Crimean Tatars accused of terrorism plead not guilty:
Four Crimean Tatars suspected of terrorism have pleaded not guilty at their trial in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.
The suspects rejected the charges of being members of the banned Hizb ut-Tahrir organization at the North Caucasus regional military court on June1.
The four men were detained in Crimea in January-April.
Four other Crimean Tatars were detained on May 12 on suspicion of being members of Hizb ut-Tahrir.
Russia has been heavily criticized by international rights groups and Western governments for its treatment of Crimea's indigenous Turkic-speaking people since Moscow annexed the peninsula in March 2014.
Arrests, disappearances, and killings of Crimean Tatars have been reported.
Crimea's Moscow-backed de facto authorities are currently looking for Crimean Tatar activist Ervin Ibragimov, who disappeared on May 24.
Ukrainian Soldier Killed In Fresh Separatist Shelling In East
Kyiv says one Ukrainian soldier has been killed and three wounded in attacks over the past 24 hours by Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.
Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 1 that the casualties were suffered in separatist shelling of the government-held towns of Zaitseve and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.
Ukrainian forces have suffered significant losses in eastern Ukraine in recent days as fighting intensifies.
On May 30, Lysenko accused the separatists of “actively using heavy weapons,” including Grad rocket launchers.
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.
In April, 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.