Here is the latest map of the military situation in the Donbas region, issued by Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (click image to enlarge):
Here's another update from our news desk:
Police have surrounded a Russian chocolate factory owned by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's company, Roshen.
Russian news agencies reported that masked riot police blocked the entrance to the factory in the western city of Lipetsk on April 1.
Factory director Konstantin Vakhonin declined to comment to the Interfax news agency, and a regional police spokeswoman declined to give details.
Ties between Moscow and Kyiv are severely strained over Russia's takeover of Crimea and support for rebels fighting government forces in eastern Ukraine.
Poroshenko accused Russian authorities last month of interfering in plans to sell the Lipetsk factory.
Roshen laid off some 400 of its workers in November, saying it was reducing operations.
(TASS, Interfax, sputniknews.com)
Even before the crisis in the east, Ukraine's health service was struggling. Now, the situation in the war-torn country is even worse. Here's a compelling video report from Donbas by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Here's another Ukraine-related item from our news desk:
Ukraine has rejected Georgia's request for the extradition of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, saying it was politically motivated.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said on April 1 that Saakashvili, who now heads an advisory body in Ukraine, will not be extradited to Georgia.
"Saakashvili's extradition would be against the 1950 Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," the Prosecutor-General's Office said.
Saakashvili, who introduced reforms during nearly a decade in power in Georgia following the 2003 Rose Revolution, left the ex-Soviet republic after his presidency ended in November 2013.
The government that came to power after beating his party in 2012 parliamentary elections has accused him of fraud, organization of an assault, and abuse of office -- charges he denies.
Saakashvili has been serving as the head of Ukraine's Consultative International Council of Reforms since February.
(UNIAN, Interfax)