Moscow maintains that it is not directly involved in the separatist conflict in Ukraine, but a steady flow of so-called volunteers from Russia are signing up to fight -- and some businesses are also contributing to the war effort. In Yekaterinburg, a businessman has turned his clothing factory over to producing uniforms for Ukrainian separatists and their Russian allies. (RFE/RL's Current Time TV program)
Here's an update from our news desk:
Two Ukrainian soldiers and three civilians have been reported killed in separate incidents in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 11 that the two soldiers were killed and 13 other servicemen wounded over the previous day in attacks by Russian-backed separatists using heavy weapons.
A rebel defense official, Eduard Basurin, said three women died when Ukrainian forces shelled Horlivka, about 30 northeast of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have accused both Kyiv and separatist fighters of breaching a February cease-fire agreement that required the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line.
More than 6,400 people have been killed since fighting erupted in Ukraine's east in April 2014.
(AFP, Reuters)
RFE/RL's news desk has this item on a rather disturbing development in the Donbas region:
A spokesman for the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has said that pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country use children to man some checkpoints, and some of them carry weapons.
Michael Bociurkiw told a news conference in Kyiv on June 11 that it was the second time recently that OSCE monitors saw children, this time during a visit to the village of Shyrokyne.
"During that most recent visit our monitors did spot what appear to be underage children as well at the checkpoints, and if my memory serves me correctly, this is the second time in recent times that we've seen children and some of them with arms," Bociurkiw said.
He added that, despite assertions to the contrary, neither the Ukrainian forces nor the separatists completed the withdrawal of heavy weapons as agreed during truce talks in February in Minsk.
(Reutersw, Interfax)