That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for Sunday, May 24, 2015. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with an excerpt from The Independent's dispatch by Oliver Carroll on the assassination of separatist leader Aleksey Mozgovoi:
Authorities of the "Luhansk People’s Republic" have been quick to push a theory that subversive groups loyal to Kiev were responsible for the assassination. This has also become the official position of the acting commander of Mr Mozgovoi’s "Ghost" battalion, Yuri Shevchenko. "I believe that in the context of war, it is criminal to put forward other versions," he told The Independent.
In the seemingly lawless rebel-held eastern regions of Ukraine, many factions of rebel groups have emerged in recent months. A "Ukrainian nationalist" group identifying itself as “Shadow” claimed responsibility for the attack. It has, however, made similar and generally unreliable claims in the past. Few in Mr Mozgovoi's battalion seem convinced by the official story of Ukrainian subversive groups. Kirill Androsov, a deputy commander with responsibility for humanitarian aid, said he would "never" believe such a story. "His killers were internal," Mr Androsov said elliptically, refusing to elaborate.
Another soldier on the highway, going by the nom-de-guerre of "Tiny", said he did not believe Ukrainians had the capacity to launch such an elaborate attack deep inside rebel-controlled territory.
The Luhansk official press service issued a statement saying that the assassination of Mr Mozgovoi had been designed to "undermine the union between Alchevsk and Luhansk."
It is well known that Mr Mozgovoi had difficult relations with the Russian-annointed leaders in the region. Separatist leaders in Luhansk, for their part, have made little secret that they considered Mr Mozgovoi to be an exasperating partner. After the removal of other outspoken leaders, Mr Mozgovoi had also become the most visible. In January, Alexander Bednov, commander of “Batman” battalion, a unit with strong Russian links, was killed in Luhansk under suspicious circumstances. Later, another field commander, Cossack leader Nikolai Kositsyn, was sent back to his native Russia.
Read the entire article here