Just in from the French news agency AFP:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his defense minister to pull thousands of troops from the border with Ukraine, the Kremlin said ahead of key talks on a fragile truce in the ex-Soviet country.
"The head of state has tasked the defense minister with beginning to bring troops back to their permanent bases," the Kremlin said late Saturday evening.
The Kremlin said the order meant that 17,600 servicemen, who had in the summer participated in military drills in the southern Rostov region on the border with Ukraine, would be pulled back.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu received the order after reporting that "summertime training on military ranges of the Southern military district is over," the Kremlin said.
The late Saturday meeting between Putin and his defense minister took place after the president chaired a meeting of his national security council, said the Kremlin, without providing further details.
Putin is expected to meet Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko for key talks on the sidelines of a Asia-Europe forum in Milan on Friday.
Kyiv reported that pro-Moscow rebel attacks had subsided and Poroshenko said for his part the two would discuss the fragile truce agreed last month.
From a story in the "Los Angeles Times" titled "In Ukraine, Odessa's Bid To Stay Above Fray Is Showing Cracks" by Steven Zeitchik:
Ruslan Novikov paused when asked whether he sided with the Ukrainian nationalists or pro-Russia separatists in this country's fraught debate over national identity.
"I'm Odessan," he said finally, without elaborating further.
Novikov, who works as a tour guide, articulates a popular feeling in this seaside town of nearly 1 million. Over the course of the war in eastern Ukraine, this tourist hot spot has sought to remain above the fray.
But there are cracks in Odessa's apolitical facade.
Recently, Nestor Shufrich, a parliament member with the pro-Russia Regions Party, was beaten by about 20 ultranationalists with the Right Sector group as he campaigned for Oct. 26 elections. The group yelled slurs against Russian President Vladimir Putin as they pummeled Shufrich, and the beating was captured in a video that quickly went viral.
The idea that a Ukrainian city can avoid partisanship in these charged times, residents say, may no longer be viable.
Read the full report here.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Australia has confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the G20 leaders' summit next month, despite concerns about Moscow's actions in Ukraine.
Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on October 12 that the Russian government confirmed that Putin "will be coming to the G20 leaders' summit in Brisbane."
There had been doubts over whether Putin's participation due to the six-month conflict between Kyiv and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, which has killed more than 3,300 people.
Russia drew particular condemnation from Australia over the shooting down of a passenger jet apparently by pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine on July 17.
Dozens of Australians were among the 298 victims.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said he would also meet Putin next week.
Poroshenko said the talks would take place in Milan, where a Europe-Asia Meeting summit will be held on October 16-17. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron will also attend the meeting.
Here is today's situation map of eastern Ukraine by the National Security and Defense Council:
From "A Ukrainian Minibus Driver's Surprise Tour Of War Duty" by Sergei L. Loiko in the "Los Angeles Times":
The Ukrainian special forces sergeant jumped into the front seat of Alexander Kosenko's white minibus with two Kalashnikovs slung over his shoulders, his vest stuffed with a dozen ammo clips, some hand grenades and a couple of machete-size daggers.
"Welcome to hell, Daddy!" he shouted over the constant crackle of automatic fire. "From now on your life hangs on how well you can hear me and follow directions. You got it? Don't say a word."
Kosenko, who was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans, obeyed the sergeant. He pushed the gas pedal to the floor.
Read the full story here.