Latest on Ukraine:
NATO's top military commander says Russian forces are still operating in Ukraine and that a cease-fire is not working, but he expressed hope a new peace plan could bring progress.
U.S. General Philip Breedlove told reporters in Lithuania on September 20, "as to Russian forces on the ground, yes, they are still inside Ukraine," but did not provide precise numbers.
Breedlove said the September 5 agreement is a "cease-fire in name only." He said violence levels, including the number of artillery rounds fired in the past few days, are as high as prior to the cease-fire.
However, Breedlove said he hopes the agreement announced September 20 for the creation of a buffer zone between Ukrainian government troops and the pro-Russian militants will succeed in stabilizing the situation.
Breedlove was in Vilnius for a meeting of NATO military chiefs. (AFP and AP)
Regarding the latest "humanitarian aid convoy" Russia sent into Ukraine today,Volodymyr Polevoy, a spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told a news conference in Kyiv:
"The checkpoint at Izvaryne is not under the control of the Ukrainian border guards. Neither our customs officers nor our border guards are there. The Russian side is violating the rules of international law and Ukraine's sovereignty. Ukraine has a right to independently inspect the contents of the cargo that crosses over the border into Ukraine. We don't know anything about the content of these trucks."
A video produced by Russian opposition parties attempting to prove Vladimir Putin's involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine (in Russian, with English subtitles):
Latest Ukraine news:
Violence has been reported in eastern Ukraine, hours after a new deal was agreed in overnight talks in Minsk between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists.
The nine-point deal reached by representatives of Ukraine, Russia, the rebels, and the OSCE aims to expand on progress made when the parties signed a cease-fire deal on September 5.
New provisions include a requirement for the government and pro-Russian separatists to move heavy-caliber weapons back 15 kilometers, creating a 30-kilometer-wide buffer zone.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said one soldier was killed as troops came under rebel attacks in the Debaltseve area in the Donetsk region.
In Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city, strong explosions occurred on September 20 at a munitions factory.
A local official, Ivan Prikhodko, said the explosions were triggered by an artillery shell, but it was not clear which side fired it. (Interfax, AFP, and UNIAN)
The southern city of Mariupol, which now finds itself on the front line, celebrates its 236th anniversary. Members of Ukrainian volunteer battalions vowed to defend the city at the event.