Here's more on those Donetsk "passports" from our news desk:
Russia-Backed Separatists Issue 'Passports' In Donetsk
Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine’s Donetsk region have begun issuing their own self-styled passports.
The red documents have been issued in separatist-held parts of the Donetsk region since March 16.
The first passport issued was given to Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the Donetsk separatist leader.
"This document is a proof of what we were able to do, what we protected, and achieved," Zakharchenko said. "We are starting to issue passports."
Zakharchenko said the new passports must be held by anyone who intends to take part in local elections yet to be scheduled.
The documents, featuring the image of a double-headed eagle, will grant holders entry into Russia, he said.
Kyiv has said the elections must be held under Ukrainian law and monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- two conditions the separatists have refused to accept.
Based on reporting by AFP and AP
Peripheral but pertinent to Ukraine...
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk:
Obama, G7 Urge Russia To Free Ukrainian Pilot Savchenko
News media are reporting that U.S. President Barack Obama and the world's leading economic powers have urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to release jailed Ukrainian pilot Nadia Savchenko.
The U.S. leader in a phone conversation with Putin on March 16 stressed that Moscow must free Savchenko, who has refused to eat because of her detention on murder charges, in order to comply with the Minsk agreement, which requires all sides in the conflict in eastern Ukraine to release unlawfully detained persons, the AP and Interfax news agencies reported.
Kyiv ambassadors from the Group of Seven (G7) economic powers also expressed "serious concerns" about Savchenko's health because of her hunger strike and called on Russia to release her under the Minsk accord, according to a statement posted on the website of the U.S. embassy in Kyiv.
Russian authorities accuse Savchenko, 34, of acting as a spotter who called in coordinates for a mortar attack that killed two Russian journalists during the conflict. Prosecutors have asked the court to to sentence her to 23 years in prison for the killings.