Mark Feigin, the lawyer of jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko, hinted on Twitter that she may be released in 2016.
"Just left the Novocherkask jail [where Savchenko is]. Nadia says 'Hi' to everybody. Freedom is closer than it may seem. In the new year Savchenko will go home."
He hasn't given any further information.
President Petro Poroshenko says the concept of electoral legislation in Donbas is to be presented today in Minsk, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
"Today in Minsk our representatives will present the concept of electoral legislation and the changes we agreed to jointly develop at a meeting in the 'Normandy format,'" he said at a joint briefing with Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis.
The contact group, consisting of Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE, is meeting in Minsk today.
The "Normandy four" (Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany) agreed on October 2 that local elections on the territories currently controlled by the separatists may only take place in accordance with Ukrainian law.