Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:

In May 2014, cities in eastern Ukraine that held referendums on independence included Mariupol:

Explainer: How Ukraine's Referendums Broke The Rules

Separatists in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk are claiming success following dual referendums on self-rule held May 11. So far, however, the votes have raised more questions than answers. Read more...

Savchenko resumes hunger strike in Russian jail:

Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko says she has resumed her hunger strike in a Russian jail and is prepared to die if she is not released.

Savchenko announced the decision in a letter from pretrial detention at Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina jail.

"As of March 16, I am resuming the hunger strike until I am returned to Ukraine or until the last day of my life in Russia," she wrote in the letter posted on Twitter by one of her lawyers, Mark Feigin.

"I have no intention of changing my decision," she wrote in a separate letter addressed to her lawyers.

Savchenko, 33, lost about 20 kilograms after being drip-fed on glucose and vitamins alone during a hunger strike she began on December 13.

She stopped the hunger strike on March 5, citing health concerns.

Savchenko is charged with involvement in a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists covering the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

She says she was kidnapped by separatists in June and illegally brought to Russia, which she says has no right to try her. (with AFP, Interfax)