Russian military drills
President Vladimir Putin has ordered snap combat-readiness drills in Russia's central military district.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on September 7 that the exercises involve paratroopers and military transport aviation as well as some aircraft from other military districts.
"We have to check the capabilities of paratroopers when they are deployed over large distances and their readiness to make landings on unknown aerodromes," he said.
The minister added that the war games, which run to September 12, are also designed to test the Health and Agriculture Ministries' "readiness to carry out their tasks in wartime conditions."
The central military district ranges from the regions around the Volga River to the Ural mountains and Siberia, while also including far northern Russia.
Russia has intensified snap checks of its military might, as the crisis in Ukraine sent relations between the West and Moscow to lows not seen since the Cold War.
Latest from our news desk on some of Hollande's comments:
French President Francois Hollande has proposed a meeting of the leaders of Germany, Russia, and Ukraine later this month as a cease-fire appeared to be largely holding in eastern Ukraine.
Hollande told reporters on September 7 that the talks could take place in Paris before the United Nations' General Assembly opens on September 28 "so that we can evaluate the [peace] process, where it's at."
“There has been progress in the last few weeks, he said. “The cease-fire has almost been respected."
Fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine’s east has claimed more than 6,500 people since April last year.
A truce agreement reached in Minsk in February has been regularly violated, but Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on September 5 that the deal had been observed for the first time for an entire week.
Breaking from Reuters:
FRANCE'S HOLLANDE SAYS IF PEACE PROCESS IN UKRAINE SUCCEEDS WILL SUPPORT LIFTING OF SANCTIONS
Is the cease-fire holding? Poroshenko's comments yesterday were a bit ambiguous.
Ukrainian army positions have come under twelve attacks over the past day, the army operation press center has reported.
It said infantry combat vehicles shelled Ukrainian positions in Maryinka, and small arms and grenade launchers fired on positions south of Avdiyivka.
Ukrainian positions were also attacked in Kirove and Zaytseve.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, September 6. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.