We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine news coverage here.
Good morning. Some news from overnight.
Ukrainian-Born Classical Pianist Fired For Pro-Rebel Comments
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra has sacked a Ukrainian-born classical pianist because of her political commentary on social-media sites in support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
Valentina Lisitsa said on April 6 on her Facebook page that she had been dropped from the symphony because she "exercised the right to free speech."
Toronto Symphony Orchestra CEO Jeff Melanson said in a statement that "Lisitsa's provocative comments had overshadowed past performances" and that her contract was being cancelled.
Paul Grod, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said Lisitsa calls the Ukrainian government "Nazi" and claims it sets up "filtration camps" for ethnic Russians.
Lisitsa, who was born in Kyiv in 1973, immigrated to the United States in 1991. She says her ethnic background is Russian and Polish.
Canada is home to some 1.25 million people of Ukrainian heritage and Ottawa has been a strong supporter of Ukraine's fight against Russian-backed rebels.
And here she is:
Explosion In Ukraine's Kharkiv Targets National Flag Memorial
KHARKIV, Ukraine -- A bomb has been detonated under a national flag memorial in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv.
The local prosecutor's office says the incident took place at 3.40 a.m. on April 7.
The explosion damaged part of the memorial and shattered windows at the nearby Medical University building.
Nobody was hurt in the blast.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
A series of bomb blasts have hit Kharkiv and another government-controlled eastern Ukrainian city, Odesa, in recent months.
Most of the attacks seemed to target organizations with ties to soldiers battling pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's east.
Ukrainian authorities blamed the explosions on Russia and the rebels who hold parts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Kharkiv and Odesa are seen as prizes coveted by the separatists.
Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
