Bomb Blast In Government-Held Kharkiv
By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Authorities say a bomb exploded in the center of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on April 21.
It was the latest in a series of bombings in a major government-held city that is seen as a prize coveted by Russian-backed separatists.
An Opel SUV that was used by Ukrainian forces in military operations against separatists in the neighboring Donetsk province exploded at around 4 a.m.
The blast shattered windows in nearby buildings, but no casualties were reported.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
A series of bomb blasts have hit Kharkiv and the southern port city of Odesa in recent months, several of them targeting organizations with ties to soldiers who have battled separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 6,100 people since April 2014.
Ukrainian authorities blame the explosions on Russia and the rebels.
With reporting by UNIAN
Savchenko is still in jail and now her mother has launched a global campaign.
The mother of a Ukrainian pilot jailed in Russia says she's launching a global campaign to free her daughter.
Nadia Savchenko has been in Russian custody since June 2014 and is awaiting trial for aiding in the killing of two Russian journalists during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
She denies the charges, and spent 83 days on a hunger strike to protest her detention.
Her mother, Maria Savchenko, told AP on April 20 that her daughter is a political prisoner.
Maria Savchenko said Russian prosecutors have provided "no evidence" that her daughter provided guidance for a mortar attack that killed two Russian state TV journalists at a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine, as Moscow claims.
Savchenko launched her global campaign in Germany, where she pleaded for help from lawmakers.
New York is her second stop and she will meet on April 21 with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic.
Good morning. This from overnight:
The United States will supply Ukraine with nearly $18 million in fresh aid.
The White House said Vice President Joe Biden discussed the financial assistance with Ukrainian Petro Poroshenko during a phone call on April 20.
According to the White House, the $17.7 million will go to providing shelter, food vouchers, potable water and health and sanitation in regions affected by fighting between government forces and pro-Russia fighters.
Biden and Poroshenko also welcomed efforts by the Organization for Security and Cooperation Europe to seek a permanent cease-fire in areas still rocked by fighting.
Both called on Russia to abide by earlier agreements and stop moving troops along the Russia-Ukraine border.
The two spoke as U.S. and Ukraine troops kicked off joint training exercises intended to help bolster Ukraine's defenses.
OSCE Chief Urges Ukraine Rivals To Seize 'Good Chance For Peace'
Vilnius, April 20, 2015 (AFP) -- The OSCE chief said Monday a truce was holding in a key village in eastern Ukraine and urged the warring sides to "embrace a good chance for peace" in the region.
"The news this morning is that our people, our monitors have brokered a truce in Shyrokyne, down near Mariupol," OSCE secretary general Lamberto Zannier said.
"And this truce seems to be holding," he told AFP in an interview during a visit to Vilnius.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe sent a monitoring mission to Ukraine in March 2014.
Close to the strategic port of Mariupol, Shyrokyne has been the latest flashpoint in a year-long conflict that has left more than 6,000 people dead.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Kiev had facilitated the OSCE's presence in Shyrokyne.
"We had negotiations on a 24-hour observation post for the OSCE in Shyrokyne and we hope that it will be achieved in the coming days through joint efforts with our partners," he said, quoted by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The Azov Battalion, a pro-Kiev paramilitary operating near Mariupol, also said fighting with pro-Russian rebels had subsided.
"The situation in Shyrokyne village has stabilised a bit," the group said on its webpage, adding that insurgents had pulled back artillery from the village "after the OSCE mission came back to Shyrokyne".
- Minsk II truce -
Zannier said there were still challenges ahead to secure peace but added: "All in all the situation is better than it was few weeks back".
"There is a good chance for peace at this moment and we need to invest as much as we can in this. But there is always a risk of relapse in the conflict."
In February, leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine brokered the so-called Minsk II truce but sporadic fighting has continued since.
"Heavy weapons have been largely withdrawn" from the agreed truce line in the conflict zone, Zannier said, adding that the focus could shift on "withdrawing other categories of smaller weapons because they are still actively used in this violations of the ceasefire".
Zannier said the number of its observers in Ukraine would increase to "at least 600 by the beginning of the summer" from below 500 currently.
He also downplayed Russian claims that the arrival of US paratroopers in Ukraine on a training mission could reignite the conflict.
Zannier was in Vilnius to attended a conference on the role of women in international peace and security.
Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite warned that women in eastern Ukraine face unprecedented levels of violence.
"In the occupied parts of Ukraine gender-based violence has reached alarming levels. Women face physical and sexual abuse," she said.