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Moscow Court Upholds Extending Pretrial Detention Of Ukrainian Sailors
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WATCH: Moscow Court Upholds Extending Pretrial Detention Of Ukrainian Sailors

Live Blog: A New Government In Ukraine (Archive Sept. 3, 2018-Aug. 16, 2019)

-- EDITOR'S NOTE: We have started a new Ukraine Live Blog as of August 17, 2019. You can find it here.

-- A court in Moscow has upheld a lower court's decision to extend pretrial detention for six of the 24 Ukrainian sailors detained by Russian forces along with their three naval vessels in November near the Kerch Strait, which links the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

-- The U.S. special peace envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker, says Russian propaganda is making it a challenge to solve the conflict in the east of the country.

-- Two more executives of DTEK, Ukraine's largest private power and coal producer, have been charged in a criminal case on August 14 involving an alleged conspiracy to fix electricity prices with the state energy regulator, Interfax reported.

-- A Ukrainian deputy minister and his aide have been detained after allegedly taking a bribe worth $480,000, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said on Facebook.

*Time stamps on the blog refer to local time in Ukraine

10:09 31.3.2019

Update from our correspondent on the ground, Christopher Miller (follow his Twitter here):

"Monitors at six polling stations in Kyiv's Podil district told RFE/RL that turnout before 10 a.m. seemed higher than previous elections and no falsifications had been reported. Police were on hand in the event of any irregularities, as were monitors representing various civil society organizations and political parties.

At School No. 9 the entire Dobriyvechir family of four voted for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with daughter Anastasia, 19, saying she believed the comic-turned-candidate is a "good man" who shares the same values in real life as the fictional president he plays in his hit sitcom Servant of the People.

"He's going to make our country better" like he does in his show, she said. Her mother, Svitlana, said that Zelenskyy was the obvious choice for her, because life hasn't become better under incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. "Life has gotten worse in the past five years," she said. "Utility prices have gotten higher and pensioners like our grandmother can't afford to live."

"Poroshenko delivered visa-free travel and the Tomos" -- the declaration that created a new, independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine -- "but otherwise he didn't do enough for us," Svitlana added.

09:25 31.3.2019

09:24 31.3.2019

Tweet from the German ambassador to Ukraine:

08:54 31.3.2019

08:23 31.3.2019

07:46 31.3.2019

07:46 31.3.2019

07:44 31.3.2019

Also, check out a full rundown of all the candidates here.

07:16 31.3.2019

Polls have opened. Our Kyiv correspondent, Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) is out and about around the capital. He sends this:

"I’m at polling station number 557 in Kyiv’s Podil district. Iryna Podlesna, the head monitor here, just gave a brief speech to monitors in which she said “we are one team today.” After unlocking a safe and pulling out the ballots, she said, “let’s work together like dance partners.”

The ballot has 39 names on it and no photos.

A line of six people lined up 20 minutes before the polls opened to be among the first to vote."

06:52 31.3.2019

Good morning! We're up and running now on coverage of Ukraine's presidential election today. Polls open in about 10 minutes.

A lot more soon but, for now, ease into the day and check out our series of video profiles on the front-runners: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Petro Poroshenko, and Yulia Tymoshenko.

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