European Council President Donald Tusk speaking to reporters in Riga on the evening of May 21:
"Let me reply to those who claim that the Eastern Partnership is directed against Russia. It is not. The Eastern Partnership is not a beauty contest between Russia and the EU. But let me be frank. Beauty does count. If Russia was a bit softer, more charming, more attractive, perhaps it would not have to compensate its shortcomings by destructive, aggressive, and bullying tactics against its neighbors."
And here is Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaking today from Riga:
"We don't see any alternative to the Minsk process. We, as one of the leaders of the European Union said, that Ukraine would be whiter than white to keep all the criteria, all the things to implement in the Minsk process and now we have the full evidence of the presence of the Russian Army [in Ukraine], the regular troops. Today, as you probably know, the OSCE and the International [Committee of the] Red Cross made an official statement about the soldiers who are now in our hospital receiving proper treatment as real soldiers of the Russian troops."
"The key element for us is to keep the European door open and we are ready to reform the country, to demonstrate a real fight against corruption, to improve the investment climate in Ukraine."
"The vital signal for us, we need to demonstrate two things: the unity of the European Union and the solidarity with Ukraine."
This ends our live blogging for May 21, 2015. Be sure to check back tomorrow for our continuing coverage.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with a selection of some of the more interesting Ukraine-related tweets that appeared while we were gone:
This item has jsut been isssued by our news desk:
One worker has been killed and two wounded in eastern Ukraine in heavy shelling of a plant belonging to the country's largest steel company.
In a statement on May 22, Metinvest said equipment and transport infrastructure were damaged in the shelling on May 21 of its Avdiyivka coke plant in the Donetsk region.
Metinvest said the plant was now unable to ship out finished products or receive supplies of raw materials.
"It was the heaviest shelling since the declaration of the cease-fire," Metinvest said.
The cease-fire between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels was declared in mid-February and has led to a drop in violence although violations are reported regularly.
On May 21, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) -- which is monitoring the cease-fire -- warned of a "worrisome" spread of violence in eastern Ukraine.
(Reuters)