Greece withdraws its ambassador from Russia:
An update on the Sentsov situation from our news desk:
Macron To Discuss Hunger Striking Inmate Sentsov's Plight With Putin
French President Emmanuel Macron's office says he is due to discuss the plight of Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who has been on a hunger strike in a Russian prison for nearly three months, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Also on August 10, the European Union urged Rusian authorities to move Sentsov, whose health has reportedly been worsening rapidly, to a medical facility and offer him suitable medical care.
A vocal opponent of Russia's 2014 takeover of Crimea, Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted by a Russian court in 2015 of conspiracy to commit terrorist acts, charges he and human rights groups say were politically motivated.
Sentsov, 42, is being held in a penal colony in the city of Labytnangi in Russia's northern region of Yamalo-Nenets, where he has been on hunger strike since mid-May demanding that Russia release 64 Ukrainian citizens he considers political prisoners.
He has vowed to continue his protest to the end.
Macron has already brought up Sentsov's case several times with Putin, including during a visit to St. Petersburg in May.
EU Calls For 'Appropriate Treatment'
Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogehrini, said in a statement that the 28-member bloc expects Russia "to provide him with appropriate treatment in an institutionalized medical setting."
"The European Union expects international human rights standards on the [Crimean] peninsula to be upheld and all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and on the Crimean peninsula to be released without delay," the EU statement said.
Sentsov is being currently sustained with water and a drip with glucose and vitamins. His lawyer, Dmitry Dinze, said earlier this week that his client had lost 30 kilograms, his heart rate has slowed and he has very low levels of red blood cells.
A cousin said on August 8 that Sentsov was in a "catastrophically bad" state and could be close to death.
Ukrainian Ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said on August 9 that "rapid actions" were needed to save Sentsov's life.
Denisova wrote on Facebook that she discussed Sentsov with her Russian counterpart, Tatyana Moskalkova, and proposed several ways to secure his release, including possibly exchanging the film director for a Russian citizen jailed in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maryana Betsa on August 9 urged the international community to “exert more pressure” on Russia to release Sentsov. "Sentsov's health rapidly deteriorates," Betsa tweeted.
Several governments and prominent figures have called on Putin to pardon Sentsov, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said the inmate would have to ask for a pardon himself before it could be considered.
Sentsov has said he would not ask for a pardon.
With reporting by AFP, Interfax, and Reuters
Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. (CLICK TO ENLARGE)
The much-vaunted Javelin missile in action: