Corey Flintoff

Separatists in eastern Ukraine hold their own elections Sunday as part of an effort to create an independent state. Meanwhile, fighting for control of Donetsk's airport continues, despite a ceasefire.

Ukraine and the West insist that the Russian army has been fighting in eastern Ukraine, a charge Russia denies. But reports from Russia now acknowledge that Russian soldiers are part of the battle.

Some foreign policy analysts say that factions in Moscow are competing to influence Russian President Vladimir Putin as he decides policy on Ukraine. Others say that Putin is pursuing his own line.

At the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine, international observers are trying to keep tabs on the rebels' treatment of victims' bodies and potential evidence from the scene.

Diplomats are trying to arrange a new ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. But Ukraine's president is under domestic pressure to take decisive military action against pro-Russian separatists.

Ukraine and Russia give different estimates of how many have been displaced by fighting in the eastern provinces, but they agree that people are being forced from their homes in battle-scarred cities.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow will respect the outcome of the upcoming election in Ukraine but later said he still has concerns about the legitimacy of the vote.

A new legal measure will place a host of restrictions on Internet companies and users. One provision will require bloggers to register with the government if they get more than 3,000 hits a day.

Moscow is demanding that Kiev's new constitution give so much autonomy to its diverse regions — particularly the Russian-speaking ones — that they could even conduct their own foreign policy.

Once the marauders and cowboys of Russia's wild frontier, the horse-bound warriors are reappearing as a symbol of national pride.