Much has been written about MH17 in recent days, but in terms of catching the sheer horror of that terrible event, Petr Shelomovskiy's photo gallery transcends all words:
Another update from our news desk:
Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine say they are prepared to pull back smaller-caliber weapons from much of the line of contact with Kyiv’s forces.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, a self-proclaimed leader of the rebels operating in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, said on July 18 that his forces are ready to pull back tanks and armored vehicles outfitted with weapons under 100mm 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the front line.
A spokesman for the Donetsk separatists, Denis Pushilin, called the move a "unilateral step" ahead of a July 21 meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk focused on the implementation of a February cease-fire.
Three civilians and one Ukrainian soldier have been reported killed over the past day in fighting in the country’s east. Ukrainian authorities and the rebels traded accusations of responsibility for the deaths.
More than 6,500 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian government forces and separatists erupted in April 2014.
Kyiv and the West accuse Russia backing the rebels, a charge Moscow denies despite mounting evidence of such support.
(AP, Interfax, AFP)
Here's another superb photo gallery of Ukrainian troops holed up in abandoned mansions in the Donbas region:
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can keep up with all our ongoign Ukraine news coverage here.
Good morning. We'll get the ball rolling today with this item from our news desk on some diplomatic developments:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held talks with his counterparts from Ukraine, Germany, and the United States about the situation in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov held separate talks via phone on July 18 with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, Germany's Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, calling for Ukrainian forces to "to begin the demilitarization" of the southeastern village of Shyrokyne, near the strategic port city of Mariupol.
Lavrov said he told his three counterparts that Russian-backed separatists had already withdrawn from the area, which is near the Azov Sea.
Lavrov also reportedly called on Klimkin to "resolve questions concerning the constitutional reform project," aimed at offering more autonomy to the rebel-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
More than 6,500 people have been killed in the fighting between Ukrainian and separatist forces since April 2014.
The Ukrainian military said on July 18 that "the situation has deteriorated sharply" in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Kerry also discussed the situation in Syria.
(AFP, Interfax)
How some people view the Kremlin's approach to the Ukraine crisis:
As Russia slams his proposed constitutional changes, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko defiantly says Ukraine was, is, and will be a unitary state: