Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk.
Poroshenko, Zelenskiy To Meet Separately With Macron
Ukraine’s president and his electoral challenger for the office are in Western Europe to meet with key leaders ahead of the country’s April 21 runoff vote.
President Petro Poroshenko and challenger Volodymyr Zelenskiy are scheduled to meet separately on April 12 with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
Poroshenko will also meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on the same day.
Germany, France, and Ukraine are part of the so-called "Normandy format" of countries seeking a resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed separatists are fighting against Kyiv government forces.
Russia is the fourth country in the format, which has not held talks in two years.
According to preelection surveys, Zelenskiy -- a comedian and political newcomer -- is the favorite to win the presidential runoff.
Zelenskiy won the first round by a wide margin over Poroshenko, but he did not receive enough support to avoid the runoff.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and dpa
We are now closing the live blog for today, but we will be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the latest developments. Until then, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.