It doesn't look like Ukrane has any intention of meeting Russia's extradition request for the man who claimed responsibility for planting Ukraine's flag on a Moscow skyscraper this summer:
Russia says the Ukraine cease-fire must be maintained, our news desk reports:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has spoken to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry about the "need" to maintain a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.
The ministry says Lavrov made the comments during a telephone conversation with Kerry on October 3.
It says Lavrov called for "strict compliance" with a cease-fire agreement signed on September 5 in Minsk, as well as an end to shelling in residential areas of Donetsk -- which is under the control of pro-Russian separatists.
A dozen civilians have been killed in and around Donetsk during the past week, including a Swiss Red Cross worker killed by a mortar shell on October 2.
Separatists have been shelling and attempting to capture the government-controlled airport in Donetsk.
Ukraine's government and separatists blamed each other for the Swiss aid worker's death.
Russia says he was killed by Ukrainian government forces. (Interfax and ITAR-TASS)
Speaking in Hanover to mark Germany's national day, Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the Ukraine conflict, dpa reports:
"We see that international law and the principle of territorial integrity, the fundamental principles after the end of the Second World War and the Cold War, are being openly trampled in the middle of Europe and that we are falling back into old mental habits whereby neighboring states are not seen as partner nations, but as a sphere of influence. That's what's actually happening in Ukraine," she said.
"Beyond the borders of the European Union, we must support those in our neighborhood who share our values to build states by free self-determination, for example Ukraine, Moldavia and Georgia," the chancellor said.
From Reuters:
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Ukrainian forces had repelled several separatist attacks on the Donetsk airport in the past 24 hours but "nonstop fighting" continued and "significant numbers of armor, heavy artillery, and troops" had moved into the area.
"The Russians have sent in a full unit of drones over the airport, directed by Russian specialists, in order to carry out air reconnaissance and to direct fire," he told journalists.
Just in from the Associated Press:
DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Pro-Russian rebels are pressing to seize a key airport in eastern Ukraine despite fierce resistance by government forces.
An AP reporter on Friday saw three rebel tanks firing at the main terminal of Donetsk airport, where government forces have holed up. Sniper shots rang around the area.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said two Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and another nine wounded since Thursday.
Fighting for the airport has intensified this week, threatening to derail the truce declared September 5. A follow-up deal requested both parties to pull back their artillery to create a buffer zone hasn't been implemented.
Residential areas in Donetsk have been caught in the crossfire. A Red Cross staffer died Thursday when a shell landed near the group's office in Donetsk.