Kyiv says its forces are still in control of Donetsk's airport:
Russia's foreign minister has condemned Ukraine for its NATO hopes, dpa reports:
Russia on Tuesday condemned plans by Ukraine to give up its non-aligned status, and seek NATO membership.
"This idea by the government in Kiev is an attempt by the party of war to disrupt the attempts to find a political solution," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Moscow, the Interfax news agency reported.
Lavrov added that "it is a pity that the US, some EU member states and NATO officials are playing up the idea."
The Ukrainian parliament is discussing a bill that would lift a 2010 law that stipulates the country's non-aligned status. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who submitted the bill, has said that it would open the path to Ukraine's NATO membership.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is expected to attend the NATO summit in Britain later this week.
Russia has vehemently opposed the idea of Ukraine joining NATO and President Vladimir Putin has justified the annexation of Crimea by pointing to the possibility of Ukraine's NATO membership.
Aleksandr Khodakovsky, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said the Ukrainian military has "no chance" of defeating separatist forces in the country's east. In an interview with RFE/RL correspondent Andrei Babitsky on August 30 in Donetsk, the commander of the Vostok separatist battalion said former members of the Russian armed forces have been "sharing their expertise" with the rebel forces, but he stopped short of admitting the direct involvement of Russia's regular forces in eastern Ukraine.
Apropos to Ukrainian refugees in Magadan, please read our story on their children's difficult start to the new school year here: For Displaced Ukrainians, A Troubled Return To School