Big story from the Kyiv Post: Documents show Russian separatist commander signed off on executions of three men in Sloviansk
World Cup diplomacy? Probably not.
Brazil’s government says Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has accepted an invitation to attend the July 13 World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro – a game that Russian President Vladimir Putin also is scheduled to attend.
A spokesman for Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff says Poroshenko confirmed the invitation on July 11.
Another Brazilian official said the Ukrainian and Russian leaders would attend a lunch offered by Rousseff.
Putin and Poroshenko met briefly on the sidelines of D-Day anniversary celebration in Normandy, France on June 6.
Russian military forces began to take over Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in late February, and the region was annexed by Russia after a controversial local referendum there in March.
Kyiv says Russia also has been supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been fighting against rebels for more than three months.
That concludes the live blogging for today.
More on the reports of Russian tanks in Luhansk:
Ukraine's response to Russian reports of cross-border shelling killing a civilian in Russia: