Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
White House Criticizes Ukraine Separatist Plans For Local Elections
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is criticizing pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine for threatening to take more territory and hold their own elections.
Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by phone on August 28. The White House said Biden offered U.S. support for constitutional amendments Poroshenko has proposed to decentralize power and hold local elections while maintaining a unitary federal government in Kyiv.
Biden "welcomed news of an agreement among several pro-reform political forces to run a common slate of candidates in Ukraine’s local elections this October," the White House said.
But the vice president "strongly criticized statements by separatist leaders indicating their intention to take additional territory and hold local elections outside of the Ukrainian legal framework, in direct contravention of the Minsk agreements," it said.
Biden also praised Poroshenko for reaching a deal with Ukraine's creditors to restructure its debt. The deal with international bondholders will lighten Ukraine's public debt burden in a move aimed at helping the country avoid default.
The White House said Biden and Poroshenko also condemned recent attacks by pro-Russian forces, including attacks on international monitors.
With reporting by AP and Interfax
Ratings Agencies Say Ukraine Debt Writedown Same As Default
By RFE/RL
Top ratings agencies say they see the debt restructuring deal Ukraine struck with creditors this week as tantamount to a default.
Fitch lowered the rating on Ukraine's long-term public debt from "CC" to "C," citing major losses for bondholders.
"This represents a Distressed Debt Exchange...that results in material losses to bondholders and is being conducted in order to avoid default," Fitch said.
Though the deal with lenders allows Ukraine continued access to international credit markets, Fitch's downgrade is likely to increase the cost of additional borrowing.
Standard & Poor's affirmed its long-term credit rating for Ukraine at "CC," but also said "it would classify any exchange offer or similar restructuring of Ukraine's foreign currency debt as a default."
S&P said its outlook for Ukraine remained negative as it "reflects our assessment that default on Ukraine foreign currency debt is a virtual certainty, given the government's stated position and the difficult macroeconomic environment."
The deal struck between Kyiv, Franklin Templeton, and three other U.S. financial groups calls for a 20 percent "haircut" to the face value of the bonds they hold -- nearly half of $19 billion in Eurobond debt.
The agreement shaves $11.5 billion off Ukraine's debt payments, but is still short of the $15.3 billion in savings target set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Restructuring was a mandatory part of a broader $40 billion global rescue package that the IMF patched together for Ukraine at the start of the year.
The difficult debt talks lasted for five months, with both the IMF and Washington putting immense pressure on bondholders to accept short-term losses in return for keeping Ukraine's pro-Western leaders from being forced to resume their reliance on Russia.
Ukraine's economy is expected to shrink nearly 10 percent this year due its war in the east and the loss of key coal mining and steel factories in pro-Russian separatist areas.
With reporting by AFP and TASS
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
Photos of the newly opened humanitarian-logistics center near Horlivka have been shared on Twitter. A grocery shop, a pharmacy, an ATM machine were installed close to the line of demarcation between Ukraine and the territory currently occupied by the so-called DPR and LPR.
The center’s purpose is to facilitate access to cheaper goods and governmental payments -- that are accessible only through banks and ATMs outside the separatist-held territory -- to those still living under the DPR and LPR.