I know it is not an original question but WHY is Psaki (who is just a spokesperson) a target of so much personal abuse by anti-US tweeters?
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) June 25, 2014
Another subtitled Reuters video of Putin talking in Vienna yesterday. Here he pledges that he will "always protect Russians" in Ukraine:
And here's another Putin clip in which he says Poroshenko's cease-fire is not enough by itself to establish a lasting peace in eastern Ukraine:
Here is an update from our news desk on the vote in the Russian parliament over armed intervention in Ukraine:
Russia's upper house of parliament has voted overwhelmingly to revoke authorization for Russian military intervention in Ukraine.
Senators in the Federation Council today voted 153-to-1 to revoke the resolution -- adopted in March -- that provided for Russia to use its military forces in Ukraine if needed.
Putin announced that he had asked the council to withdraw the authorization before going into talks with officials in Austria yesterday.
The vote enters into force immediately.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had welcomed Putin's move as the "first practical step" taken by Russia to resolve the crisis.
Later, however, Poroshenko said he might cancel a cease-fire he implemented on June 20 as part of his peace plan after pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian helicopter, killing nine soldiers.
Upper House votes 153 to 1 to revoke "right" to send army into Ukr. Speaker astonished someone voted against. "Was that by mistake?"she asks
— Steve Rosenberg (@BBCSteveR) June 25, 2014
Russian forces are of course in complete control of Crimea which most countries still regard as part of Ukraine
— Daniel Sandford (@BBCDanielS) June 25, 2014
Klitschko: ‘I had no idea #Kyiv was in such bad shape’ - big guy shows off new office (PHOTOS) http://t.co/WN7xGj570W pic.twitter.com/2p9bvQBW8E
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) June 25, 2014
There is some Ukraine-related news in this RFE/RL report on the NATO talks in Brussels:
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has opened a meeting of alliance foreign ministers by noting Russia's use of "ambiguous" warfare in Ukraine while saying its door "remains open" to aspirant countries.
The meeting in Brussels is also expected to include discussion of the crisis in Iraq, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in attendance.
In opening remarks, Rasmussen called it a "critical moment for our security."
He said NATO needs to continue to adapt its readiness, as the alliance faces "old threats and new, from Eastern Europe to North Africa and the Middle East."
Rasmussen said NATO has witnessed Russia using a "new, different type of warfare" against Ukraine and has seen "no signs" Russia is respecting its international commitments.
He said NATO will discuss how to improve its understanding of "ambiguous threats and how we deal with them in the longer term."
He also said NATO will open "intensified" talks with Montenegro and assess by the end of 2015 whether to invite Podgorica to join.
He said a substantive package is being developed for Georgia to help it move closer to the alliance but made no mention of membership.
As for Iraq, Kerry met late on June 24 with EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and other European allies and discussed what a spokeswoman called the "grave security situation in Iraq."
Kerry flew in from Iraq, where he met on June 24 with officials in the northern autonomous Kurdish region following talks a day earlier in Baghdad with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
The Brussels meeting is the final top-level gathering before a summit of NATO leaders scheduled for September in Wales.
Refugee-camp is on the Azov coast. Water is shallow, warm. One of few places with sand beach pic.twitter.com/TpzE13yYfg
— Olaf Koens (@obk) June 25, 2014
I regret to say that we see no signs that Russia is respecting its international commitments - @AndersFoghR @NATO @France24_en
— Méabh (@Brusselsness) June 25, 2014