The latest from our correspondent, Christopher Miller, in Avdiyivka:
After Weeklong Bombardment, Devastated Ukrainian City Awakens To 'Relative Calm'
AVDIYIVKA, Ukraine -- Residents of this front-line flashpoint city awoke to relative calm on February 4 after a week of heavy artillery bombardments that chewed up lives and bodies and caused President Petro Poroshenko to declare a state of emergency.
The lull comes ahead of a phone call between Poroshenko and U.S. President Donald Trump that is scheduled to take place around 11:45 p.m. Kyiv time. Ukraine has looked for support from Trump, who has said he wants to improve relations with Russia.
Pavlo Malykhin, the city’s head of civilian and military affairs, told RFE/RL he believed the welcomed lull was due to a local cease-fire brokered by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s special monitoring mission to Ukraine and the Joint Center for Control and Coordination, which includes Ukrainian and Russian military officers.
At a makeshift humanitarian center beside the city’s soccer stadium, there were almost as many emergencies services workers as residents. It was a marked change from every other day this week, when thousands poured in to receive rations and warm themselves.
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
Separatists In Eastern Ukraine Say Top Commander Killed In Car Bombing
Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine say one of their top commanders was killed when his car exploded early on February 4.
The separatists' Luhansk Information Center said Oleg Anashchenko and a second unidentified person were killed in the explosion in Luhansk city. It accused Ukrainian special services of causing the explosion, saying "it was a plotted and targeted car bombing."
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said on February 4 that three of its soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in the past day amid escalating fighting in eastern Ukraine.
More than 30 people, including civilians, have been killed and several dozens injured in fighting between pro-Kyiv forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine this week, with both sides blaming each other for the upsurge of violence.
UN, EU, and other international officials have issued urgent pleas for negotiations to avoid a "catastrophe."
According to UN figures, more than 9,800 people have been killed in the conflict since it began in April 2014.