TODAY: Violence in Ukraine escalates, Putin blames Poroshenko, Peskov says Kremlin has little influence on fighting; central bank data contradicts IMF claims that sanctions are working; Putin lashes out at ‘containment’; Kremlin rights council member attacked; Rosneft will sue if Gazprom denies access to China pipeline; way out for Visa and MasterCard; Russia will return to standard time.

As violence in eastern Ukraine escalated yesterday, President Vladimir Putin blamed his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, for ending the mutual ceasefire, lamenting that he and his European colleagues ‘could not convince him that the road to stable, strong and long-lasting peace does not lie through war’.  It was also implied that Poroshenko’s decision not to end the ceasefire had foreign influence.  The WSJ says it is ‘obvious’ that Putin has ‘disregarded the demands […] that Russia stop intervening’.  Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that it was incorrect to assume that Moscow has significant influence over pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.  The International Monetary Fund says international sanctions have had a ‘chilling effect’ on investment, halted economic growth, and could isolate Moscow, although recent information from the central bank indicates that 60% of the investors who bought its MICEX shares came from Europe, Asia, and the US.  Putin lashed out at the US for attempting to ‘contain’ Russia with its sanctions: ‘it is clear that this policy, unfortunately, did not end with the Cold War’.