On the downside, equipment investment tumbled by 2.3 percent, while gross capital and construction investment also fell.
Reason No. 1? Critics say Chuck Hagel didn't understand the Middle East.
The German economy has been hit by a slowdown in key euro zone trading partners.
The fall in oil prices is also affecting the Russian economy significantly and led another official to call the sanctions "blackmail."
The death toll among Ukrainian soldiers since the ceasefire came into force now stands at about 150, according to Kiev's military.
Talks between Iran and six powers are expected to fail to reach a deal to lift sanctions by a deadline on Monday.
The Russian president says his country won’t be isolated as a result of economic sanctions over Ukraine.
Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 others injured during clashes with pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours.
The radar systems constitute a piece of the $118 million in nonlethal aid the U.S. has committed to providing Ukraine.
The Mig-31 Foxhound is the fastest military aircraft around, and it would change the game in Ukraine's skies.
Russia responded sharply to the suggestion by a U.S. official that legal military assistance was "something we should be looking at."
As fighting rages on in eastern Ukraine, an international team of observers has faced challenges in monitoring the conflict.
Russia backs the separatists but denies it is directly involved in the conflict in the Donbass region.
After months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, Russia has demanded guarantees that Ukraine will not be allowed to join NATO.
Hungary is on the seam between the East and West. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's lean toward Russia threatens to pull further at that seam.
"Russian can either be part of a peaceful negotiated solution or Russia can continue on a path of isolation,” NATO's secretary-general said.
The newly deployed equipment is intended to help OSCE conduct its monitoring mission safely as tensions escalate in eastern Ukraine.
A Russian military airplane flying over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by NATO fighters on Monday, Latvia's army said.
The British prime minister sees a “dangerous backdrop of instability" that could lead to another global recession.
President Vladimir Putin said recently that falling oil prices could be potentially “catastrophic” for Russia.
Equipment developed for the Russian segment of the International Space Station will be used for the project, helping Moscow reduce costs.
A government statement issued in the name of Donetsk city administration said the situation in the city was tense.