epa04539973 Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), addresses people in Donetsk, Ukraine, 25 December 2014. Talks aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine continued in Minsk, albeit via videolink, leaders of the pro-Russian separatists said. The first meeting of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group since the government in Kiev and pro-Russian rebels in the east signed a ceasefire in September was held on 24 December in Minsk. EPA/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO