With the plant's furnaces echoing the thump of shelling nearby, Magomedov sounds more worried about his workers than about Metinvest. "There is a way out" of the crisis, he says. "We just don't know where it goes."
From the European Parliament:
Members of European Parliament arrive in Ukraine to observe the Rada elections
On 24 October a delegation of 14 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), led by Croatian MEP Andrej Plenković (EPP) starts their activities to observe the 2014 parliamentary election in Ukraine.
"The forthcoming parliamentary elections in Ukraine are important for consolidation of democracy in Ukraine, especially since in some regions they are held in very demanding circumstances. We, together with other international observers, will have an important role in observing that the elections are conducted in free and fair manner", said Mr Plenkovic, who leads the MEPs delegation.
The aim of MEPs' mission is to assess whether the 2014 parliamentary elections in Ukraine are conducted according to country's international commitments and national laws. MEPs' work will be guided by international standards and criteria, as defined by OSCE/ODIHR, and grounded in fundamental civil and political rights.
How will MEPs work
On 24-25 October MEPs will meet the Ukrainian electoral authorities, international and Ukrainian election observation organisations, leaders of the main political parties, civil society and media representatives. Also meetings with Ukraine's President, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs are scheduled.
On Sunday, 26 October, day of the election, MEPs will observe the elections in the capital Kyiv and also cities of Cherkasy, Odessa, Kharkiv and Dnjepropetrovsk. They will visit polling stations, watch the voting process and observe the opening of the ballot boxes and counting of votes.
The delegation will finish its work after the joint press conference in the afternoon on 27 October, where they, together with other international observers, will present the preliminary conclusions on the election process.
With Sweden now saying it has called off its hunt for "foreign underwater activity" in the Stockholm archipelago, here's an update via AFP, AP, and Reuters:
Sweden says "at least one" foreign submarine may have been operating in its waters off Stockholm.
Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad told reporters in the Swedish capital on October 24 that such foreign underwater activity was "unacceptable."
Grenstad was speaking hours after the Swedish military announced it had called off its search for a suspected foreign submarine in waters close to Stockholm after a week-long hunt.
The search, which involved battleships, minesweepers, helicopters, and more than 200 troops, had prompted speculation that the source of the suspicious underwater activity was a damaged Russian submarine.
Moscow has denied the claims, blaming a Dutch submarine for triggering the hunt.
The Netherlands has rejected the accusation.
Swedish military officials haven't blamed any country for the suspected intrusion.
Tensions have been high in the Baltic region and Scandinavia over the crisis in Ukraine and military and intelligence muscle-flexing by Moscow.
Correspondent @CoalsonR examines the changing lens through which Ukraine's politics might be viewed. Here's a sample:
Parties and movements of those who supported Yanukovych's once-powerful Party of Regions are now struggling for mere political survival.
...[I]t is not that ethnic Russians in Ukraine no longer identify or sympathize with Russia. Rather...they are rejecting Vladimir Putin.
Read the rest here:
End Of The Orange-Blue Divide: Ukraine Vote May Produce New Political Landscape
The latest from the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council:
From Reuters:
Russia still has some troops in eastern Ukraine and retains a very capable force on the border despite a partial withdrawal, NATO's top military commander said on Friday.
"We've seen a pretty good withdrawal of the Russian forces from inside Ukraine but, make no mistake, there remain Russian forces inside eastern Ukraine," U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove told reporters at NATO's military headquarters near Mons in Belgium.
Some Russian troops stationed near the Ukraine border had left and some others appeared to be preparing to leave "but the force that remains and shows no indications of leaving is still a very, very capable force and remains a coercive capability to the nation of Ukraine," he said.
The United Nations says the conflict in Ukraine has forced more than 800,000 people from their homes.
Around 95 percent of displaced people come from eastern Ukraine, where government troops have been battling pro-Russian separatists.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, told a briefing in Geneva that an estimated 430,000 people were currently displaced within Ukraine -- 170,000 more than at the start of September.
It said at least 387,000 other people have asked for refugee status, temporary asylum, or other forms of residency permits in Russia.
Another 6,600 have applied for asylum in the European Union and 581 in Belarus.
The agency said it was "racing to help some of the most vulnerable displaced people" as winter approaches.
It also said the number of displaced people is expected to rise further due to ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine.