Despite the announcement of a new cease-fire around Donetsk, there have been reports of continued fighting around the airport and the nearby village of Pisky. Here, a mix of Ukrainian government forces, volunteer battalions, and Right Sector nationalists have been fighting artillery duels with Russian-backed separatists. RFE/RL visited the village on November 30. Nearly all of the 2,000 inhabitants have fled, but we found some who have remained amid the ruins. (Levko Stek, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Kyiv, separatists trade accusations of violating a truce:
Ukraine's military and the pro-Russian separatists have accused one another of violating a truce at the airport in rebel-held Donetsk in eastern Ukraine just hours after it was agreed to.
The Ukrainian military said on December 1 that it had agreed with Russian military officials on a temporary cease-fire at the airport in Donetsk.
That cease-fire was due to begin on December 2.
But Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on December 3 the rebels resumed rocket strikes after the truce negotiations.
But officials from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic said Ukrainian forces were guilty of "multiple violations" of the agreement.
Meanwhile, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said fresh talks with Russian, pro-Russian separatist, and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe envoys could begin next week.
Kuchma is Kyiv's representative at the so-called contact group. (AFP and Interfax)
Ukraine's military says it shot down a Russian-made drone:
This ends our live-blogging for December 3. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage of the crisis in Ukraine.
Good morning. We'll get our live blog rolling today with this item from RFE/RL's news desk:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled to meet on December 4 for talks expected to focus on the crisis in Ukraine.
The two will meet on the sidelines of a gathering in Basel, Switzerland, of top diplomats from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The OSCE has been tasked with monitoring a September 5 cease-fire in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia separatists.
That truce, however, has been violated regularly especially in and around the international airport in the rebel-held city of Donetsk.
A fresh cease-fire for the airport alone came into force on December 2, a day after it was negotiated by Ukrainian and Russian military officials.
However, the Ukrainian military accused rebel forces of breaking that truce almost immediately.
Ukraine's National Security Council on December 3 claimed that the separatists suffered heavy losses after launching attacks on the airport.
(AFP, dpa)