This ends our live blogging for September 9. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this update from our news desk on the latest diplomatic dealings:
The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and France discussed the contentious issue of holding local elections in separatist eastern Ukraine in a 90-minute telephone conversation on September 9, the Kremlin said.
Under the Minsk peace agreement, the separatist regions must conduct local elections by the end of the year "in accordance with Ukrainian legislation and the law of Ukraine."
The Russian-backed rebels, however, want to hold local elections on their own terms, which include barring all pro-Ukrainian candidates and holding the polls on days that do not correspond to local elections planned in the rest of Ukraine on October 25.
Ukrainian leaders have warned that any attempt to hold "unlawful" elections in rebel-run areas would violate the February peace deal -- a point on which German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande agreed, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's office said.
With foreign ministers from the four countries due to meet in Berlin on September 12, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said "the immediate task is to reach an agreement on the date and conditions of local elections in Donbass."
(AFP, TASS, Interfax)
Here's an update from our news desk:
Russia has reportedly started building a major military base in Belgorod Oblast near the Ukrainian border.
Reuters reports that on September 7 workmen were erecting a fence near the small town of Valuyki to mark out the perimeter.
Citing public documents, the news agency said the Defense Ministry is building the base on a 300-hectare site.
The facility is to house ammunition depots and barracks for 3,500 soldiers, as well as a recreation center with a skating rink and a swimming pool.
The ministry plans to use the base to train soldiers on artillery and army air defense, as well as in driving armored vehicles. The plan includes a site for studying the tactics of the U.S. military.
Kyiv and the West accuse Russia of sending soldiers and hardware to eastern Ukraine to support pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces. Moscow denies its military is in Ukraine.
(Reuters)
It seems to have been all quiet on the eastern front in recent days. We'll have the latest situational map for you in an hour or two:
This is indeed an interesting profile of the Pakistani-born owner of the Kyiv Post: