Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
An excerpt:
ODESSA, Ukraine -- Defense lawyer Yuriy Grabovskiy often told his friends and colleagues: “Surprisingly, nobody has rubbed me out yet.” But his words were never taken seriously. None of his friends thought of recommending that the charismatic lawyer hire bodyguards. Openly gay, Jewish, with a good sense of humor, he was famous for kidding around, even under pressure.
He was also famous for his personal style, wearing expensive suits, excellent perfume, smoking shisha pipes in restaurants with friends, driving a luxurious convertible, and always keeping his papers in perfect order. Instead of business cards, Grabovskiy gave his friends match boxes with a picture of him holding a baby tiger on the cover.
Only when investigators announced last month that somebody had kidnapped Grabovskiy, drugged him, humiliated him on video, cracked his skull, burned his fingertips, shot him in the side and in the head, and buried his body in a muddy field between Odessa and Kiev, did people realize just how great were the risks taken by the 43-year-old attorney.