Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
We'll conclude today's live blogging with this video report from our Ukrainian Service produced by Shahida Yakub.
In December, a family in eastern Ukraine was torn apart by fighting between government troops and separatists rebels. Baby Nika and her brother Vitya lost their mother and their home in a shell attack. The children's aunt is now taking care of them and her own young children as they struggle to put their lives back together:
From that Reuters report:
"While it may be too early to call this a humanitarian catastrophe, it's clearly progressing in that direction," [Denis Krivosheev, deputy director of Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International,] told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.
The provision of humanitarian aid was being hampered by pro-Kiev volunteer battalions that were increasingly preventing food and medicine from reaching those in need in eastern Ukraine, he said.
"Attempting to create unbearable conditions of life is a whole new ballgame... using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime."
The battalions often act like "renegade gangs" and urgently need to be brought under control, Krivosheev added.
From our newsroom:
The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France plan to meet in Berlin next week as part of diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The January 12 meeting was agreed in a phone call on January 9 between the four countries’ foreign ministers.
A source in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told Interfax news agency that the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany, and France may also meet in the Kazakh capital, Astana, next week.
"If the foreign ministers reach certain agreements in Berlin on January 12, everything is possible," the source said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said four of its soldiers were killed in an upsurge in mortar and rocket attacks against army outposts.
Authorities in the rebel-held stronghold of Donetsk said two civilians died in clashes around the city's disputed airport.
Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, Interfax, and AP