This just in from our News Desk:
Reuters news agency quotes a NATO military officer as saying Russia has several thousand combat troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles inside Ukraine.
More from our news desk on the NATO assessment of the number of troops in Ukraine:
Reuters news agency quotes a NATO military officer as saying Russia has several thousand combat troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles inside Ukraine.
NATO had previously said that "well over 1,000" Russian troops were operating inside Ukraine, and that there was clear evidence of direct Russian involvement in the conflict between separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Russia denies this.
The NATO officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters, "We are still seeing several thousand Russian combat troops on the ground inside Ukraine, equipped with hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles, so (there is) no substantial change in the disposition of Russian forces inside Ukraine."
He also said that around 20,000 Russian troops remain close to the Ukrainian border.
He spoke on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Wales.
Big news, if accurate...
BREAKING: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he will order a cease-fire on September 5 and hopes implementation of a peace plan will begin the same day.
BREAKING: Senior separatist leaders say they are ready to order a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine on September 5 if agreement is reached with Ukrainian government representatives at talks in Minsk.
This is what Poroshenko said:
"At 1400 local time (1300 Prague time), provided the meeting takes place, I will call on the General Staff to set up a bilateral cease-fire and we hope that the implementation of the peace plan will begin tomorrow," Poroshenko said on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Wales.
Our news desk wraps together news of a possible cease-fire tomorrow:
Senior pro-Russian separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine say are ready to order a cease-fire if an agreement is reached with Ukrainian officials at talks in Minsk on September 5.
The reports come after President Petro Poroshenko said he would order Ukrainian forces to begin a cease-fired the same day if the Minsk meeting takes place at 1400 local time (1300 Prague time).
Poroshenko said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Wales on September 4 that he would call on the Ukrainian Army's General Staff to set up a bilateral cease-fire that could be implemented on September 5.
He said a document would be signed in Minsk providing for the "gradual introduction of a peace plan" for the conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people.
Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a cease-fire proposal on September 3.