Reuters quotes a senior Ukraine rebel leader denying that separatists are responsible for an apparent missile strike on a column of buses carrying internally displaced Ukrainians near Luhansk:
Andrei Purgin, deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said rebel forces did not have the military capability to conduct such an attack.
"The Ukrainians themselves have bombed the road constantly with airplanes and Grads. It seems they've now killed more civilians like they've been doing for months now. We don't have the ability to send Grads into that territory," he said.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service quotes the spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, Andriy Lysenko, saying that "many people" were killed, "including women and children," in a rocket and mortar attack this morning on a column of buses carrying displaced persons in Luhansk.
There is no exact casualty figure yet.
Other reports said Grad multiple-rocket launchers were used in the attack.
After last night's meeting, Lavrov was quoted as suggesting there was agreement on a future meeting within same format. Perhaps that was an erroneous report. But today, he's saying that "we'll report the results to our heads of state and see in which format to continue efforts to end the tragedy in Ukraine."
Reuters is also reporting the allegation by the Ukrainian military that separatists hit a column of buses carrying civilian refugees from areas of fighting near Luhansk.
A convoy of buses carrying refugees from the east Ukrainian city of Luhansk was hit by rebel missile fire on Monday resulting in an unknown number of casualties, Ukrainian military spokesmen said.
"Terrorists fired Grad missiles at a convoy of refugees from Luhansk near the areas of Khryashchuvatye and Novosvitlivka ... we are waiting to hear how many died," a spokesman for the military operation in the east said.
A spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said she had no information about the case. A rebel news outlet, however, said that separatists and Ukrainian forces had exchanged heavy artillery fire where the buses had been travelling.
A number of outlets cite a report by "Ukrayinska pravda" quoting the Ukrainian army as saying pro-Russian forces shelled evacuees from two towns in Luhansk with rockets and mortar fire this morning, causing many casualties.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov tells reporters in Berlin that there was progress last night on the humanitarian convoy (story below and to follow) and says Russia is "fully responsible for what happens on our side [of the border], and for ensuring that no illegal border crossings take place." He insists on an "unconditional cease-fire" and accuses Kyiv of "unfocused" proposals.
More clues following Lavrov's claims of a deal on the humanitarian convoy. This from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
From Interfax:
Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov said he believes Ukraine can conduct European integration reforms over a period of five years.
"We have a five-year European integration plan," the Ukrainian parliamentary press service quoted Turchynov as saying in an interview with the Baltic information agency BNS on Monday.
"Ukraine should become a member of the European Union and NATO," Turchynov said, adding that he believes it will be a guarantee against Russia's "aggressive ambitions."
Turchynov said most Ukrainians now understand that Ukraine needs to enter NATO because "it is a way to protect Ukraine."
Dpa quoting Lavrov via Russian news agencies: "As long as Kiev seeks a forceful solution, international efforts...won't have success."