Kremlin "can't confirm" reports on deal to release two Ukrainians:
The Kremlin says it can’t confirm reports that Moscow and Kyiv have reached an agreement to hand over two Ukrainian nationals serving prison terms in Russia.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on May 30 that he had "no information that would allow me to confirm this."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a televised interview on May 29 that "a preliminary agreement" had been reached with Russia to extradite Yuriy Soloshenko and Hennadiy Afanasyev.
Afanasyev's lawyer Aleksandr Popkov said on May 30 that his client and Soloshenko had officially wrote letters to Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him to pardon them.
Afanasyev was sentenced to seven years in jail on terrorism charges in April 2015. Soloshenko was sentenced to six years in jail on spying charges in October.
Russia has seen an unprecedented number of espionage and treason cases reach trial since annexing Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
On May 25, Moscow and Kyiv exchanged prisoners. Ukrainian military aviator Nadia Savchenko returned home after being exchanged for two Russians held by Ukraine. (UNIAN, TASS, Interfax)
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
Ukraine Says Three Soldiers Killed In Fresh Fighting In East
The Ukrainian military says three soldiers have been killed and eight wounded in fresh fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on May 30 that fighting had intensified compared to a month ago and accused separatists of "actively using heavy weapons," including a Grad rocket launcher.
Lysenko said the latest clashes were reported around the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk and the government-controlled city of Mariupol on the coast of the Sea of Azov.
Ukrainian forces have suffered significant losses in eastern Ukraine in recent days. On May 24, Kyiv said seven soldiers were killed in fighting with separatists. On May 28, five more soldiers were reported killed.
Amid the flare-up in violence, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has called for greater foreign assistance and has appointed former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen as his adviser.
Last month, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said it could take years to end the conflict, which has claimed more than 9,300 lives since it erupted in April 2014.