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A portrait of slain separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko hangs outside the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on September 2.
A portrait of slain separatist leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko hangs outside the Donetsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on September 2.
Ukraine Live Blog

Live Blog: Ukraine In Crisis (Archive)

-- EDITOR'S NOTE: We have started a new Ukraine Live Blog as of September 3, 2018. You can find it here.

-- Tens of thousands of people gathered on September 2 in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine to mourn a top rebel leader who was recently killed in a bomb attack.

-- Prominent Ukrainian historian Mykola Shityuk has been found dead in his home city of Mykolaiv, police said on September 2.​

-- Ukraine says it has imprisoned the man it accused of being recruited by Russia’s secret services to organize a murder plot against self-exiled Russian reporter and Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko.

-- Ukraine and Russia are trading blame for the killing of a top separatist leader in eastern Ukraine.

-- Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the head of the head of the breakaway separatist entity known as the Donetsk People’s Republic, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in Donetsk on August 31.

-- The United States is ready to widen arms supplies to Ukraine to help build up the country's naval and air defense forces in the face of continuing Russian support for eastern separatists, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine told The Guardian.

-- The spiritual head of the worldwide Orthodox Church in Istanbul has hosted Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for talks on Ukraine's bid to split from the Russian church, a move strongly opposed by Moscow.

*Time stamps on the blog refer to local time in Ukraine

13:14 3.4.2018

13:12 3.4.2018

13:11 3.4.2018

13:10 3.4.2018

13:08 3.4.2018

13:05 3.4.2018

12:37 3.4.2018

ICYMI:

Snipers And Goats: Life Under Fire In A Ukrainian Village

Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay. (Click on image to open gallery)

Snipers And Goats: Life Under Fire In A Ukrainian Village

The remains of a dacha destroyed by a direct hit from a 152-mm artillery shell. 
1/11 The remains of a dacha destroyed by a direct hit from a 152-mm artillery shell. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
About half of the houses in Vodyane, a holiday village 12 kms from the Black Sea port Mariupol, have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair in fighting between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military. 
2/11 About half of the houses in Vodyane, a holiday village 12 kms from the Black Sea port Mariupol, have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair in fighting between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
A Ukrainian soldier in the loft of an abandoned dacha peers towards separatist lines. While exact numbers are potentially dangerous to reveal, RFE/RL photographer Andriy Dubchak says there are "many [Ukrainian] military men" operating in the village. 
3/11 A Ukrainian soldier in the loft of an abandoned dacha peers towards separatist lines. While exact numbers are potentially dangerous to reveal, RFE/RL photographer Andriy Dubchak says there are "many [Ukrainian] military men" operating in the village. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
Mykola Ivanovych is one of 10 locals who opted to stay in the now militarized village. The 71-year-old looks after his 30 goats and sells milk mostly to Ukrainian soldiers. Photographer Dubchak says the goats remain highly sensitive to the fighting. &quot;As soon as they hear shooting they run in the opposite direction.&quot; The flock has also been known to influence the fighting by clustering around concealed Ukrainian sniper positions, braying for food. &quot;As a result the sniper has to change his firing position&quot; Dubchak says.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;
4/11 Mykola Ivanovych is one of 10 locals who opted to stay in the now militarized village. The 71-year-old looks after his 30 goats and sells milk mostly to Ukrainian soldiers. Photographer Dubchak says the goats remain highly sensitive to the fighting. "As soon as they hear shooting they run in the opposite direction." The flock has also been known to influence the fighting by clustering around concealed Ukrainian sniper positions, braying for food. "As a result the sniper has to change his firing position" Dubchak says. 
 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
Vodyane is often shaken by the rumble of armored vehicles that have cut a path next to the village cemetery.&nbsp;
5/11 Vodyane is often shaken by the rumble of armored vehicles that have cut a path next to the village cemetery. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
Another destroyed dacha in the village.&nbsp;
6/11 Another destroyed dacha in the village. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
Zoya Kral lost her husband and son during the fighting. She now lives alone in Vodyane, surviving on handouts from the Ukrainian military and the Red Cross.&nbsp;
7/11 Zoya Kral lost her husband and son during the fighting. She now lives alone in Vodyane, surviving on handouts from the Ukrainian military and the Red Cross. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
Kral with her cat, Timka. The cat was discovered badly wounded &quot;with blood covering half of its face&quot; after a recent battle, and Kral is now nursing him back to health.&nbsp;
8/11 Kral with her cat, Timka. The cat was discovered badly wounded "with blood covering half of its face" after a recent battle, and Kral is now nursing him back to health. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
As RFE/RL photojournalist Andriy Dubchak walked through Vodyane on March 26, a series of explosions, followed by an intense burst of shooting broke out on the outskirts of the village. As Dubchak watched, this column of smoke drifted into the sky.&nbsp;
9/11 As RFE/RL photojournalist Andriy Dubchak walked through Vodyane on March 26, a series of explosions, followed by an intense burst of shooting broke out on the outskirts of the village. As Dubchak watched, this column of smoke drifted into the sky. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
A crater left by the shell of a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/152_mm_gun_2A36" target="_blank">152-mm field gun</a>.&nbsp;
10/11 A crater left by the shell of a 152-mm field gun. 
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
As the sun sets behind the village, fighters on both sides of the conflict prepare for the nightly firefights of a war that is fought largely after dark. The war between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military has raged for nearly four years and killed more than 10,000 people.&nbsp;&nbsp;
11/11 As the sun sets behind the village, fighters on both sides of the conflict prepare for the nightly firefights of a war that is fought largely after dark. The war between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian military has raged for nearly four years and killed more than 10,000 people.  
Vodyane village, in Ukraine's Donetsk oblast, lies less than a kilometer from the positions of Russia-backed separatists. Despite the nearly daily firefights, 10 locals (and 30 goats) have decided to stay.
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