LATEST: Ukraine's parliament has rejected Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk's resignation. (Reuters, AFP, UNIAN)
Ukraine's military is saying it took three rebel checkpoints around Debaltseve on July 30:
And now the official debunking of the purported Putin-Merkel "deal":
Ukraine's parliament has approved the police mission for the MH17 crash site:
More on the Ukrainian cease-fire:
Ukraine on July 31 announced a day-long pause to its military operation against pro-Russian separatists in the east.
A military spokesman said the move was in response to an appeal by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to halt fighting to allow access to the crash site of the Malaysian airliner.
All 298 people on board were killed when the plane came down on July 17, allegedly shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
A team of Australian and Dutch police and crash investigators has tried for four days to make its way from Donetsk to the crash site but has had to turn back because of fighting between Ukrainian forces and the separatists.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has told Australian broadcaster ABC that there could still be as many as 80 bodies at the crash site. (AFP and ITAR-TASS)
In its latest import ban, Russia has blocked Ukrainian juice:
Russia's consumer protection watchdog has suspended import of Ukrainian juice, citing a lack of proper state registration.
Rospotrebnadzor's announcement on July 31 follows the latest round of Western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia has already banned imports of dairy products, canned vegetables, fruits, and fish from Ukraine.
Russia's Economy Ministry on July 30 drafted a regulation to introduce import duties on Ukrainian goods.
Russia has also restricted imports of fruits and vegetables from Poland, and banned fruit imports from Moldova.
The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions targeting broad sectors of Russia's economy this week over its alleged support for separatists fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine.
The EU on July 30 also named more officials, including close business associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and companies put under sanctions. (ITAR-TASS and Reuters)