There had been much speculation, as you may remember, that the suspected submarine, sighted in late October, belonged to Russia. Moscow denied the claims.
Here is today's situation map of eastern Ukraine by the National Security and Defense Council:
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
A Ukrainian security adviser says there is no point in holding new peace talks with pro-Russian separatists until Kyiv is satisfied that the rebels holding territory in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are adhering to a truce deal signed on September 5 in Minsk.
Markian Lubkivskiy, an adviser to the chairman of Ukraine's Security Service, said on 1+1 television on November 13 that "there will be no 'Minsk-2', as we have 'Minsk-1' agreements which Ukraine is implementing and the terrorists are not."
A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry representative, Dmytro Kuleba, said in the same televised program that Kyiv will continue talks but only on implementation of existing agreements.
Hundreds of combatants and civilians have been killed since the September 5 cease-fire, with each side blaming the other.
Kyiv says that November 2 elections in the rebel-held regions violated the truce deal, which also incuded other steps toward peace and was signed by Russia.
Russia denies allegations from Kyiv and the West that it has sent troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine, despite sightings of unmarked convoys on rebel-held territory in recent days.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Russian President Vladimir Putin says economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, the United States, and other countries over the Ukraine crisis go against Group of 20 (G20) principles and international law.
Putin told TASS in an interview published on November 14 that the asset freezes, visa bans, and blocks put on Russian companies trying to access Western financial markets could only be imposed by the United Nations.
He acknowledged the sanctions and low oil prices have hurt the Russian economy but said the Kremlin's cash reserves are large enough to handle any economic crisis and meet "social commitments" domestically.
Putin's comments come one day ahead of the G20 summit in Australia, but he said it "makes no sense" to discuss the sanctions at that venue.
The summit follows fresh allegations of Russian military incursions into Ukraine.
From RFE/RL's News Desk:
Tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Western leaders will be in the spotlight during a G20 summit in the Australian city of Brisbane.
Australia has said the November 15-16 summit of the Group of 20 major economies would concentrate on promoting job creation, identifying tax cheats, and strengthening the global economy.
But it comes amid rising tensions over the conflict in eastern Ukraine following fresh reports of Russian weapons and troops crossing the border.
Moscow denies it has sent military support to aid pro-Russian separatists in a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people since April.
Russian-Australian relations have been strained over the downing in July of a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet in eastern Ukraine.
Thirty-eight Australians were among the 298 people who died when the plane was shot down by what Western governments believe was a Russian-supplied missile fired by the rebels.