Here's an update from our news desk:
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says a group of its monitors was shot at by "uniformed personnel" in eastern Ukraine.
The OSCE said in a statement that a uniformed man on the back of a flatbed cargo truck fired two shots in the direction of OSCE vehicles as they were driving on November 19 near the government-held town of Maryinka, some 15 kilometers west of the rebel-held city of Donetsk.
"The bullets struck about two meters from the second OSCE vehicle," the statement said, adding that the convoy left the area immediately.
The OSCE did not assign blame to government forces or pro-Russian separatists, but said the incident occurred in government-held territory.
OSCE monitors are observing a much-violated September 5 cease-fire in the conflict that the UN says has killed more than 4,100 people in eastern Ukraine since April.
Sadly, it seems the casualties in eastern Ukraine continue to mount despite the declared cease-fire:
The United Nations says fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed an average of 13 people a day since a cease-fire between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels was signed on September 5.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein announced the figure on November 20.
The UN rights agency said at least 4,317 people have been killed and 9,921 wounded since April in the conflict, which has brought ties between Russia and the West to post-Cold War lows.
It said 957 of the deaths were recorded between September 5 and November 18, a toll that reflects daily violations of the cease-fire deal signed in Minsk.
The number of people registered as displaced within Ukraine soared from 275,489 in mid-September to 466,829 on November 19, the UN rights agency said.
(AP, Reuters)
Like many farmers in Russia, Sergei Kulik is exploring ways to fill in the gaping void left by the sanctions. He has asked for government subsidies and hopes to expand his farm from its current 5 hectares to a total of 30 hectares. "The sanctions have led to empty shelves in terms of exotic seafood," he says. "So I think gourmets are suffering."
Read more of Claire Bigg and Andrei Kolokoltsev's piece here:
Russian Oysters? Foie Gras? Not A Problem, Say Farmers In Sanctions-Hit Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow must do all it can to prevent extremism and stop "color revolutions" from reaching Russia.
He told his advisory Security Council on November 20 in Moscow that "we see what tragic consequences the wave of so-called color revolutions led to," referring to popular uprisings in former Soviet republics.
Moscow has charged the West with meddling in Ukraine, a charge that the EU and United States deny.
Separately, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said in Kyiv on November 20 that the EU and the United States should join Ukraine in forcing Russia to stick to a peace deal to end the separatist conflict there.
"Putin's actions are a threat to everyone, the global order, global peace," Yatsenyuk told a news conference.
Based on reporting by Reuters and Interfax
More complete excerpts from Putin's comments at a National Security Council warning that Moscow must be vigilant against a "color revolution":
"The latest bloody crime in Jerusalem where prayers were attacked with an ax is an extraordinary outrage. Thus, as we know about it all, as we understand the dangers of similar manifestations, as we analyze the reasons behind such events, we ought to adopt timely decisions that would protect our country from things like that."
"In today's world extremism is very often being used as a geopolitical tool designed to redraw spheres of influence. We can see the tragic consequences of the wave of the so-called 'color revolutions' and the upheavals the people -- subjected to irresponsible experiments of latent or sometimes even brash, knee-jerk interference onto their lives -- have gone or continue going through. This is a lesson and a warning to us."
"Extremist ideology is taking hold of the virtual world from which it literary shoots out into the real life. Our society is rightly alarmed about these negative trends. It is obvious that prevention must be front-center when it comes to these issues."
"Prevention of extremism has nothing to do with a fight against dissent. Ours is a free and democratic country whose citizens have a right to their own opinions and a write to speak up. They have a right to be in opposition to the government. Moreover, the government will never be efficient without such social order."