Here's an update on gas prices from our news desk:
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says natural-gas prices for Ukraine will be reduced to $247 per 1,000 cubic meters.
Medvedev said during a meeting with Gazprom head Aleksei Miller and Energy Minister Aleksandr Novikov in Moscow on June 29 that the price for gas will be reduced by $40 because of falling global energy prices.
Further decisions on pricing will depend on fluctuations in global prices, Medvedev added. He said the price charged to Ukraine is "comparable" to rates paid by neighboring countries such as Poland.
Medvedev stressed that the reduction comes at the request of Kyiv. "Despite the complications in our relations, we are ready to help out our partners," Medvedev said.
Russia and Ukraine are set to hold the next round of EU-mediated gas talks in Brussels on June 30.
Medvedev said Moscow is counting on an "adequate reaction" from Kyiv and Brussels to the latest reduction.
(ITAR-TASS, Interfax)
Here's a map of the latest situation in the Donbas region -- issued by Ukraine's Defense Ministry (click image to enlarge):
