Another update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Nine civilians have been reported killed in fresh fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine today, as international experts continued working at the MH17 crash site.
Local officials said six people were killed in shelling and gunfire near Donetsk, and three others were killed in Luhansk over the previous 24 hours.
The Ukrainian military said it had suffered no losses in the latest fighting.
Donetsk and Luhansk are the last two big strongholds of the separatists.
Meanwhile, Dutch and Australian investigators continued working at the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was brought down on July 17, allegedly by the separatists.
The experts are trying to recover the remains of the 298 people killed when the plane crashed.
Some 220 coffins have already been sent to the Netherlands for identification. More remains were delivered in refrigerated trucks to the eastern city of Kharkiv on August 3.
(Reuters, AFP, AP)
Agence France-Press: #Vladimir Putin in a Ukrainian pickle http://t.co/qROSAN1kZ3
— Kyiv Post (@KyivPost) August 3, 2014
Twilight zone. The day after I leave Donetsk, I run into rebel leader Borodai in Moscow outside Vogue Cafe.
— Paul Sonne (@PaulSonne) July 30, 2014
So many fleeing towns east of Donetsk. Asking who can help them, give temp housing. Huge need for coordinated assistance. @AndersLadekarl
— Simon Kruse (@crusoes) August 3, 2014
Here is the latest map of the situation in eastern Ukraine according to the National Defense and Security Council:
#Switzerland has no plans to impose sanctions on #Russia and will remain neutral in the diplomatic row over #Ukraine http://t.co/Bz8xKvlLfD
— Just Hovens Greve (@JustHovensGreve) August 3, 2014
Russia in the Age of Putin is called, by @TheEconomist & others, a mendocracy: rule by liars. It's right word for, let's hope, a short age.
— Strobe Talbott (@strobetalbott) August 3, 2014
#Ukraine is taking a lot of territory quickly in the east but at a high cost. Dispatch 64 https://t.co/Bcut0aUIwN
— Simon Ostrovsky (@SimonOstrovsky) August 2, 2014
This pic of an apparent separatist rally in Donetsk calling for the deployment of Russian troops in the region has been doing the rounds on Twitter:
#Харків #Харьков сейчас: Под лениным проходит сепаратистский митинг, с прямыми призывами к вводу российских войск pic.twitter.com/Ik2xuWH9cw
— Новости Украины (@Dbnmjr) August 3, 2014
We are now closing the live blog for today. Don't forget that you can keep abreast of all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.