More on the non-cease-fire:
Ukraine's military is accusing Russian-backed separatists of fresh violations of a month-old ceasefire.
Spokesman Volodymyr Polyovy said in Kyiv October 5 that two Ukrainian service staff were killed in the past 24 hours as government forces came under attack in several parts of the east, including the airport of Donetsk.
In Donetsk, where strategic buildings are controlled by separatists, a senior rebel official, Eduard Basulin, said three separatist fighters were killed in the past 24 hours, mainly in fighting around Donetsk airport.
Rebels have been trying for weeks to dislodge government troops from the airport, whose modernized runway is capable of being used by heavy transport aircraft.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the ceasefire on September 5 as the cornerstone of a peace plan to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
That concludes the live blogging. Join us again tomorrow.
Good morning. We are resuming our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Monday, October 6.
From our News Desk this morning:
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland is due in Kyiv on Monday to hold talks with senior Ukrainian government leaders.
The State Department said in a statement that Nuland "will discuss the U.S. commitment to assist ongoing reform efforts in Ukraine, the status of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and U.S. support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity."
Nuland's visit comes amid fresh Ukrainian reports of violations of a month-old cease-fire by Russian-backed separatists.
Military spokesman Volodymyr Polyovy said in Kyiv on Sunday that two Ukrainian service staff were killed in the previous 24 hours as government forces came under attack in several parts of the east.
In the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, a senior rebel official, Eduard Basulin, said three pro-Russia fighters were killed in the previous 24 hours, mainly in fighting around the airport, which is controlled by the Ukrainian military.
Rebels have been trying for weeks to dislodge government troops from the airport.
Just in from our News Desk:
The U.S. dollar has risen above 40 Russian rubles for the first time ever.
The ruble's worth fell below 40 to the dollar in early trading in Moscow on October 6, RIA Novosti and TASS reported.
The Russian currency has fallen steadily in the last three months amid tightening U.S. and European Union sanctions against Moscow over its role in the conflict in Ukraine.
A dollar bought about 34 rubles in early July, and the official exchange rate on October 4 was just under 39.70 rubles to the dollar.
The ruble rate has been closely watched by since the 1991 Soviet collapse and is seen by many Russians as a sign of the economy's strength or weakness.
News that the ruble's worth fell below 40 to the dollar was greeted with comments by Kremlin foes such as Aleksei Navalny, who noted that a round number would make calculations simple.