Radio Free Europe estimated.

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Read more: Russias security forces blame Ukrainian spies as Crimea tourism season slumps

As well as being a link to an annexation considered illegal, Ukraines Ministry of Infrastructure fears the bridge, stretching across the narrow Kerch Strait, will also have another effectit will close the strait. The narrow waters of the strait link the large Black Sea with the Sea of Azov, which is shared by Russia and Ukraine.

Besides Crimea, three more Ukrainian regions sit on the Azov coastline, sea access to which will be obstructed by the bridge.

Ukraines Justice Ministry is in the process of drafting otherlegal action against Russianamely linked to issues with the annexation and supporting violent insurgencies in eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to Deputy Infrastructure Minister Yuri Lavrenyuk, the bridge, planned to open for car traffic next year, will be the specific focus of a suit.

At the moment, a summons is being prepared, and the financial losses from unreceived cargo for the Mariupol and Berdyansk commercial ports are being calculated, Lavrenyuk says.

This is a global, political and complex issue, but we will absolutely resolve it, he adds.

By December 2018, Russia hopes the road section of the bridge will be fully operational, with a rail link opening soon after.

The bridge has faced some backlash in Russia and Ukraine, where experts have queried the safety of the construction, some pointing to the collapse of the only previous attempt to link Russia with Crimea by bridge. This has not deterred current construction, however, as the failed project took place in 1944 and was much less expensive.

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Ukraine Ready to Fight Russia in Court Over First Land Link to Annexed Crimea - Newsweek

When the conflict in Ukraine began in early 2014, a disturbing number of armed groupsfrom looting gangs to militias with ties to European white supremacy movementssprang up from the chaos. Although the role and origin of those pro-Ukrainian militias has been hotly debated, one thing is clear: several years after the start of the conflict, the Ukrainian government has managed to stifle the independent armed groups fighting on its side. Its success offers lessons for other countries attempting to demobilize populations after a war.

At the start of the war in 2014, there were as many as 30 small armed groups made up of 50 to 100 people. This assortment quickly consolidated into five main militias: Right Sector, Azov, Aidar, Donbas, and Dnepr 1. These semi-independent groups absorbed most of Ukraines freelance fighters and small ethnic militias. Although each group had its own leadership, logistics, and funding, they had to negotiate access to the frontline with the Ukrainian government, and they depended on the regular army for artillery cover. Many of the volunteer fighters were internally displaced people from eastern Ukraine and Crimea, although some Russian far-right activists came to participate in the fight.

At the start of the war, when Ukraines standing army was weak and slow to mobilize, such groups were crucial to the defense of the territory. However, even from the start, there were major problems with their operations. They rarely coordinated with each other or the Ukrainian army on the battlefield or off. Furthermore, there was no legal supervision of their activities, as Amnesty International has repeatedly pointed out.

Volunteers for the Azov battalion at a ceremony in Kiev, October 2014.

The lack of coordination led to inefficiency and, sometimes, catastrophe. In August 2014, Aidar, which consisted of freelance fighters from the Lugansk region who joined after the Maidan protests and who had little military skill, failed to coordinate operations with the Ukrainian army in Lugansk in the infamous Battle of Illovaisk. The army and several other volunteer

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How Ukraine Reined In Its Militias - Foreign Affairs