Biden Visits Ukraine To Reaffirm U.S. Support
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Kyiv late on December 6 for a two-day visit aimed at pushing Ukraine toward making reforms and reassuring leaders that the crisis in Syria is not overshadowing Washington's concerns about the country.
Biden will meet Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on December 7 and deliver an address to parliament the following day.
Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine has diminished since early September. However, tensions remain high because of unresolved questions about the final political status of separatist regions in the east.
Meanwhile, Western attention has largely turned away toward the fight against Islamic extremism in Syria and Iraq.
Since Russia began air strikes in Syria on September 30, Ukrainian officials have worried their own country's troubles would fade from view. Biden's meetings with Ukraine's top leaders are intended to counter that concern.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Barring any major developments, that concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, December 6. Check back here tomorrow morning for more of our continuing coverage.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
International monitors threatened by gunmen in east Ukraine
KIEV, Dec 6 (Reuters) -- International monitors in eastern Ukraine said that armed people fired into the air when they tried to approach a group of howitzers near a separatist-controlled village, in an area from which such weapons were supposed to be withdrawn under a ceasefire agreement.
A special mission (SMM) of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement which was reached by Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists in September.
Both sides were required to withdraw a wide range of weapons from a contact line to secure a fragile peace process, urged by leaders of Germany, France and Russia.
The mission said in a statement that the incident took place on Saturday at a field in the vicinity of Luhansk People's Republic (LPR)-controlled Yurivka, 26 km (16 miles) south-west of Luhansk. The SMM had observed 12 towed howitzers there, evidence of violation of the agreed withdrawal line.
"When the SMM further continued driving towards the howitzers and was at 80-100m distance, one of the armed individuals released a burst of fire into the air with an automatic rifle and another individual pointed his automatic rifle at the SMM," it said in the statement.
The monitors left the area and there was no injury or damage to either staff or their vehicles.
The ceasefire agreement requires both sides to provide the international monitors with full access to any places they need to verify a pullback of weapons.
"The SMM addressed the incident with senior LPR members, who acknowledged the seriousness of the incident, and said that they would examine it and inform the SMM accordingly," the mission said.
The ceasefire deal aims to end the conflict in which more than 8,000 people have been killed since fighting between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in April 2014.
Although the guns have been mostly silent since early September, Kiev and separatists continue to report casualties.
Ukraine's military spokesman said on Sunday one Ukrainian soldier had been killed in clashes with separatists in the past 24 hours. On Saturday, Kiev also reported one casualty.