06:53
23.6.2014
"Ukrayinskaya pravda" reports on the latest crackdown by pro-Russian dissidents in the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" on local opposition to their takeover (in Ukrainian).
07:14
23.6.2014
Ukrainian authorities say that pro-Russian separatists attacked troops in the east:
07:55
23.6.2014
The Kremlin backs a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch as a mediator with the separatists:
08:25
23.6.2014
From our news desk:
The governor of Ukraine's eastern Kharkiv region, Ihor Baluta, has called on residents to respect the peace plan put forth by President Petro Poroshenko.
Baluta on June 23 urged his people to avoid conflicts after pro-Ukrainian and pro-separatist activists clashed in the city of Kharkiv on June 22.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, discussed the situation by telephone in Ukraine late June 22.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on June 23 released a statement saying the two had agreed "a stable cease-fire should be attained as a condition to launching a dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of protesters in southeast Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 22 that he supported Poroshenko's call for a cease-fire but said a cessation of hostilities was meaningless without a dialogue between the opposing parties. (UNIAN, ITAR-TASS, and AFP)
Baluta on June 23 urged his people to avoid conflicts after pro-Ukrainian and pro-separatist activists clashed in the city of Kharkiv on June 22.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, discussed the situation by telephone in Ukraine late June 22.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on June 23 released a statement saying the two had agreed "a stable cease-fire should be attained as a condition to launching a dialogue between Kyiv and representatives of protesters in southeast Ukraine."
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 22 that he supported Poroshenko's call for a cease-fire but said a cessation of hostilities was meaningless without a dialogue between the opposing parties. (UNIAN, ITAR-TASS, and AFP)
09:20
23.6.2014
An update from the OSCE in Ukraine:
09:26
23.6.2014
LATEST from our news desk:
Several European foreign ministers are threatening further sanctions if Russia fails to cooperate with Ukraine's proposed peace plan and halt interference in the country’s east.
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on June 23, just days before Brussels signs a historic association accord with Kyiv.
The bloc has so far ordered visa bans and asset freezes for officials but refrained from imposing broader economic sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU will be able to agree further measures against Russia at a summit of EU leaders on June 27, if necessary.
He said Moscow must be in "no doubt" it faces further sanctions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt accused Russia of "conducting a propaganda war with full speed," adding that Moscow must face further sanctions unless it changes course. (AFP and AP)
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on June 23, just days before Brussels signs a historic association accord with Kyiv.
The bloc has so far ordered visa bans and asset freezes for officials but refrained from imposing broader economic sanctions.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the EU will be able to agree further measures against Russia at a summit of EU leaders on June 27, if necessary.
He said Moscow must be in "no doubt" it faces further sanctions.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt accused Russia of "conducting a propaganda war with full speed," adding that Moscow must face further sanctions unless it changes course. (AFP and AP)
10:05
23.6.2014
Police violently broke up a demonstration of Maidan supporters in the eastern city of Kharkiv on June 22. Members of Ukraine's Hryfon special police unit attacked Ukrainian activists who attempted to prevent a pro-Russian rally in the city center. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
10:14
23.6.2014
Lithuania's president is the latest to make the Putin-Hitler comparison, but she goes one further and adds in Stalin, too:
Asked whether such comparisons to Hitler or Stalin went too far, Dalia Grybauskaite told German news magazine Focus on Sunday: '(Putin) uses nationality as a pretext to conquer territory with military means. That's exactly what Stalin and Hitler did. Such comparisons are spot on.'
12:24
23.6.2014
Vladimir Putin's supporters in the UK now include the BNP http://t.co/eC5XnRVN1S and Britain First http://t.co/kpfla88Uqp
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) June 23, 2014
12:38
23.6.2014
RPG-26 ceased by UKR forces had RUS Customs Service seal lock,perhaps forgot to take off while sneaking into Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ERyJEtay8g
— Ryskeldi Satke (@RyskeldiSatke) June 23, 2014