Barring any major developments, that ends the live blogging for today.
Latest from our news desk:
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany have called for Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to adhere to the Minsk cease-fire agreement.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, reading from a joint statement after the ministers held talks in Paris on February 24, urged the fighting sides to "start with a total cease-fire and [then] complete a withdrawal of heavy weapons."
Although fighting decreased after the peace deal was signed on February 12, mortar shelling and other violations have been reported, particularly near the southern port city of Mariupol.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the Paris talks as "useful" and left early for Moscow.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the talks had been "difficult."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said the four had agreed on some "technical aspects" and support for an extension of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitoring mission in Ukraine.
Latest from our news desk:
Ukraine has signed a deal to purchase weapons from the United Arab Emirates.
Viktor Muzhenko, the chief of staff of the Ukrainian military, signed the agreement on February 24 during a visit to IDEX-2015 (International Defense Exhibition & Conference) in Abu Dhabi.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was also in Abu Dhabi and attended the signing of the agreement, calling the visit to the U.A.E. "extremely successful."
There were no details about what military equipment and weapons Ukraine is purchasing from the U.A.E.
In Ukraine, lawmaker and adviser to Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said, "Arabs, unlike Europeans and Americans, are not scared by Putin's threats to unleash the third world war in the case of delivering arms and military equipment to Ukraine."
Meanwhile, in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on February 24 that his country would send military personnel to Ukraine in the next month to help train the Ukrainian army.
The European Commissioner for the Euro and Social Dialogue, former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, has said the EU is ready to respond with further sanctions if Russia supports further escalation in Ukraine. Speaking to RFE/RL in Brussels, he said the Commission was evaluating its response and would be ready to react to any situation.
Latest:
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has accused Russia of lying over its involvement in the Ukraine conflict.
Kerry was asked on February 24 by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican-South Carolina) whether he agreed that Russia was "lying" when it says there are no Russian troops and weapons in Ukraine. He responded "Yes."
Kerry, speaking at a Senate appropriations subcommittee meeting in Washington, added that the Russians "have been persisting in their misrepresentations, lies, whatever you want to call them, about their activities there [in Ukraine] to my face, to the faces of others, on many different occasions."
Moscow has denied backing separatists in eastern Ukraine in the conflict, which has killed at least 5,600 people.
Kerry said on February 21 that the United States and the EU were considering adding more sanctions against Russia.
From our news desk:
Russian natural-gas giant Gazprom is threatening to cut off supplies to Ukraine entirely as early as February 26, a move the Russian company says could result in a suspension of supplies to Europe.
Gazprom chief Aleksei Miller said in a February 24 statement that "Ukraine has not made a new prepayment for gas in time."
Miller's statement comes as Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz has accused Gazprom of failing to send all of the gas Ukraine has paid for.
Nafotgaz said on February 23 that it had paid in advance for 114 million cubic meters (mcm) of gas but had received only some 47 mcm.
Gazprom said it is supplying gas to the parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine that are controlled by pro-Russian separatists -- after Kyiv stopped supplying them.
Gazprom said it considers those two regions as being part of the contract with Naftogaz for supplies to Ukraine.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Lithuania will renew military conscription for the first time since 2008, amid worries over Russian assertiveness in the Baltic region.
The State Defense Council made the decision on February 24.
President Dalia Grybauskaite's office said it was motivated by “the geopolitical situation and threats to the state's security.”
"We must temporarily renew mandatory military service," Grybauskaite told reporters. "The current geopolitical environment requires us to enhance and accelerate army recruitment."
Under the proposal, compulsory military service is to be renewed for a five year period.
Conscription would apply to men between the ages of 19 and 26.
The plan is to draft between 3,000 and 3,500 men each year.
Grybauskaite has made public in recent months her concerns about Russia's aggressive behavior and the potential threat to the Baltic states.
A change of pace...