We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all out other Ukraine coverage here.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog with this report from our news desk on some comments that came in overnight from Washington:
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has accused Russia of endangering world order, citing its incursions in Ukraine and loose talk about nuclear weapons.
Carter said Russia is undertaking "challenging activities" at sea, in the air, in space, and in cyberspace.
Carter said the U.S. defense establishment is searching for creative ways to deter Russian aggression and protect U.S. allies.
His remarks were made on November 7 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, after eight days of travel in Asia.
"Most disturbing, Moscow's nuclear saber-rattling raises questions about Russian leaders' commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to the brandishing of nuclear weapons," he said.
Carter also expressed concern about China's expanding influence and growing military might. But he reserved his stronger words for Russia.
Carter cited several pillars of the international order that he argued should be defended and strengthened: peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom from coercion, respect for state sovereignty, and freedom of navigation.
(AFP, AP)
Maryna Poroshenko, wife of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, has been in Washington to attend the unveiling of a monument to the victims of the Holodomor famine of 1932-1933:
Security analyst Arash Aramesh makes the case for providing lethal aid to Ukraine:
Here's an item from our news desk about the Holodomor memorial in Washington:
A monument commemorating the millions of Ukrainians who perished in the Holodomor -- the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s -- has been unveiled in the U.S. capital.
The monument -- a bronze slab resting on a stone plinth and showing a field of wheat stalks -- symbolizes the taking of grain by the Soviet authorities.
Historians say the seizure of the 1932 crop in Ukraine by the Soviets was the main cause of the famine, also known as the Holodomor.
Ukraine's first lady, Maryna Poroshenko, was present at the ceremony in downtown Washington where a taped video address by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was also played.
"The famine was an attempt to force the Ukrainian people to their knees, to deprive us of our dignity, to destroy our national identity and to kill our hope for the right to create our own destiny in our own land," Poroshenko said in the recording.
(With reporting by RFE/RL's Tony Wesolowsky and AFP)