Ukraine Rebels Blamed For Patrol-Boat Blast
Kyiv says an explosion which has sunk a small boat belonging to the Ukrainian Coast Guard was caused by “a rebel homemade bomb.”
The Ukrainian military said on June 8 that the border guards on the boat spotted the device floating in the water off the eastern port city of Mariupol on June 7, and it exploded as they attempted to pull it on board.
The blast killed one coast guard officer and wounded five others. Another crew member remains unaccounted for.
Mariupol is a flashpoint city in the conflict in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels.
Lying on the coast of the Sea of Azov, Mariupol sits along a key route linking parts of eastern Ukraine controlled by the rebels and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March, 2014.
Based on reporting by Reuters and UNIAN
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Kyiv Says 42,500 Rebels, Russian Soldiers Stationed In East Ukraine
Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said that 42,500 separatists and Russian soldiers are stationed in eastern Ukraine, where government forces have been battling the pro-Russian rebels since April 2014.
"They have 558 tanks, combat vehicles, artillery systems, and other weapons,” Poltorak told a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Interparliamentary Council in Kyiv on June 8.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said last week that more than 9,000 Russian servicemen are staying on Ukrainian territory.
Kyiv and the West accuse Russia of backing the rebels, a charge Moscow denies.
According to Poltorak, more than 100 Ukrainian personnel and over 50 civilians have been killed since a cease-fire agreement was signed in Minsk in February.
He also said that some 24,000 Russian servicemen are stationned in Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in March 2014.
Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax
Moscow Accuses Kyiv Of Fanning The Flames Ahead Of G7 Summit
By RFE/RL
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Kyiv of trying to “escalate" the conflict in the country’s east ahead of a Group of Seven (G7) summit of economic powers.
Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on June 8, “It is a kind of a joker card in the hands of the Ukrainian authorities -- We, Ukrainians, will disrupt the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but it will be Russia who will suffer because no one will lift sanctions against Russia."
On the first day of the G7 summit in Germany on June 7, the U.S. and German leaders said sanctions on Russia must stay until it implements the deal to end fighting in Ukraine's east.
"By adopting a stance where sanctions against Russia are linked to the implementation of the Minsk agreements by Russia only," Lavrov said, "our Western partners have become hostages of the current Ukrainian government."
More Fighting Reported In East Ukraine Town Of Maryinka
Kyiv says fighting has resumed near the town of Maryinka, 30 kilometers west of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 8 that pro-Russian separatists opened fire on government positions there using mortars and firearms.
A rebel defense official, Eduard Basurin, rejected the statement as "nonsense."
Ukraine's military said that a June 3 rebel offensive near Maryinka forced it to use artillery that had been removed under the cease-fire agreement signed in Minsk in February.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine has warned that violations of the truce deal are becoming more frequent and severe.
More than 6,400 people have been killed since fighting erupted in Ukraine's east between government forces and separatists in April 2014.
Based on reporting by Interfax, TASS, and UNIAN
Just in from the G7:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said the Group of Seven (G7) of major economic powers condemns Russia’s annexation of Crimea in March 2014.
She also said Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States agreed they could toughen sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine “if necessary.”