An interesting point:
The latest from our news desk on the crisis:
Vladimir Putin has reportedly warned the European Union that the Russian military could take Kyiv in two weeks if he gave the order.
The Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" reported on September 1 that Putin told outgoing European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, "If I want, I can take Kyiv in two weeks."
The paper said Putin made the comment during a phone call with Barroso, who relayed it to leaders at an EU summit on August 30.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin's foreign policy aide, Yury Ushakov, as saying on September 2 that his words were "taken out of context and had a completely different meaning."
The newspaper report implied Putin's threat was a response to the possibility the EU would impose further sanctions on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.
Kyiv and Western governments say Moscow has sent soldiers into eastern Ukraine and provided weapons to pro-Russian separatists who have made gains recently in their four-month-old conflict with government forces. Russia denies the accusations.
EU leaders decided at the summit that they should step up sanctions if Moscow does not pull its soldiers back. ("The Telegraph," "Der Spiegel," "La Repubblica", and Reuters)
That concludes our live blogging for Monday, September 1.