As Russian-backed rebels make gains in eastern Ukraine, battlefield videos are raising concerns that war crimes are being committed.
RFE/RL's Glenn Kates has been looking into the matter:
A spate of videos uploaded to YouTube claim to show victories by Russian-backed separatists during intensified fighting in eastern Ukraine.
They may also provide graphic evidence of war crimes.
One recent video shows seven Ukrainian soldiers lined up against a wall after falling to separatists in the eastern city of Krasnyy Partizan. Lying next to the seven captives are two men who appear to lie mortally wounded and another two who are dead.
Later in the video, another dead soldier is shown lying a few meters away.
The footage is being viewed by some as circumstantial evidence that the four fallen soldiers were executed in front of the wall after surrendering.
A summary of the allegations made on the Ukraine@war blog points to single bullet holes in the wall, precisely where the heads of the fallen captives would have been; fresh blood on the ground; and a bullet wound through the face of one of the dead.
Read more here
Here's an update from our news desk:
The United States has signed an agreement providing Ukraine with $2 billion in loan guarantees to help it with "near-term social spending" this year.
The loan agreement was signed in Kyiv by U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Ukrainian Finance Minister Natalia Yaresko.
The European Union earlier this month made a similar pledge of 1.8 billion euros ($2.1 billion) to strengthen Ukraine’s economy.
After the signing, Lew said the United States was prepared to step up sanctions against Russia if necessary.
On January 27, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed by phone the importance of finalizing a "robust package of financial support" for Ukraine.
The two also spoke about the "significant increase in violence" in eastern Ukraine.
The White House says Obama and Merkel agreed on the need to hold Russia accountable for its support for the separatists and failure to fulfill its commitments under a peace agreement.
Earlier on January 27, EU leaders asked their foreign ministers to consider possible new sanctions on Russia when they meet January 29.
(Reuters and AFP)
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume tomorrow, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine coverage here.