Here is today's map of the latest situation in the Donbas conflict zone according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. (CLICK TO ENLARGE.)
An item from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service:
Ukrainian Journalist Held By Separatists Sentenced To 15 Years In Penal Colony
A court in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, parts of which are controlled by Russia-backed separatists, has sentenced journalist Stanislav Aseyev to 15 years in a penal colony.
The Donetsk news agency DAN reported on October 22 that the court had found Aseyev guilty of espionage, extremism and public calls to violate the territory’s integrity.
Aseyev, an RFE/RL contributor who wrote under the pen name Stanislav Vasin, disappeared in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on June 2, 2017, and has been held in detention since by the separatists.
WATCH: After Two Years, Journalist Aseyev Remains Captive In Donbas (published in May 2019)
“The conviction against Stanislav Aseyev, which dates from August but was made public only today, is reprehensible.” said RFE/RL President Jamie Fly.
“Stas is a journalist and was only trying to raise awareness about the situation in eastern Ukraine. The ruling is an attempt by Russian-backed separatists in Donetsk to silence his powerful, independent voice. Stas should be released immediately,” Fly added.
The 30-year-old journalist was one of the few reporters in Donetsk who continued to work in the city after it came under the control of the separatists.
In August, a bipartisan U.S. congressional caucus called for Aseyev's immediate release, describing him as "one of the few independent journalists to remain in the region under separatist control to provide objective reporting."
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Republican-Florida) also called for Aseyev’s release in July.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders has also voiced concern about Aseyev's treatment, which it has called "increasingly disturbing."
RFE/RL has also urged the release of Ukrainian Service contributor Oleh Halaziuk, who has been held by Russia-backed separatists in Donetsk since August 2017.
A story that's generated a lot of Twitter chatter in recent days...
Here's some useful background to the Aseyev case, which has been making headlines today:
On testimony today by William Taylor, the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv: