Possibly not the last time that Ukraine will be touched upon in Vladimir Putin's live phone-in today. (You can follow our live blog on the Russian president's Q&A here.)

Good morning. We're starting the blog this morning with some sad news from Cherkasy:

'Inconvenient' Ukrainian Journalist Dies After Attack

An investigative journalist in Ukraine's central city of Cherkasy has died six weeks after being attacked by an unknown assailant.

Serhiy Tomilenko, the head of Ukraine's National Union of Journalists, wrote in a posting on Facebook on June 20 that Vadym Komarov had succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the May 4 attack, which remains under investigation.

"The only reason for the attack, now the killing, according to journalists in Cherkasy, is Vadym Komarov's professional activities. He was inconvenient for many local politicians. He pushed forward with inconvenient questions regarding corruption in Cherkasy and touched on topics that resonated," Tomilenko wrote.

Tomilenko added that the journalists' union "continues to demand real, not just declared, protection of rights for Ukrainian journalists."

Komarov was hospitalized and underwent unspecified surgery following the attack in Cherkasy, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Kyiv, and had remained in a coma ever since.

International media freedom watchdogs have urged Kyiv to thoroughly investigate the attack and ensure that it does not go unpunished.

That concludes our live-blogging of the Ukraine crisis for June 19, 2019. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage. Thanks for reading and take care.