That concludes our live blogging for Sunday, December 7.
From AFP:
A dozen top ballet stars including Svetlana Zakharova and Natalia Osipova will on Sunday perform at a keenly awaited but politically sensitive gala at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre in support of young dancers in war-torn Ukraine.
During the benefit organised by The Bolshoi's Ukrainian-born prima ballerina Zakharova, dancers from top international companies will perform highlights from a range of ballets.
All proceeds from the sold-out concert will go towards the Kiev State Ballet School in Ukraine where organisers say young dancers are trained in poor conditions.
The gala takes place amid raging tensions between Russia and Ukraine, where Moscow-backed separatists have battled government forces since April.
"I came to support the guys," Osipova, one of the world's most sought-after ballerinas, said ahead of the gala.
"How can one refuse? I recall how terrible it was to enter a dance hall in winter and shiver," said Osipova, the former Bolshoi star who joined Britain's Royal Ballet in 2013.
Interfax also quotes the Donetsk rebel leadership's chief negotiator repeating that the "Donetsk People's Republic" would like to delay talks in Minsk that President Poroshenko has suggested will happen on December 9.
"We insist that the talks be held no earlier than December 12," Denis Pushilin told reporters, according to the agency. "December 9, the date proposed earlier, doesn't suit us. A multitude of problems have cropped up that must be put through approval procedures and scrutiny, or else they will not be resolved."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said via his website that Kyiv is "ready to launch decentralization of power" but that "representatives to be elected by local communities must be prepared not only to get broad opportunities but also to bear responsibility for the life and development of their territories," according to Interfax.
Today's situation map from Ukrainian military forces:
