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Ten-year-old Sasha stands in a bomb shelter in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Ten-year-old Sasha stands in a bomb shelter in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

Follow all of the latest developments as they happen.

Final News Summary For September 29

-- We have started a new Ukraine Live Blog. Find it here.

-- Ukraine is marking 75 years since the World War II massacre of 33,771 Jews on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Kyiv.

-- German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stabilize a fragile cease-fire in Ukraine and do all he could to improve what Merkel called a "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in Syria.

-- Russia's Supreme Court has upheld a decision by a Moscow-backed Crimean court to ban the Mejlis, the self-governing body of Crimean Tatars in the occupied Ukrainian territory.

* NOTE: Times are stated according to local time in Kyiv (GMT/UTC +3)

14:49 5.4.2016

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

14:17 5.4.2016

Dutch citizens are set to vote in an April 6 referendum on whether Ukraine's Association Agreement with the European Union should be ratified. Supporters say the deal encourages free trade, security and cooperation, while opponents see the treaty as poorly written. Some see a "no" vote as a way to strike a blow against further EU expansion. RFE/RL spoke with local politicians and writers about their views.

Dutch Vote on Ukraine-EU Deal: Views From Politicians And Writers
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14:11 5.4.2016

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22:15 4.4.2016

This ends our live blogging for April 4. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.

18:47 4.4.2016

Savchenko "to begin dry hunger strike":

Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko, who has been sentenced by a Russian court to 22 years in prison, will begin a dry hunger strike on April 6, her defense lawyers say.

"Her demand is her immediate return to Ukraine," Nikolai Polozov, one of the Savchenko's lawyers, wrote on Twitter on April 4.

Polozov had earlier twitted that Savchenko's "health condition is stable. She only drinks water."

Savchenko, 34, was sentenced on March 22 on charges including complicity in the killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The sentence comes into effect on April 5.

She denies the charges and has gone on several hunger strikes protesting her detention and the court case.

Earlier on April 4, Savchenko's defense team said the pilot reiterated that she would not appeal the verdict, saying she did not recognize the legitimacy of the case against her.

Savchenko says she was seized in eastern Ukraine in June 2014, while fighting with a volunteer battalion against Russia-backed separatists, and taken to Russia illegally.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said Kyiv was ready to swap her for Russian prisoners.

But a Kremlin spokesman said that "she will serve her sentence." (Interfax, TASS)

18:06 4.4.2016

Nadia Savchenko swap now coming?

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