France, Germany call for immediate cease-fire:
French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko have called for "an immediate cease-fire" in eastern Ukraine a day after the latest peace talks collapsed.
Speaking by phone to discuss a surge in deadly fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels, the three leaders also expressed their regret for "the failure of the talks" in Minsk, the French presidency said.
Fighting has been particularly intense in recent days in and around the government-controlled town of Debaltseve, where rebels are trying to encircle Ukrainian troops.
The Ukrainian military said on February 1 that 13 of its soldiers were killed and 20 wounded in Debaltseve and elsewhere in the war-torn east in the past 24 hours.
At least 17 civilians also died in fighting across the region, government officials and separatist rebels said.
More than 5,100 people have been killed since the fighting began in April.(AFP, UNIAN)
This ends our live-blogging for February 1. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Is Washington considering arming Ukraine?
The New York Times has reported top U.S. administration and military officials are reconsidering providing Ukraine with defensive weapons as the government in Kyiv struggles against pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The February 1 article said a growing number of U.S. officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, are "open to new discussions about providing lethal aid."
So far the Obama administration has limited military aid to Ukraine to nonlethal items such as body armor, night-vision goggles, first aid kits, and engineering equipment.
An independent report by eight former senior U.S. officials that is due to be released on February 2 proposes sending some $3 billion in defensive weapons to Ukraine, including antiarmor missiles, reconnaissance drones, armored Humvee vehicles, and radars that can determine the location of enemy rocket and artillery fire.
The separatists have initiated an offensive in eastern Ukraine many feel because of heavy weapons Russia has supplied recently to the separatists.