Today's situation map from the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council:
Write-up of NATO's Russian-troop assessment via our newsroom:
A NATO spokesman says the alliance has observed a significant withdrawal of Russian forces from inside Ukraine, but many Russian troops remain stationed near the border.
Lieutenant-Colonel Jay Janzen said in an e-mailed message, "There has been a significant pullback of Russian conventional forces from inside Ukraine, but many thousands are still deployed in the vicinity of the border."
Lanzen said that some Russian troops are still inside Ukraine, but added that it is "difficult to determine the number."
He said pro-Russian separatists control several border crossings, which allows the routine back-and-forth movement of troops across the border.
Lanzen added tha Russian special forces are operating inside Ukraine, "and they are difficult to detect."
Meanwhile, pro-Russian officials in eastern Ukraine's rebel-held city of Donetsk said a cease-fire between pro-Russian separatists and government forces has been violated twice overnight in the city.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, and Interfax
Interfax:
There have been no talks yet over withdrawal of foreign mercenaries from Ukraine in accordance with the Contact Group's September 19 memorandum, said Andrei Kelin, Russia's Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
"Apparently, there has been no talk or talks on the subject of foreign mercenaries," he told Interfax on Wednesday.
Ten more Ukrainian soldiers, including an officer, have been freed after negotiations with their separatist captors, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. More follow-up from the Minsk protocol. Sorry, these releases came based on negotiations "outside" the Minsk agreement, according to a Dnipropetrovsk official.
"The prosecutor general of Russian-occupied Crimea has said that anyone who does not recognize the annexation will be deported."
From our newsroom:
Kyiv says there was sporadic fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists despite the cease-fire agreement.
Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council also says eight soldiers were wounded over the past 24 hours.
The council spokesman Andriy Lysenko claims that rebels kept provoking government troops into returning fire.
A residential building in the rebel-held city of Donetsk was reportedly damaged by shelling. Rebels are quoted as saying two people were killed in the attack. The claim could not be independently confirmed.
The cease-fire has been in force since September 5 and appears to be holding despite repeated violations.
NATO spokesman Jay Janzen said on September 24 that the alliance has observed a significant withdrawal of Russian forces from inside Ukraine, but many Russian troops remain stationed near the border.
Based on reporting by AP, dpa, Reuters, and Interfax