Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

This ends our live blogging for November 25. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.

Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item that our news desk posted overnight:

Separatists Say Dozhd Journalists 'Deported' From Eastern Ukraine

Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region say they have expelled two journalists with Russia's independent TV channel Dozhd from territory they control, accusing the men of "biased and provocative" coverage of the conflict there.

Separatist authorities in Donetsk said in a November 25 statement that they had "deported" Dozhd journalists Sergei Yerzhenkov and Vasily Polonsky. The announcement came after the TV channel said it had lost contact with the two men.

The statement accused the journalists of conducting "illegal journalistic activity" in areas of Donetsk controlled by the separatists, who have been fighting a bloody war with Ukrainian forces that has killed more than 9,600 since April 2014.

Dozhd is known for its critical coverage of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has denied accusations by Kyiv, NATO, and the EU that the Kremlin is backing the separatists despite substantial evidence of such support.

The channel also provides a regular platform for opponents of the Russian government.

Dozhd said it lost contact with the journalists on November 25 after Polonsky reported that he had been detained by separatist authorities.

It added that the two men had received permission to report from the region both from the separatists and the Ukrainian government.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Dozhd, and AP

Here's a news item from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service on Holodomor events today:

Ukraine Commemorates Victims Of Holodomor Famine

Ukraine is marking an official Day of Remembrance for the victims of the Holodomor on November 26, commemorating the millions who died of famine under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Flags are flying at half-mast and entertainment events have been canceled.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman, representatives from Ukraine's churches, and envoys from various countries will attend a ceremony to honor the victims.

There will also be a nationwide minute of silence observed at 4 pm local time.

Alexander Wienerberger was recruited into the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire during World War I. In 1915, he was taken prisoner in Russia and ended up staying in the U.S.S.R. until 1934. Later, he worked as a chemical engineer specializing in explosives, and he established chemical factories in the Soviet Union. In 1933, he was assigned as technical director of a synthetic factory in Kharkiv and became witness to the man-made famine orchestrated by the Soviet government, the Holodomor. His photographs -- made with a Leica camera -- are some of about 100 images verified to be authentic portrayals of those harrowing events. The captions are based on the photographer's own notes.

The official Day of Remembrance for the victims of the famine is marked every year on the fourth Saturday of November.

The Holodomor took place in 1932 and 1933 as Soviet authorities forced peasants in Ukraine to join collective farms by requisitioning their grain and other foodstuffs.

Historians say the failure to properly harvest crops in 1932 under Soviet mismanagement was the main cause of the famine.

It is estimated that as many as 9 million people may have died as a result of executions, deportation, and starvation during the Stalin-era campaign.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his wife, Maryna, pay their respects to the victims of the Holodomor: