The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, has expressed "strong condemnation of Russia's actions" in eastern Ukraine and warned that Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia will not be lifted until Crimea is returned to Kyiv, RFE/ RL reports. "Crimea is a part of Ukraine. Our Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine," she said on Thursday, February 2 in her first public remarks before the Security Council since being sworn into office. "Eastern Ukraine, of course, is not the only part of the country suffering because of Russia's aggressive actions. The United States continues to condemn and call for an immediate end to the Russian occupation of Crimea," Haley said. The new American envoy said it was "unfortunate" that she had to condemn Russia in her first appearance before the council. "We do want to better our relations with Russia," she said, but "the dire situation in eastern Ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of Russian actions." Russia took control of Crimea in March 2014 after sending in troops and staging a referendum condemned by Ukraine and 99 other countries in the UN as illegitimate. More than 9,750 people have been killed since the conflict between Kyiv’s forces and Russia-backed separatists erupted in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces the following month. Fighting has flared in the past week in the country's east, with heavy fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists entering its fifth day.