This Crimea visit has caused outrage in France.
More from our Transmission blog: Anti-Obama Shirts And Scenic Snapshots
Barring any major development, that ends the live blogging for tonight.
Biden: U.S. welcomes Ukrainian demilitarized-zone proposal:
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has welcomed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's proposal to create a 30-kilometer demilitarized zone along the line of contact in eastern Ukraine, the White House said.
The zone would be free of tanks, artillery, and mortar systems and would be under the control of the OSCE, "which should secure a real cease-fire," Poroshenko's office said.
Biden and Poroshenko, who spoke by telephone on July 24, agreed that Russia and Russian-backed separatists had still failed to implement the Minsk agreement calling for a cease-fire and the removal of heavy weapons from the line of contact, the White House said.
The leaders also talked about Ukraine's efforts to combat corruption, Ukrainian-U.S. military and technological cooperation, and the urgency of seeking justice in the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine a year ago.
The two leaders discussed the prospects for setting up an international tribunal at the UN to prosecute those responsible for downing the jetliner.
The UN Security Council is expected to vote on the proposal on July 29. (Reuters, AP, Interfax)
Russia set to veto UN tribunal on MH17:
The United Nations Security Council will vote on July 29 on creating an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing a passenger airliner last year in Ukraine, but Russia is expected to block the move, diplomats have said.
The proposal was offered by Malaysia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin views the proposal as premature and counterproductive, and Russia has offered a rival resolution that demands justice but does not establish a tribunal.
Russia has veto power in the Security Council and can block what Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin described as an attempt to organize a "grandiose, political show."
Several council diplomats said they expected Russia to exercise its veto.
"It is very unlikely that we will find a common ground" between the Russian and Malaysian proposals, said one diplomat.
All 298 passengers on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were killed when it was shot down in July 2014 in Ukrainian territory held by Russian-backed separatists.
Ukraine and Western countries say the rebels shot the plane down with a Russian-made missile, but Moscow denies the accusations. (Reuters, AFP, TASS)
U.S. to start training Ukrainian Army troops:
The United States will begin training Ukrainian Army troops this fall in an expansion of its military involvement in the divided country, the State Department has said.
U.S. troops have already deployed in small numbers to Ukraine to train National Guard forces, but under the new plan would also take on regular military units.
This will bring the total cost of a security assistance package for the embattled country -- locked in a conflict with pro-Russian separatists -- to $244 million since 2014.
But a spokesman said the training would take place in the west of the country, far from the front line in the rebellious east, and did not mark a major change in U.S. strategy.
"This is going to be small unit training...to help strengthen Ukraine's internal defense capabilities," Mark Toner said. "This training is part of our long-running defense cooperation with Ukraine."
Toner said the United States would not be providing new equipment or new weaponry. "Our focus is on...nonlethal aid. And there is no plan to change that." (AFP, Reuters, AP)
Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
As Ukraine basks in summer sunshine, the beach resorts on the Sea of Azov are not doing well. The distant rumble of rocket fire and the roadblocks don't make for much of a holiday atmosphere. Bookings have collapsed, and the tourism business is in ruins. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and Current Time)
