We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow, you can keep up with all our Ukraine news coverage here.
Good morning. Main news so far today is that Poroshenko will meet with the German and French leaders:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is due to meet with the French and German leaders in Berlin on August 24 to discuss the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will gather to discuss implementation of the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
The three will hold a press conference after their meeting.
The recent surge in violence in eastern Ukraine has cast doubts on a cease-fire deal between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.
Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for skirmishes around Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol.
More than 6,800 people have died in the fighting in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
Before meeting with Poroshenko, Hollande and Merkel will meet together to review options in the European Union's response to an unprecedented influx of migrants fleeing war and unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
It's Ukraine's Independence Day today.
And here's what's happening in Kyiv:
Russian rube hits new low:
The U.S. dollar and the euro soared against the Russian currency at the opening of trading on the Moscow Exchange on August 24.
The rate reached 70.75 rubles per $1, which is 1.65 rubles higher than the previous closing.
The euro rose 2.44 rubles higher and reached the rate of 81.08 rubles per 1 euro.
The exchange rates of both currencies are continuing to reach their highest points since February, while the price oil, Russia's major commodity export, continued to drop on August 24.
Brent and U.S. crude oil futures hit 6-1/2-year lows as concerns about a global supply glut added to worries over potentially weaker demand from China.
U.S. crude was down 3 percent at $39.20 a barrel while Brent lost 2.4 percent to $44.40 a barrel.