18:46
2.6.2014
18:36
2.6.2014
Fourteen hours into continued fighting at the Luhansk border-guards facility, eight border guards have been reported wounded, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
18:33
2.6.2014
The debate continues as to the source of the blast that hit the Luhansk regional administration building.
18:29
2.6.2014
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has purchased 10,000 new sets of body-armor, our Ukrainian Service reports, quoting a public-procurement website. Half are deliverable by the end of this month and the other half by the end of July.
18:17
2.6.2014
Reuters video shows the moment of the blast at the Luhansk regional-administration building and its aftermath. Clearly there were casualties.
18:00
2.6.2014
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has accused Russia of continuing to support rebels in Ukraine, saying in a Washington speech: "There is evidence that Russia continues to allow the free flow of weapons, funds, and fighters across its borders, and President Putin's next steps are still not clear."
Lew's comments, carried by AFP and other agencies, come after U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that Russia has removed thousands of troops from Ukraine's border.
Lew also said the Treasury's coordinated and precise approach with economic sanctions had put "enormous pressure" on Russia.
Lew's comments, carried by AFP and other agencies, come after U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said that Russia has removed thousands of troops from Ukraine's border.
Lew also said the Treasury's coordinated and precise approach with economic sanctions had put "enormous pressure" on Russia.
17:29
2.6.2014
NATO ambassadors have called on Russia to engage constructively with Ukraine's newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko, and to "stop supporting armed separatists" in Ukraine.
17:16
2.6.2014
Ukrainian election authorities have officially announced that Petro Poroshenko was elected president in the voting on May 25.
With all votes counted, Poroshenko won 54.7 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission.
His closest rival, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, had 12.81 percent.
The CEC says more than 18 million of the 35.5 million registered voters cast ballots.
Poroshenko is expected to be sworn in on June 7.
17:09
2.6.2014
RT has issued extremely graphic video of what appear to be very serious casualties in the Luhansk explosion at the regional administration building. Discretion is advised, but here's the link.
16:56
2.6.2014
From our newsroom:
Russia's envoy to NATO has accused the alliance of encouraging the use of force by the Ukrainian government in eastern Ukraine and of hampering efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis.
Aleksandr Grushko met ambassadors of NATO member states in Brussels on June 2.
Russian news agencies quoted Grushko as saying unprecedented activity by the alliance near Russia's borders was adding to tension and could undermine existing security arrangements.
A NATO spokeswoman, meanwhile, said NATO's and Russia's views on the crisis in Ukraine remain "fundamentally different."
The meeting was the first time NATO's ambassadors met with the Russian envoy since March.
Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and dpa
Aleksandr Grushko met ambassadors of NATO member states in Brussels on June 2.
Russian news agencies quoted Grushko as saying unprecedented activity by the alliance near Russia's borders was adding to tension and could undermine existing security arrangements.
A NATO spokeswoman, meanwhile, said NATO's and Russia's views on the crisis in Ukraine remain "fundamentally different."
The meeting was the first time NATO's ambassadors met with the Russian envoy since March.
Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and dpa