That concludes our live blogging for Thursday, October 2.
From the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, addressing Moscow:
Red Cross's confirmations:
From AFP on the gas battle that Russia appears to be waging, quietly, via Gazprom:
Slovak gas importer SPP on Thursday said its Russian gas deliveries were still down by half of what they should be, even as Gazprom insisted levels had remained constant.
"Our company today reports again a roughly 50 percent drop in gas deliveries," SPP spokesman Petr Bednar said in a statement, confirming a second consecutive day of cuts.
Slovakia, which is heavily dependent on Russian energy, recently began pumping gas to Ukraine at the European Union's behest, after Russia cut off supplies to the conflict-ridden country.
Bratislava's involvement has not gone over well in Moscow, and already last month Slovakia saw its gas deliveries from Russia's state-owned Gazprom dip by up to 20 percent.
"There is enough gas in Europe, but unfortunately, it is being used as a political weapon," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters Thursday.