Ukraine is considering Moscow's request to hold a meeting between President Petro Poroshenko and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, says the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, Kostyantyn Yeliseyev, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported.
"Today there is a request from the Russian side to hold a bilateral meeting in Paris. Will there be a meeting, depends on the Ukrainian side. Right now we are studying this issue," Yeliseyev said.
The presidents of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany -- sometime referred to as the Normandy Four -- are to meet in Paris on October 2.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
Ukraine ready to pull small-caliber weapons out of east:
The Ukrainian government says it will pull out small-caliber weapons from the war-torn east in two days' time if the cease-fire holds.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak made the announcement on October 1 in Kyiv.
On September 29, Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe agreed on the withdrawal of tanks and other weapons from the front line, with rebel leaders in Donetsk and Luhansk signing on to the agreement on September 30.
A February deal calling for a pull-back of large-caliber artillery -- along with a cease-fire -- has been largely observed.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russia-backed separatists and government forces has left more than 7,900 dead since April 2014. (AP, Interfax)
Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured in a tripwire accident in Donbas over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuznyak said, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports. However, no Ukrainian fighters were killed.
The Ukrainian side reported three provocations by the separatists, all in Donetsk Oblast, according to the spokesman. "Donetsk People's Republic" fighters allegedly used small arms and rocket launchers, but the incidents were short -- no longer than 15 minutes.
The Donetsk separatists, meanwhile, said that the Ukrainian side fired two mortar shells at a Donetsk district. However, nobody was injured as a result of the attack, they said.
The pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk have not reported any cease-fire violations by the Ukrainians over the past 24 hours.