Here are some more details on Leonid Kuchma's comments, as reported by Ukraine's RFE/RL's news desk:
Ukraine's representative at peace talks with Russia, separatists, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) says a new round of negotiations should not be held in the coming days because the pro-Russian separatists have violated a cease-fire.
The Interfax news agency quoted Leonid Kuchma, a former Ukrainian president, as saying a new meeting of the "contact group" seeking to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine should not be held until it is clear that the other side wants peace.
"In a situation where the second party is unable to ensure the cease-fire regime, I do not consider this meeting expedient," Kuchma was quoted as saying.
"Let them show that they do actually want peace and not war, that they are fully in control over armed formations," he said.
A meeting was expected to be held by the end of the week following a truce between Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed separatists on December 9.
(Interfax, Reuters)
!!! BREAKING !!!
The Interfax news agency has cited Ukrainian representative Leonid Kuchma as saying pro-Russian separatists have violated a cease-fire and a new round of peace talks would not be "expedient" in the coming days.
More details to follow...
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service has some more details about the explosion this morning in Odesa:
A powerful explosion has rocked a building in Odesa where an office collecting assistance for the Ukrainian military is based.
The building in the city center was empty at the time of the early morning blast on December 10, and authorities said nobody was hurt.
Ukrainian officials are investigating the explosion as a terrorist attack.
A bomb went off early last month at a bar in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv frequented by Ukrainian soldiers, injuring 11 people.
It was also the site of fundraising to support the military, which is fighting against pro-Russian separatists who Kyiv says are backed by Russian troops and weapons.
More than 4,300 people have died in the conflict in eastern Ukraine since April.
(With reporting by TASS)
Our resident Kremlin-watcher, Brian Whitmore, has been raving about this lecture last month by historian Timothy Snyder on "Ukraine: From Propaganda To Reality." It's nearly an hour long, but well worth watching if you have the time:
Here's a cease-fire update from our news desk:
A cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine is largely holding on its second day.
Scattered violations of the truce, which began on December 9 as a "Day of Silence," were reported but both sides said fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions was greatly reduced.
A Ukrainian tank commander near the Donetsk airport told the AFP news agency the situation had been "calm" for the previous 24 hours.
The Ukrainian military reported 11 violations of the truce, while a separatist official said Ukraine had made seven violations.
Ukrainian officials hoped a continued cease-fire could lead to a pulling back of heavy weapons from the conflict zone.
Separatists said a teleconference would be held on December 10 with Ukrainian officials to set a date for a new round of peace talks meant to build on an agreement reached in Minsk on September 5 that failed to stop the conflict, which has killed more than 4,300 people since April.
Ukraine has hoped the talks would be held on December 9 but separatists named December 12 as a possible date for the talks, which would include Russian and representatives from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
(AFP, Interfax, TASS, dpa)