Kerry has called Lavrov:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on August 13 to express “grave concern” about the sharp increase in separatist attacks in eastern Ukraine, the State Department said.
According to a State Department spokesman, Kerry also urged for an immediate cease-fire to take place.
Ukraine said two soldiers had been killed in the heaviest clashes with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since a fragile cease-fire was negotiated in Minsk in February.
Kerry also expressed concern about the visit by Iranian elite Quds force leader Qasem Soleimani to Moscow in late July.
The spokesman said the visit would be discussed with Russia at an upcoming New York meeting on violent extremism.
Soleimani is one of several Iranian officials targeted by a 2007 UN travel ban because of their alleged links to Iran's nuclear or ballistic-missile programs.
Ukraine Posts Video Of Captured ‘Russian Soldier’ Asking For Putin’s Help
Ukraine’s state security agency has released a new video purporting to show a Russian army officer who was detained last month in eastern Ukraine appealing to President Vladimir Putin to secure his release.
Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for tonight.
Separatists Fire 'Grad' Rockets Near Mariupol, Donetsk
On the evening of August 13 and through the night of August 14, pro-Russian separatists fired multiple “Grad” rockets near Donetsk and Mariupol, according to the Ukrainian government's Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) press center.
On August 13, Ukrainian soldiers counted 95 attacks by militants. On the night of August 14, separatists used artillery, prohibited by the Minsk agreements, nine times, according to the press center.
There is no information from officials of the self-declared separatist republics about the attacks. Several pro-separatist sites have mentioned night shelling of Donetsk and Makiyivka by the Ukrainian army.
Ukrainian ambassador to Latvia, Yevgen Perebyinis, on Russian sanctions:
“What an outrageous disgrace that this painting with 'sanctioned' produce still hangs in the Hermitage,” he writes.
Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
