Ukraine's parliament tears up military cooperation agreement with Russia
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Ukraine's parliament has voted to suspend military cooperation with Russia in a long-anticipated move signaling a further break in relations between the once-close partners.
The five cooperation agreements scrapped Thursday by the Verkhovna Rada include one giving the Russian military transit rights to reach Moldova, whose territory is partly controlled by a Moscow-supported separatist government.
Relations between Russia and Ukraine plummeted after the overthrow in February 2014 of Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. Kiev also accuses Moscow of arming and staffing separatist insurgencies in eastern Ukraine.
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In turning away from Russia, Ukraine has increasingly reached out for assistance to NATO, an organization the current government hopes the country will eventually join.