A tweet from the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Good morning,
We'll get the live blog rolling today with two Crimea-related items from our news desk:
U.S. Says Russian Duma Elections In Crimea Are Illegal
The United States has announced that it does not recognize the legitimacy, and will not recognize the outcome, of Russian Duma elections scheduled on September 18 in Crimea.
"Our position on Crimea is clear: the peninsula remains an integral part of Ukraine. Crimea-related sanctions against Russia will remain until Russia returns control of Crimea to Ukraine," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said on September 16.
"We also continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Crimea, including the status of the ethnic Tatar community and widespread reports of missing persons and human rights abuses," he said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko earlier in the day accused Russia of transforming Crimea into a "concentration camp."
Russian President Vladimir retorted in kind later at a forum in Kyrgyzstan, declaring that Russia did not annex the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014, but rather "reunified" it with Russia.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
And here's more on Putin's comments in Bishkek:
Putin Says Crimea Not Annexed By Russia, It Was 'Reunified'
Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow did not annex the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 but claimed it was "reunified" with Russia.
Putin said at a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit in the Kyrgyz capital on September 16 that actions by the Ukrainian government were the "root cause" for what happened to Crimea.
"Russia did not annex anything," he said, in response to comments made by Ukrainian Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan Mikolay Doroshenko. "Whatever happened with Crimea is the result of unlawful actions of certain political forces in Ukraine who had brought the situation to a state coup."
Moscow forcibly annexed Crimea shortly after thousands of unmarked Russian soldiers landed on the peninsula in early 2014.
The action was widely condemned by many Western countries and in an overwhelming vote by the UN General Assembly.
Doroshenko, who represented Ukraine at the CIS summit in Bishkek, raised objections to two items on the bloc's agenda, including handing the CIS presidency to Russia because he said Moscow's annexation of Crimea had breached international laws.
Along with Russia's support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, the takeover of Crimea led to economic sanctions from several Western countries and the EU against Russia.
Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow morning, you can catch up with all our other Ukraine coverage here.