From our News Desk:
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has submitted a bill on the ratification of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement to parliament.
The Verkhovna Rada made the announcement on its website on September 15.
Poroshenko signed the key trade and economic relations portion of the Association Agreement in Brussels on June 27. It provides for the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free-Trade Area (DCFTA) and closer economic integration.
However, Ukraine and the EU have agreed to put off implementation of the free-trade zone until December 31, 2015.
The Rada and the European Parliament are expected to simultaneously ratify the Association Agreement on September 16.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed potential damage from the agreement with his Security Council on September 15.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned that Moscow will cancel its own free-trade agreement with Ukraine if it finds "hidden implementation" of the postponed EU-Ukraine deal, suggesting Russia would impose tariffs on Ukrainian imports.
More about the OSCE monitoring mission that found itself under attack in eastern Ukraine, despite the cease-fire. The chief monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Alexander Hug, speaking on Monday to Reuters in Donetsk:
"We came under fire slightly north of the town of Kirovskoye and we spent 3 1/2 hours in our cars. We counted at least 40 mortar impacts just next to our cars. One of our cars was severely damaged. We then had to move into one car, then move back through Kirovskoye, down to the main road H21, and arrived here safe and sound just a few minutes ago."
"The conflict is not a conflict that stretches across the eastern part of Ukraine. It is patchy. It is between positions, and today we were in a situation where we were caught in between two positions of the two conflicting parties."