Here's another of our news report from earlier -- Vladimir Putin has been talking to an Italian daily about the Ukraine conflict:
Russian President Vladimir Putin told an Italian newspaper that he has "nothing to regret" in life while he fully backs the Minsk peace agreements in Ukraine, though progress is being stalled by Kiev.
"Russia is interested in and will strive to ensure the full and unconditional implementation of the Minsk Agreements," he said in an interview with Corriere della Sera June 6, according to a transcript released by the Kremlin.
Putin called the February deal "right, just and feasible" a few days after the most serious outbreak of fighting in eastern Ukraine since February's ceasefire, which has cast doubt on the durability of the peace deal.
Putin said that large-scale hostilities in eastern Ukraine had on the whole ceased and a pull-back of heavy weapons implemented, despite occasional shooting and casualties.
He said it is time to start carrying out clauses requiring constitutional reform to ensure autonomy for the rebel regions in eastern Ukraine, a law on municipal elections there, and a law on amnesty in co-ordination with the regions' authorities.
"The problem is that the current Kiev authorities don't even want to sit down to talks with them. And there is nothing we can do about it," he said. "Only our European and American partners can influence this situation."
Putin also said that Kiev's cutting off of economic ties with the rebel territories was causing a humanitarian disaster, and said the European Union should fulfill its obligations to restore the banking system in the region.
He added: "Since we are talking about what can or must be done, and by whom, I believe that the European Union could surely provide greater financial assistance to Ukraine."
On other matters in the interview, Putin said leaders in Europe and the United States are "insane" if they think he has plans to intervene in other countries outside Ukraine.
"As for some countries' concerns about Russia's possible aggressive actions, I think that only an insane person and only in a dream can imagine that Russia would suddenly attack NATO," he said, adding, "I think some countries are simply taking advantage of people's fears with regard to Russia."
"Let me tell you something - there is no need to fear Russia," he said. "The world has changed so drastically that people with some common sense cannot even imagine such a large-scale military conflict today."
On personal matters, Putin said he is happy and does not model himself after any former leaders of Russia.
"By the grace of God, I have nothing to regret in my life," he said. "I am guided by the interests of the Russian people in my work, taking into account everything that has been previously accumulated and the conditions we are living in today."
(Reuters, Interfax, TASS)
We are now closing the live blog for today. Until we resume again tomorrow, you can keep up with all our ongoing Ukraine news coverage here.
Here's another update from our news desk:
The Swiss government says diplomat Heidi Tagliavini will step down as the representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) representative in talks between Moscow, Kyiv, and pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry said on June 6 that Tagliavini wants to give up her mandate soon but gave no exact date for her departure.
Tagliavini, who previously worked on crises in Chechnya and Georgia, has played a low-key role for the past year while mediating on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
The announcement of her pending resignation comes four days after the latest talks ended.
Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Kyiv's representative to the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, said he was thankful for the "constructive work" that Tagliavini did as the OSCE mediator.
OSCE officials have called for talks among the three sides to resume after the worst outbreak of fighting in the conflict since a February cease-fire deal was agreed to in Minsk.
At least 6,400 people have died in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.
(AP, Interfax)
Good morning. We'll start the live blog today with this item from our news desk on the G7 summit in Germany, where Ukraine is expected to loom large over proceedings:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to open a two-day meeting of leaders from the world's leading industrial economies on June 7.
The Group of Seven (G7) summit is being held in the Bavarian Alps in Germany.
The meeting is expected to be dominated by discussions of the West's response to flaring violence in eastern Ukraine.
Last year, Russia was excluded from the group – previously known as the G8 -- following Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Also high on the agenda are Greece's debt crisis, the global economy, and terrorism.
U.S. President Barack Obama arrived in southern Germany early on June 7. Obama and Merkel are expected to hold a meeting before joining the leaders of Britain, France, Italy, Canada, and Japan.
Ahead of the summit, thousands of protesters rallied in the nearby town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, sparking sporadic clashes with police.
Several people were taken to hospital with injuries.
(dpa, AFP, AP, BBC)