Ukraine, Benghazi to lead Sunday shows

A new congressional probe into the State Department’s handling of the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, and escalating unrest in Ukraine will likely dominate Sunday talk show news.

{mosads}Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine insist that a controversial referendum set for Sunday declaring sovereignty over the region will happen. The referendum will likely take place in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, where armed groups have been involved in deadly clashes with Ukrainian security forces recently. Several Western powers have condemned the planned vote as illegitimate as well as the interim government in Kiev. 

Meanwhile, House Republicans are moving forward with a select committee to investigate the Benghazi attack that left four Americans dead, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

The abduction of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls this week by Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram will also be a topic of discussion.

Here’s the lineup:

ABC’s “This Week:” Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Sen. Marco Rubio, (R-Fla.), Rep. Adam Kinzinger, (R-Ill.)

NBC’s “Meet the Press:” Pre-empted by coverage of Premier League soccer.

CBS’ “Face the Nation:” Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers, (R-Mich.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren, (D-Mass.)

CNN’s “State of the Union:” Rep. Michele Bachmann, (R-Minn.), Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, (D-Fla.), former senator Rick Santorum, (R-Penn.)

“Fox News Sunday:” Rep. Trey Gowdy, (R-S.C.), Rep. Xavier Becerra, (D-Calif.)

NPR’s “Weekend Edition Sunday:” Maria Korsnick, the first female chief nuclear officer in the U.S.; NPR’s Jeff Brady on the Keystone Pipeline project.