Ukraine crisis to headline Sunday talk shows

The unfolding crisis in Ukraine and the chances of a Republican takeover of the Senate this November will dominate discussion on the Sunday network talk shows.

With pro-Russian militants occupying government buildings in eastern Ukraine, the tensions between Russia and the West are on the rise. Militants are refusing to leave despite a unified call by top diplomats representing Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and the European Union that militants disarm and vacate the offices.

Efforts at a solution have been complicated by the fact that eastern Ukraine has a substantial Russian-speaking population that identifies closely with Russia as well as a fledgling Ukrainian government whose legitimacy has been questioned.

GOP ambitions to win back the Senate might have taken a hit this week with news — announced by President Obama himself — that enrollment in the health exchanges under the Affordable Care Act reached 8 million. That's 1 million more than originally projected and a target that looked unreachable given early problems with the rollout of the private health care exchanges.

Republicans believe the health care law remains fundamentally unpopular among voters. They've made it a central part of their strategy in several battleground states where they hope to knock off vulnerable Democrats and win at least six seats to regain control of the upper chamber.

Here's the Sunday lineup:

• CBS' Face the Nation will talk with Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick about security at the Boston Marathon one year after a terrorist bombing killed three people and injured more than 260.The show, airing on Easter Sunday, also will speak with Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York about religion and politics in America as Pope Francis has sparked a discussion about possible reforms to the Catholic Church. Also on the program is a panel of journalists to discuss this week's news: Peggy Noonan of The Wall Street Journal, David Ignatius of The Washington Post, Michael Duffy of Time and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson.

• NBC's Meet the Press will have an exclusive interview with Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the new prime minister of Ukraine. Yatsenyuk is expected to discuss the latest developments in his country's efforts to bring stability to the eastern part of the nation. In addition, Sen. Bob Corke, R-Tenn., and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., key members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will talk about the importance of Ukraine to the U.S. and whether the latest agreement will stand. Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who chairs the Democratic National Committee, will talk about how the party hopes to battle Republicans in the midterm elections given public skepticism about the health care law and Obama's low approval ratings. Plus, a panel of journalists will discuss other topics in the news including what the latest enrollment numbers say about the future of the health care law, views on how the White House is handling the Ukraine crisis and whether former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's new gun-control push will succeed against the National Rifle Association. The roundtable includes: Chuck Todd, NBC News political director and chief White House correspondent; David Brooks, TheNew York Times columnist; Radhika Jones, Time deputy managing editor; and David Shribman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette executive editor.

• ABC's This Week will cover the latest on the battle over Ukraine. It will also focus on the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which remains missing roughly six weeks after it took off from Kuala Lumpur headed for Beijing with 239 people aboard. Also, FiveThirtyEight.com editor in chief and ABC News special contributor Nate Silver will provide his latest analysis of the 2014 Senate midterm elections. A panel comprised of Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., ABC News' Cokie Roberts, and Foreign Policy Initiative co-founder Dan Senor will discuss this week's political news.

• Fox News Sunday will interview Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., on how he says the situation in Ukraine is unfolding in the wake of the latest agreement. In addition, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, is expected to deliver an Easter message. Fox News Sunday will have its own panel to discuss the latest news, featuring George Will, syndicated columnist and Fox News contributor, Rana Foroohar, assistant managing editor of Time, Robert Costa, national political reporter for The Washington Post, and Evan Bayh, former Democratic senator from Indiana and a Fox News contributor.

• CNN's State of the Union will feature the communications director for the Democratic National Committee, Mo Elleithee, and Republican National Committee, Sean Spicer, to discuss the Affordable Care Act and its potential impact on the midterm elections. Joining them will be Stu Rothenberg, political handicapper and editor of the Rothenberg Report. Also, Kim Beazley, Australia's ambassador to the United States, will talk about the ongoing search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 and comments that Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott made recently about new strategies for uncovering the missing plane if the wreckage is not found soon. The show will also focus on Lukman Faily, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. who is running the Boston Marathon on Monday to raise money and show solidarity with the victims of terror in Boston and Baghdad. The show will explore the suicide epidemic among war veterans and why an average of 22 of them kill themselves every day. Sen. John Walsh, a Montana Democrat who is the first Iraq War combat veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate, and Tom Tarantino, chief policy officer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, will talk on the topic.