ITAR-TASS (and now Interfax) quote "Donetsk People's Republic" militants saying that a blackout caused by fighting between Ukrainian troops and separatists has trapped "about 30" miners underground at the Komsomolets-Donbassa mine.
Missed this earlier:
Here's what that's all about, courtesy of ITAR-TASS:
Russian lawmakers consider stripping country's rock star Andrei Makarevich of all state awards for his last week's performance in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass, which was organized by a pro-Kiev foundation.
The initiative to deprive the 60-year-old singer of the state awards and to introduce a draft law on stripping "of state wards people, who turned into traitors of their Fatherland," was proposed by Yevgeny Fyodorov, a lawmaker with the ruling United Russia political party.
From AP:
Russian army helicopters have landed in northern China to take part in multinational anti-terrorism drills, underscoring continuing close ties between Beijing and Moscow despite tensions with the West over Ukraine.
"The Interpreter" points out that "Donetsk People's Republic" leader Andrei Purgin's statement (via Reuters) that "we don't have the ability to send Grads" into the area around Luhansk where the refugee convoy was hit this morning "does not tally with the widely documented use of such weapons by separatist fighters, who regularly fire on nearby Lugansk Airport with Grads."
Our newsroom follow-up to Brussels correspondent @RikardJozwiak's earlier reporting:
The European Union will provide $170 million in aid to farmers affected by a Russian ban on fruit and vegetable imports from the EU.
The EU's Executive Commission said on August 18 that the aid would help farmers who grow tomatoes, carrots, white cabbage, peppers, cauliflower, cucumbers, mushrooms, apples, pears, berries, grapes, and kiwis.
Russia in early August banned imports of fruit and vegetables and some other foods from the EU and other Western countries.
The sanctions are retaliation for Western sanctions imposed against Russia over Moscow's annexation of Crimea and its alleged support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In recent years, EU countries have annually exported vegetables and fruits to Russia worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The European Commission says Russia bought 28 percent of the EU's fruit exports and more than 21 percent of its vegetable exports in 2011.
Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and ITAR-TASS
AP notes that the road near which the deadly bombing of the refugee convoy took place this morning is "likely the one that a convoy of Russian humanitarian aid would take if Ukraine allows it into the country."
The Red Cross has consistently stated that "we need parties to the conflict in east Ukraine to give security guarantees for the humanitarian operation to go ahead."